Community Coalition Board Leadership | Research Priorities & Evaluation Criteria
PRC News
CMS Quality Conference
“The Georgia Community Engaged Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities: Community-Driven
Pillars, Processes and Predictors of Vaccination Uptake Among Black/African American
and Latino/Hispanic Residents” at the 2023 CMS Quality Conference. Your valuable insights
and contributions enriched the event, and we are truly grateful for your time and
effort. Your perspective provided a fresh and thought-provoking angle that our audience
of 88 live attendees truly appreciated.
View video recording here.
Morehouse School of Medicine Receives Nearly $9.7 Million Grant from U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to Build COVID-19 Vaccine
Confidence
Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has received a nearly $9.7
million grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
to create HealthWorks, a program to increase vaccine confidence in Georgia and Tennessee
through targeted, culturally competent and outreach education, with a focus on communities
of color.
Read the press release here.
CDC Success Stories: Scaling Up Project UPLIFT (Using Practice and Learning to Increase
Favorable Thoughts): Using Telehealth to Improve Mental Health for People with Epilepsy
In a study led by Dr. Quarells, the Morehouse School of Medicine Managing Epilepsy
Well (MEW) Network team explored the potential need for cultural adaptation of Project
UPLIFT for Black adults with epilepsy, while colleagues with the New York University
(NYU) Grossman School of Medicine MEW Network team, led by Dr. Tanya Spruill, an associate
professor in NYU’s department of population health, sought to translate and culturally
adapt Project UPLIFT for Hispanic adults with epilepsy.
Read the press release here.
The Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness Partners with Morehouse School
of Medicine Prevention Research Center to Evaluate its Partnership for Improving Community
Health Project
Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM PRC) and the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness (FCDHW) have partnered to evaluate the county’s Partnership for Improving Community Health (PICH) project, established to lead Atlanta public health efforts to reduce chronic diseases,
promote healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities and control health care spending.
The PICH is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) $50.3 million commitment to 39 local health agencies, funded through a cooperative
agreement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Read the press release here.
Engaging and Working with African American Fathers: Strategies and Lessons Learned, written for and by social service practitioners and researchers, challenges traditional,
fragmented approaches to practice with African American fathers. Each chapter includes
current evidence on engagement approaches, agencies, programs addressing specific
issues fathers face, and case studies documenting approaches to addressing their diverse
needs. With chapters written primarily by African American women, the goal is to engage
other female students and professionals who dominate helping professions, demonstrate
their contributions to the field, and advocate for underserved African American fathers.
Rollins, L. (2020). Engaging and Working with African American Fathers: Strategies
and Lessons. New York: Routledge.
Link to Purchase
The Morehouse Model will serve as a primary textbook for the development of culturally competent community coalitions in health promotion and prevention programming designed to advance health equity and an assumed, lifelong research education and clinical destination. The manuscript is a testimony to the effectiveness of academic-community partnerships to address risk factors contributing to health inequities. The practical strategies, supported by rigorous evaluation, will become the “how-to” in the development and sustaining of community-dominant coalitions to address health and social issues at the grassroots level. We advance that this book will be a guiding compass for burgeoning and seasoned public health, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and educational leaders seeking to teach, partner, and practice the importance of community-engagement, thus giving voice to the voiceless.
Braithwaite, R., Akintobi, T., Blumenthal, D., & Langley, M. (2020). Morehouse Model: How One School of Medicine Revolutionized Community Engagement and Health Equity Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, Maryland.
Links to Purchase
Morehouse School of Medicine Researchers Seek to Increase COVID-19 Testing for People Affected by Diabetes With Aid of NIH Grant
Morehouse School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, have received a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to increase COVID-19 testing for people affected by diabetes in Georgia. The grant was specifically awarded to The Georgia Center for Diabetes Translation Research (GCDTR), which is a joint collaboration among the three institutions.
Read the press release here.
MSM Awarded $1 Million NIH Grant for COVID-19 Community Engagement Research and Health Communications
Morehouse School of Medicine received a $1 million award from the National Institutes of Health for COVID-19 pandemic outreach and engagement efforts in ethnic and racial minority communities. MSM will form a statewide coalition as one of 12 support teams across the US that are established as part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities.
Read the press release here.
MSM Receives 5-year Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Center (PRC)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded a $3.75 million grant to the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (PRC).
