DP24-004, PRC, Core: Emory Prevention Research Center

Emory University, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Food insecurity is a major social determinant of health that disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, lower- income, and rural families. The Emory Prevention Research Center’s (EPRC) proposed research will leverage implementation science in a fast-growing, community-driven response to childhood food insecurity with high potential for scale across Georgia and nationally. Specifically, we will systematically develop and test a multicomponent implementation strategy to improve nutritional quality of food provided through Helping Hands Ending Hunger’s school-based food rescue and food pantry program in Georgia schools and their local networks of community partners. Additionally, we will strengthen capacity for prevention research in Georgia through the establishment of a novel Learning Collaborative focused on applying an equity orientation to community assessments, action planning, and adapting evidence-based interventions, particularly in rural communities. Building directly upon the EPRC’s 20 years of deep and varied partnerships and using a participatory approach, the aims of this center proposal are to: 1) maintain and strengthen an infrastructure to conduct applied prevention and health promotion research of high relevance to public health practice in rural Georgia; 2) engage robust Community and Statewide Advisory Boards, as well as other partners to inform all prevention research projects; 3) build capacity to conduct prevention research among Emory faculty and students, public health practitioners, and community-based organizations in Georgia, with an emphasis on rural communities; 4) communicate information about EPRC activities to intended audiences, including faculty and students within Emory, public health academics and practitioners, and community partners and residents of rural Georgia; 5) conduct a Type 3 Hybrid Implementation Effectiveness study on implementation of Food Service Guidelines in school-based food pantries to improve access to healthy foods among food insecure families; 6) disseminate and translate core research project findings to facilitate adoption into public health practice including the distribution of collaboratively created products for impact; and 7) contribute in a meaningful and substantive way to the national Prevention Research Center Network’s collective impact in health-equity focused public health prevention research, policy, and practice. Although implementation science has great potential to improve public health, its limited application to community settings and upstream determinants such as food insecurity and limited access to healthy foods has been a missed opportunity to date. The EPRC’s proposed research will help to close this gap. Moreover, our strong partnerships with state and regional health departments and community-based organizations that are deeply invested in this work such as Helping Hands Ending Hunger and their network of participating schools ensures that our research and capacity-building activities will be acted upon and sustained to have a long-term positive impact on public health.