News

Ross Brownson, PRC Director, Honored with Outstanding Faculty Award (Links to an external site)

For Ross Brownson, one of the joys of working at Washington University is teaching and mentoring graduate students.

On April 10, Brownson, the Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor at the Brown School, was honored with an Outstanding Faculty Award at the 25th Annual Outstanding Faculty and Staff Awards ceremony, hosted by the Graduate Student Senate (GSS). He was one of eight faculty members commended for their remarkable contributions to the PhD student community.

Brownson expressed gratitude for the recognition. “Our students are the best and the brightest who constantly remind me that our future is in good hands,” he remarked.

New PRC Members

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Welcome to our new PRC members: Madisen Brewer and Oreoluwa Oginni! Madisen is a full-time Research Assistant on the AHD Partnership Study with Principal Investigator, Stephanie Mazzucca-Ragan, and Project Manager, Jess Gannon. Oreoluwa is an MPH student specializing in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He will be working in collaboration with Diana Perez on a project that aims to explore the linkages between implementation strategy mechanisms and evidence-based physical activity and nutrition programs for cancer prevention in Latin America.

Renee Parks has been named the WashU 2024 Emerging Leader Recipient!

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This award recognizes an employee who positively influences and leads others at the university, in their community and their profession. This award acknowledges someone who listens to the feedback, concerns of employees, displays a growth mindset, and empowers their colleagues to develop and utilize their leadership skills and capabilities to better the university and St. […]

Southeast Missouri is Still “Moving” After PRC Intervention Ends

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Written by Tim Poor Heartland Moves, an intervention to promote physical activity in Southeast Missouri, has ended, but the project’s local manager, Dixie Duncan, is still “Moving.”  She’s working with communities to expand and develop walking trails, and she’s continuing to promote groups of walkers in conjunction with the wellness council in Poplar Bluff and […]

Staff Spotlight: Ronni Byrth

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When her daughter Kyrah was a toddler, Ronni Byrth discovered Parents as Teachers (PAT), a home visitation program that provides parents with child development knowledge, parenting support, and social support for families with children from birth until age 5. She liked the program so much she went to work for PAT for 14 years. Now, […]

Breaking Barriers: An Innovative Tool to Assess the National and City-Level Physical Activity Policy Development to Practice Disconnect

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The study “Breaking Barriers: An Innovative Tool to Assess the National and City-Level Physical Activity Policy Development to Practice Disconnect” introduces a novel tool, INTEGRATE PA-Pol, designed to assess how national and subnational governments collaborate on physical activity promotion policies. This research focuses on understanding the development, implementation, and alignment of these policies between different […]

Student Spotlight: Masoomeh Faghankhani

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Hometown: Tehran, IranUndergraduate school and major/minor: Tehran University of Medical Sciences/MedicineProgram at Brown: MPHAnticipated graduation date: May 2024Three things you have with you at all times: My smartphone, black tea bag, and antiseptic hygienic stuff What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Trail jogging, Watching a wide array of films including […]

Welcome to our new PRC members

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Drew Crenshaw (he/him) is a doctoral student working as a Research Assistant with Peg Allen on the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) Accreditation Success Stories project. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health and Master of Public Health with a concentration in Environmental Health from the […]

The D4DS Planner has Officially Launched

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The PRC’s Maura Kepper, Allison L’Hotta, Thembie Shato, and Ross Brownson, along with other collaborators, officially launched the new D4DS Planner at the 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health, held in Arlington Virginia December 10-13, 2023. The planner was a collaboration between researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, […]

Shaping Policy and Practice: Analyzing the Reach of Highly Cited and High Altmetrics Publications for Broader Impact on Physical Activity (Links to an external site)

Abstract Background: A significant gap remains between the availability of physical activity (PA) evidence-based interventions and their application in real-world settings in policy and practice areas. This study aims to describe highly cited and high altmetrics publications in PA research and explore their impact on PA policy and practice. Methods: Mixed-methods sequential explanatory study including the identification […]

Integrating a focus on health equity in implementation science: Case examples from the national cancer institute’s implementation science in cancer control centers (ISC3) network (Links to an external site)

Abstract Background: A Health Equity Task Force (HETF) of members from seven Centers funded by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Implementation Science in Cancer Control Centers (ISC3) network sought to identify case examples of how Centers were applying a focus on health equity in implementation science to inform future research and capacity-building efforts. Methods: HETF members at […]

Advancing the Science and Application of Implementation Science to Promote Health Equity: Commentary on the Symposium (Links to an external site)

Abstract There has been an increasing focus on making health equity a more explicit and foundational aspect of the research being conducted in public health and implementation science. This commentary provides an overview of five reviews in this Annual Review of Public Health symposium on Implementation Science and Health Equity. These articles reflect on and advance the […]

PRC Faculty, Peg Allen and Maura Kepper receive new grants

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Peg Allen recently received a new grant funded through the Public Health Accreditation Board, titled “Small Health Department Accreditation Success Stories.” The purpose of this short-term project (October 2023 through May 2024) is to develop public health department success stories for the Public Health Accreditation Board that describe facilitators of successful preparations for national accreditation […]

Staff Spotlight: Dixie Duncan

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Dixie Duncan grew up in the town of Van Buren, MO, population 800, a dot on the map adjacent to the scenic Current River in Southeast Missouri.  Now, she’s promoting public health coalitions in the rural region, where the PRC has been working to eliminate health disparities there and other rural regions.. “I’ve found the […]

WashU & Parents as Teachers community-academic partnership benefits families “where they are” (Links to an external site)

WashU Research Associate Professor, Rachel Tabak PhD, and Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer of Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC), Allison Kemner, MPH, work together in a community-academic partnership that benefits families while advancing the field of dissemination and implementation science.