Over the next five years (2019-2024) the Center will bring together research, agency and community expertise to 1) conduct research that is informed by community members, the organizations that serve them and academic partners with expertise in implementing and evaluating public health programs 2) train underrepresented community-based researchers and public health practitioners and 3) demonstrate the value of community coalitions in conducting research. The PRC’s efforts will place emphasis on African American and other minority and disparate populations experiencing persistent health disparities across the state of Georgia.
Read the press release here.
MSM Prevention Research Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary
MSM's Prevention Research Center (PRC) was established in 1998 is one of a network of academic research centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to achieve local and national health objectives focused on gaining knowledge about the best methodologies for solving the nation's obstinate health problems. It was the first PRC in Georgia and is the only Historically Black College and University funded, nationally.
Click here to learn more.
Ms. Adrianne Proeller, Community Health Worker for MSM PRC, has received National
Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) Ambassador designation
Out of close to 200 candidates, Adrianne was one of 20 nominees chosen nationwide
and is the only ambassador selected from Georgia.
NACHW is a “professional workforce association representing community health workers, community health representatives, promotores de salud, other workforce members with similar roles and job titles, and allies.” NACHW will serve as an industry-specific voice for policy decisions, a forum for occupational definitions and professional standards, and a resource for CHW leadership and professional development.
Ms. Proeller has served as a CHW with MSM PRC since July 2015 where she has demonstrated leadership in many of the Center’s community health projects, engaging communication skills, and a commitment to community health work overall.
The MSM PRC, as part of Community Health and Preventative Medicine, was proud to have Ms. Proeller represent the department at the inaugural NACHW Unity 2019 Conference this April in Las Vegas, NV.
To learn more about NACHW visit: www.nachw.org.
WCLK Signature Serenade Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement: Tabia Henry
Akintobi, PhD
Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center’s own Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi received The WCLK Signature Serenade Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement.
Jazz 91.9 WCLK invited listeners to guest host and share their personal jazz favorites while raising
funds for the station. In friendly competition, Dr. Akintobi took the lead by raising
over $3000 for WCLK in two hours. For their success, winners have their name engraved
and displayed on a silver bowl replicate housed at the station; winners also received
50 30-second commercials spots. MSM PRC will use this valuable prize to promote community
engaged health initiatives. Thank you, Jazz 91.9 WCLK!
MSM PRC among Academic Partners Selected to Participate in
National Dialogue Informing Community Engaged Research Best Practices
Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM PRC) community and academic
partners, along with other community based participatory research (CBPR) leaders across
the country, were selected to participate in the phase two of the Engage for Equity
Project. This project builds from the recently completed NIH study, Research for Improved
Health (RIH) through which a CBPR conceptual model was tested, developed and psychometrically
validated through quantitative process and outcome measures.
Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi received the Dr. Tom Bruce Award of Honor. The Community-Based Public Health (CBPH) Caucus of the American Public Health Association (APHA) established the Tom Bruce Award in 2006. The award was presented at the annual APHA meeting recognizing “an individual who has made a significant contribution to the CBPH Caucus and the CBPH Movement.” This award was the result of a collaboration between the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, and the University of Michigan to advance equitable partnership. This partnership serves to disseminate research among community and academic partners through a national writing and dissemination institute with work that continues to date.
Focus Atlanta featured Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM PRC) on their August 12, 2018 show. This episode highlighted the working relationship between MSM PRC and the Center’s Community Coalition Board (CCB) and best practices with linking academic research with community leaders as a mechanism for environmental, systemic, and political change.
Dr. Latrice Rollins, Assistant Director of Evaluation & Institutional Assessment and Instructor in the Department of Community Health & Preventive Medicine, has been selected to participate in one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) leadership development initiatives, the Culture of Health Leaders Program. As a member of the program’s newest cohort, Latrice Rollins will focus on creating and leading the advancement of health equity for African American fathers.
Designed for people from all sectors, the Culture of Health Leaders fosters cross-sector collaboration and enables participants to remain in their homes and jobs and directly apply everything they learn to improving policy and practice in their communities and organizations. The three-year program provides participants with an annual stipend of up to $20,000.
To learn more about the Culture of Health Leaders Program and RWJF’s other leadership development programs, and to meet other participants, visit http://cultureofhealth-leaders.org/.
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Dr. Tabia Akintobi Appointed State Childhood Obesity Council
Tabia Henry Akintobi, Ph.D., was appointed to the Georgia SHAPE Advisory Council on Childhood Obesity by Governor Nathan Deal of the State of Georgia.
