WEST VIRGINIA PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER

Project Summary/AbstractRural Americans face major health disparities and differences in overall health status, higher rates of chronicdisease, geographic isolation, and limited job opportunities. Recent data shows that US rural areas do notexperience the consistent decline in premature mortality that non-rural locations do. West Virginia (WV), a highlyrural state, exemplifies these disparities and inequities. WV ranks at or near the bottom in many US healthindicators (e.g., cardiovascular and cancer morbidity/mortality) and their associated risk factors (e.g., obesity,tobacco use). WV is also at the epicenter of the US opioid crisis. Since 1995, the WV Prevention ResearchCenter has been a transformative force that conducts and translates innovative community-engaged researchand evaluation into practical solutions to improve health in WV and beyond. Together with our committed andexperienced Community Partnership Board, we propose a Research and Translation Agenda that builds onour expertise in substance use/abuse (especially tobacco and opioids), promotes healthy lifestyles, and fostersyouth and community resilience. This Agenda reflects the priorities of our partners and emphasizes policy andpractice translation. Our experience with development and national dissemination of the evidence-based teensmoking cessation program, Not on Tobacco, for the American Lung Association, demonstrates our capacity toconduct, translate, and disseminate proven interventions to diverse communities. Our previous partnerships andaccomplishments position us for the next 5 years of growth and achievement. We propose to achieve thisthrough the following Specific Aims: 1) sustain and enhance a multidisciplinary infrastructure, inclusive of astatewide Community Partnership Board, that conducts, translates, and disseminates innovative, community-engaged research and evaluation; 2) engage multi-stakeholder partners to develop, implement, and sustain aResearch and Translation Agenda, inclusive of a Core Research Project; 3) strengthen the capacity of publichealth practitioners, health care providers, faculty, staff, students, and communities to conduct and applyprevention research to address public health priorities and disparities through training and service provision;4) disseminate WVPRC capacity, products, and findings; and 5) participate in the National PRC Network. Ourproposed Core Research Project uses a cross-sequential design to address risk and protective factorsrelevant to youth and community resilience against substance use initiation and progression in middle- andhigh school-aged youth. This research project is in the public health practice-based evidence researchcategory, incorporates health equity approaches, and attends to the goals of sustainability and scalability. Ourintended outcomes include a sustained Center infrastructure; increased capacity in prevention research; andenvironmental, policy, and practice changes that result in practical, sustainable solutions that improvepopulation health and vitality for years to come.