Perspectives From Public Health Practitioners and Advocates on Community Development for Active Living: What are the Lasting Impacts?

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Abstract Purpose: Evidence suggests differential impacts of community development, including gentrification and displacement. Public health practitioners and advocates are key stakeholders involved in the community development process related to active living, yet little is known about their perceptions of its impacts. We explored the perspectives of relevant leaders of public health departments and key community and […]

Perspectives From Public Health Practitioners and Advocates on Community Development for Active Living: What are the Lasting Impacts? (Links to an external site)

Abstract Purpose: Evidence suggests differential impacts of community development, including gentrification and displacement. Public health practitioners and advocates are key stakeholders involved in the community development process related to active living, yet little is known about their perceptions of its impacts. We explored the perspectives of relevant leaders of public health departments and key community and […]

More Work Needed to Improve Equity Focus in Public Health Departments

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A new study by researchers at the Prevention Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) surveyed public health departments in the U.S. to understand current health equity-related work practices and identify ways to bolster equity-focused work in chronic disease prevention and control efforts. Recently published […]

Staff Spotlight: Sarah Pritchard

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Sarah Pritchard’s training is in system dynamics, but her passion is equity and systems change. So her position on the PRC’s leadership team on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is a perfect fit.  “My focus is on using Community Based System Dynamics to help people on the committee understand how the system of structural racism operates […]

Student Spotlight: Angie Hoffman

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Hometown: Weston, MissouriUndergraduate school and major/minor: Bachelor of Fine Arts-Painting, Minor in Philosophy and ReligionProgram at Brown: MPHAnticipated graduation date: May 2023Three things you have with you at all times: Chapstick, water bottle, nice pens What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Gardening (fruits, veggies, and flowers), quilting, hanging out with […]

Celebrating PRC Graduating Students

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The Prevention Research Center (PRC) at WashU has always been a hub of great talent and academic excellence. As we approach the graduation season, we celebrate the achievements of some of our wonderful graduates from the center. This article features the stories of seven graduates and their experiences at the PRC. Leah Nason is a […]

Implementation of Flexibilities to the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and Their Impact on Schools in Missouri (Links to an external site)

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Abstract Background: While technology advances have increased the popularity of remote interventions in underserved and rural cancer communities, less is understood about technology access and preferences for home-based physical activity programs in this cancer survivor population. Purpose: To determine access, preferences, and needs, for a home-based physical activity program in rural cancer survivors. Methods: A Qualtrics Research Panel […]

Student Spotlight: Maddison Geller

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Hometown: Henderson, NVUndergraduate school and major/minor: University of Nevada, Las VegasProgram at Brown: MPHAnticipated graduation date: May 2023Three things you have with you at all times: Water, my watch, and lip balm What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Knitting, biking, and rewatching The OC or Mad Men. I used to […]

Renee Parks and Peg Allen’s work on the AIM-LH study was featured on JPHMP Direct (Links to an external site)

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With health departments scrutinized now more than ever, now is the time to fully integrate evidence-based decision making (EBDM) into public health practices. EBDM applies the best available research and evaluation evidence to select, adapt, implement, and evaluate policies and programs that work. While training helps individuals build skills, our earlier work found skill attainment is necessary but not enough to move EBDM forward and sustain EBDM use. Organizational supports within health departments are important as well.

How Health Departments Can Offer More Programs That Work

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As public health departments across the U.S. face increased scrutiny, the Brown School’s Prevention Research Center has partnered with the Brookings Institution in a groundbreaking investigation to identify ways to improve decision making and more effectively use health department resources. The study’s latest findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, used information from […]

Exploring University and Healthcare Workers’ Physical Activity, Diet, and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Links to an external site)

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected well-being and health behaviors, especially among healthcare workers and employees in other fields. This is of public health concern because health behaviors and well-being influence long-term negative health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore health behaviors and well-being among university and medical center staff during COVID-19. Methods: EMPOWER […]

PRC Study examines the adoption of social determinants of health documentation in clinical settings (Links to an external site)

Abstract Objective: To understand the frequency of social determinants of health (SDOH) diagnosis codes (Z-codes) within the electronic health record (EHR) for patients with prediabetes and diabetes and examine factors influencing the adoption of SDOH documentation in clinical care. Data sources: EHR data and qualitative interviews with health care providers and stakeholders. Study design: An explanatory sequential mixed […]

Study Explores the Perspectives of Adults Aging With Long-Term Physical Disabilities on Physical Activity

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Abstract Background: Adults aging with long-term physical disabilities (AAwPD) face personal and environmental barriers to living independently, but little is known about their perspectives on and experiences with physical activity (PA). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of AAwPD on PA. Research design: Qualitative semi-structured interviews with AAwPD were conducted virtually via phone […]

Prevalence of Meeting Aerobic, Muscle-Strengthening, and Combined Physical Activity Guidelines During Leisure Time Among Adults (Links to an external site)

Abstract The healthful effects of physical activity on a multitude of physical and mental health outcomes are well documented. Despite promising increases in the percentage of U.S. adults meeting aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines (guidelines) during leisure time in nearly all demographic and regional subgroups 1998-2018, differences by rurality and U.S. Census Bureau region […]