Georgia SHAPE is a statewide multi-agency and multi-dimensional initiative that brings
together governmental, philanthropic, academic and business communities to address
childhood (0-18) obesity in Georgia. In this capacity, she will contribute by advising
of best practices to mitigate childhood obesity, and promote obesity prevention strategies
from an academic perspective. Dr. Henry Akintobi is a full professor with the department
of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Associate Dean of Community Engagement,
and the Director of Evaluation and Institutional Assessment at the Morehouse School
of Medicine (MSM), where she serves as the principal investigator and director of
the MSM Prevention Research Center.
Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center Community-Academic Partners Selected to Participate National Dialogue Informing Community Engaged Research Best Practices
Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM PRC) community and academic partners have been selected to participate among community based participatory research (CBPR) leaders across the country to participate in the phase two of the Engage for Equity Project. It builds from the recently-completed NIH study, Research for Improved Health (RIH) through which a CBPR conceptual model was tested, developed and psychometrically validated through quantitative process and outcome measures.
Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH is Principal Investigator, Rhonda Holliday, PhD is core research project Principal Investigator and LaShawn Hoffman is Community Coalition Board Chair will represent and engage with community-academic partnership in bi-directional learning associated with best practices in CBPR and other community-engaged approaches. The MSM PRC ‘s core research project is entitled: A Multi-Method Approach to STI and HIV/AIDS Prevention among Urban Minority Youth. The following specific evidence gaps in the intervention research and analysis will be addressed: the effects of gender, the effectiveness of multi-component interventions, and the effectiveness of including parents in intervention efforts. For more information on the Engage for Equity Project please visit them here .
Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, Associate Professor, Community Health and Preventive Medicine and Associate Dean, Community Engagement has been selected to be one of three new lead team members of the Collaboration/Engagement Domain Taskforce (DTF), a component of the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translation Science Award Consortium. The Collaboration/Engagement DTF seeks to foster collaboration and engagement, particularly with patients and stakeholders across the translational research continuum. More information about the Collaboration/Engagement DTF can be found here.
Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, Prevention Research Center Principal Investigator and Director was nominated and installed as the incoming Chair (2017-2018) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Steering Committee. Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Associate Professor and Prevention Research Center Principal Investigator begins her term as Chair-Elect of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Prevention Research Center Steering Committee, composed of twenty-six principal investigators of funded centers. Her membership on the Executive Board commences October, 2016. Her term as chair begins October 2017.
Dr. Latrice Rollins and Thomas Cotton (Prevention Research Center Community Coalition Board Member and Morehouse School of Medicine Institutional Review Board Member) have been selected to participate in the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Partnership Academy. The Academy is an integrated one-year research education program, in which they will have the opportunity to join with eleven other community-academic teams from across the country to engage in an intensive week-long CBPR course on July 16th – 21st and ongoing mentored learning activities throughout the year.
Latrice Rollins, PhD, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM PRC) Assistant Director of Evaluation, was been selected as a scholar in the Leading Emerging and Diverse Scientists to Success (LEADS) program through the Institute for Clinical Research Education at Univ. of Pittsburgh. This program includes participation in nine online modules and network with fellow program participants, access to leaders at Morehouse School of Medicine career coaches to advise and support her research career, a certification in translational research and eligibility for travel awards to disseminate research at conferences or to seek specialized training.
The American Public Health Association’s Community Based Public Health (CBPH) Caucus leaders, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) and the Morehouse School of Medicine-Prevention Research Center have been funded through the National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities (R13) to conduct a Writing and Dissemination Institute designed to build community and academic partners' capacities to equitably engage in the writing and dissemination processes related to community-engaged research and related health initiatives. The institute will occur November 4th 2017 with tracking, monitoring and dissemination products designed to assess processes and outcomes.
Ronald Braithwaite, PhD, Professor and MSM PRC Research Development and Capacity Building Lead, served as guest editor for a special issue of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved entitled “The Power of Prevention: Reaching at-risk Emerging Adults to Reduce Substance Abuse and HIV”. The issue, developed with fellow guest editor Lorece Edwards, DrPH, MHS of Morgan State University, was a compilation of research conducted among Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration grantees addressing HIV/AIDS and drug abuse/addition among young adults 18-24.
