Community Health Promotion Research
Individual health and well-being are influenced by community contexts, environments, and cultures. Through culturally competent research and evaluation, we explore how such factors affect behavior and why community-level health promotion efforts work or fail. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods and a collaborative approach that involves funders, community members, and opinion leaders, our health promotion research evaluates federal, state, and local health promotion projects and seeks to understand communities by ascertaining their beliefs, perceptions, and participation in health interventions.
Focus Areas
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Identifying determinants of health risk and protective behaviors
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Evaluating policies, programs, and interventions designed to change health behavior
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Identifying best practices that can be applied on a population level
Quantitative Research Capabilities
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Surveys conducted at multiple levels (e.g., organizationally, among partners and patients)
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Regression modeling and path analysis to assess program impacts and outcomes
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Multilevel and structural equation modeling
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Cost-effectiveness and other econometric studies
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Secondary data analysis of large, existing data sets such as the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data set, Medicare claims, state cancer registry data, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
Qualitative Research Capabilities
- Case studies
- Site visits, including visits to address issues among disparate populations
- Multiple group processes (e.g., focus groups, Delphi process) to facilitate data collection or group decision making
- Interviews through various modes among key informants and others
- Content analysis
Research Tools
- Program logic models
- Conceptual frameworks
- Theory-based evaluations
- Systematic analysis of findings using state-of-the-art software
Selected Clients
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Institutes of Health (including, among others):
- National Cancer Institute
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Office of Adolescent Health
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- States of New York, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont
- Kansas Health Foundation
Feature
When Consumers Use the Nutrient Rich Foods Index, Better Choices are Made, Study FindsA new study by the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Nursing, RTI International, ... Read more »
Experts
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Deborah Porterfield Public Health Researcher |
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Debra J. Holden Senior Director, Community and Health Education Research |