Public & Community Health Research
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Prepare for Your Career in Public Health Through Research
Dr. Linnaya Graf
The prevalence of health and social service workers who experience stress and burnout resulting from their professions has recently been identified as a common work-related mental health impairment. While recent literature has established this phenomenon as posing a significant challenge to the field, appropriate core interventions and tools remain unavailable or untested. The current research steps include three steps: (a) meta-analysis of the tools and resources which have been well documented as evidenced based in the field for addressing areas of stress and burnout with other populations, (b) data collection evaluating the perceptions of health and social service workers for how these tools could be best adapted for their own fields of work (c) and the creation of a tool kit and workplace curriculum for individuals and agencies serving these populations (d) an evaluation of tools to determine impact after implementation.
Dr. Linnaya Graf
This study consists of a work plan for an ethnography of individuals who have experienced previous childhood or domestic violence and have demonstrated resilient outcomes. The purpose of this project will be to give a voice to those who have overcome adversity, identify themes in the 21st century that support resilience for survivors of relational or childhood violence, and bring awareness to the currency of childhood and relational violence as a public health problem that still pervades society, despite a modern world of prevention and social awareness.
Dr. Oswald Attin
Dr. Robyn Anderson
Dr. Robyn Anderson is currently studying the effects of BMI on heart rate in children ages 11 to 12 through a six-minute step test.
Dr. Bethesda O’Connell
- Impact of solar lights- Students may travel with Dr. O’Connell to the Philippines (possibly additional locations in the future) to administer pre and post questionnaires to solar light recipients. International travel will require early planning, so the student should contact Dr. O’Connell by December for summer travel. Non-travel opportunities include data analysis and writing.
Dr. Thomas Shahady
Dr. Thomas Shahady (PI) of The University of Lynchburg (UL) propose to educate and train three student cohorts totaling 12 undergraduate and 6 graduate students through a three-year project involving research experiences on water quality in rural Costa Rica. The PI will prepare four undergraduate students and two graduate students, for each of the project’s three summer terms, to conduct ecological research under the mentorship of scientists at the Monteverde Institute (MVI) in Monteverde and Sustainability Demonstration Center (SDC), Costa Rica. Both entities are established, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to education, applied research, and engagement with Costa Rican communities. Students will reside and complete laboratory analyses at the SDC. The PI serves as the manager for the water quality laboratory and facilities at this well-equipped campus. The PI of this proposal will be present as the students transition into their international experience and will remain in Costa Rica for the summer to conduct his own independent work. This collaboration among MVI, UL, and SDC will result in mentorship for every aspect of the students’ work and will ensure continuous professional development during their time abroad. Each student will spend 10 weeks at the IRES site during their summer abroad and will complete their own investigation in support of the project’s overarching theme—”investigating interactions between surface waters and groundwaters to improve the safety of drinking water supplies.”