Natalie Hernandez, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Community Engagement was recently accepted into the Health Disparities Research Training Award Program. This interdisciplinary professional development program is sponsored by Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Tuskegee University (TU), University of Alabama (UA), Alabama State University (ASU), Creighton University (CU), Jackson State University (JSU), University of South Alabama (USA), and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and the Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging (CCHA), the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC), and the UAB Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE) and the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) at UAB. The objectives of the program are to develop independent researchers in the area of health disparities research through individualized mentored training, provide instruction in scientific research methodology and design, provide training in health disparities and innovative approaches to reduce them and teach scientific writing and grant preparation skills to produce a grant submission to an external agency.
Morehouse School of Medicine will lead the newly refunded Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance award’s Community Engagement and Research Program (CERP), funded by the National Institutes of Health. The Community Engagement Function represents a robust collaboration of partner institutions with the intended goal of community engagement approaches resulting in evidence-based clinical and translational research that then is broadly disseminated to and adapted in communities of research and practice. CERP will continue to be administratively directed by MSM (Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine (MSM PRC).
Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, Prevention Research Center Principal Investigator and Director received True Health Broadcasting Network's Champions of Health Award on April, 21, 2016. Awards were presented for national contributions and commitments to healthier communities exemplified by leadership in reducing health disparities and advancing health equity.
MSM Prevention Research Center Community Health Worker Adrianne Serrano Proeller was among five individuals honored at the State Capitol On February 25, 2016. During the address, State Representative Park Cannon remarked on Ms. Proeller's dedication and advocacy for SW Atlanta's underserved neighborhoods. During the address, State Representative Park Cannon remarked on Ms. Proeller's dedication and advocacy for SW Atlanta's underserved neighborhoods
On March 31, 2016, Dr. Natalie D. Hernandez, assistant professor in the department of CHPM and of the PRC and Center of Excellence on Health Disparities, received the "Latinas Poderosas Atlanta" award and was recognized by Mundo Hispanico Atlanta as one of the most powerful Latinas in Atlanta.
The Health Currents episode titled, "It’s Not Your Weight it’s Your Waist"
The Health Currents episode titled, “It’s Not Your Weight it’s Your Waist” was originally
aired on November 18, 2016 and featured Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, Director
of the Prevention Research Center. Dr. Akintobi discussed the linkages among obesity
and diabetes and how members of the community have implemented health initiatives
within their own families. She also discussed some of the “risk for risk” which includes
but not limited to access to healthy foods, fruits, vegetables, safe neighborhoods
and exercise. This topic is directly related to the PRC’s leaders in the Racial and
Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Initiatives Grant # 5NU58DP005945.
Fresh Food Gets Push in Low-income Areas
The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Initiative (REACH HI), designed
to increase access to healthy foods, physical activity and community-clinical linkages
has launched 5 of 11 healthy corner stores in Neighborhood Planning Units V, X, Y,
Z and T. Among those featured on November 15, 2016 was The Peach Pantry in the Sylvan
Hills Community at 1085 Katherwood Drive SW Atlanta. Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi, REACH
HI Principal Investigator, Georgia State University collaborator and Investigator,
Dr. Rodney Lyn and Maurice Burrell, Owner of the Peach Pantry were featured in the
article on the front page of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) on November 27,
2016
Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi begins her term as chair-elect of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Prevention Research Center Steering Committee, which is composed of 26 principal investigators of funded centers in October 2016. Her term as chair will begin in October 2017.
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Morehouse School of Medicine's Dr. Tabia Akintobi explains MSM's health equity mission and speaks about the upcoming 3rd annual Community Engagement Day on CBS46's "Atlanta Plugged In" segment. Watch now
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MSM’s PRC faculty and staff, along with community partners (Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi, Nastassia Laster, Jennie Trotter, DeBran Jacobs, Tarita Johnson, Tandeca King Gordon and Assia Miller) published an article titled "The Health, Enlightenment, Awareness, and Living (HEAL) Intervention: Outcomes of an HIV and Hepatitis B and C Risk Reduction Intervention," which was recently accepted by the International Journal of Environmental Research for Public Health.
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Morehouse School of Medicine and Georgia State University's Healthy Corner Store Initiative works with South Atlanta business owners to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to urban community food marts.
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MSM's Jun Jun Xu of the NCPC and Dr. Latrice Rollins of the PRC spoke about environmental health and cardiovascular death in Atlanta, and MPH alumna Mikayla Charles presented a poster on community health programs at the CDC’s GIS Day on November 14th.
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Dr. Akintobi Speaks with WCLK about MSM and Georgia State's Healthy Corner Store Initiative
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MSM PRC Article Published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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