Christina Heminger

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Bio

Christina Heminger, DrPH, MS is a Teaching Associate Professor at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in the Department of Prevention and Community Health. She has research experience in utilizing behavioral theory for health promotion and disease prevention efforts, particularly within the frameworks of program evaluation, policy analysis, and health communication. She is skilled in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and has worked in a variety of public health subject areas, specifically chronic disease prevention and control research, including: cancer; heart disease and stroke; diabetes; nutrition, physical activity, and obesity; and tobacco.

She exclusively teaches in GW’s MPH@GW online program, and currently serves as Course Director for PubH 6007: Social & Behavioral Approaches to Public Health, PubH 6500: Planning & Implementing Health Promotion Programs, and PubH 6060/6061: Culminating Experience, Parts 1 & 2. In addition, she has taught Introduction to Public Health Communication & Marketing, Program Evaluation, Maternal and Child Health, and Policy Approaches to Public Health courses during her time at GW. In 2017, she was the recipient of the Milken Institute School of Public Health’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and she was inducted into the GWSPH Master Teacher Academy in 2019.

Prior to joining GWU's faculty in 2014, served as a public health analyst for RTI International within their Center for Communication Science group from 2006-2014. Key projects included evaluations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) national obesity and heart disease/stroke prevention programs; evaluation of various tobacco prevention and control efforts including the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) development of graphic warning labels and messages; analysis and evaluation of state obesity prevention legislation; formative research to create a culturally appropriate social marketing campaign targeting childhood obesity in South Africa; the development of logic models and program frameworks for CDC’s national diabetes program; focus group moderation and analysis involving heavy smokers susceptible to lung cancer; survey development and design in assessing youth tobacco use and prevention strategies; and literature review and policy analysis to examine domestic and international tobacco trends and laws. Her doctoral dissertation and most current research involved testing an integrated theoretical model using structural equation modeling to examine risk perception and subsequent information seeking trends for breast cancer prevention and risk reduction options amongst women with a family history of breast cancer.

Expertise

Expertise:

Behavioral Health

Chronic Disease

Program Evaluation

Prevention

Social Determinants of Health

Health Communication

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Comprehensive Science, Villanova University, 2005
Master of Science in Clinical Evaluative Science - Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Dartmouth College, 2006
Doctor of Public Health in Health Behavior, The George Washington University, 2014
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Prevention & Community Health, The George Washington University, 2016

Teaching:

PubH 6007: Social and Behavioral Approaches to Public Health
PubH 6500: Planning and Implementing Health Promotion Programs
PubH 6060/6061: Culminating Experience, Parts 1 (6060) and 2 (6061)

Publications

Publications:

Abroms, L. C., Heminger, C. L., Boal, A.L., VanAlstyne, J. M., Krishnan, N. (2019). Text2Quit: An analysis of user experiences with a mobile smoking cessation program. Journal of Smoking Cessation, 1-6

Gressard, L., DeGroff, A., Richards, T. B., Melillo, S., Kish Doto, J., Heminger, C. L., Rohan, E., Allen, K. G. (2017). A Qualitative Analysis of Smokers' Perceptions about Lung Cancer Screening: Implications for Implementation in Community Practice. BMC Public Health, 17, 589.

*Schindler-Ruwisch, J. M., Abroms, L. C., Bernstein, S. L., Heminger, C. L. (2016). A content analysis of electronic health record (EHR) functionality to support tobacco treatment. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 7(2), 148-156.

Fitzgerald, T. M., Williams, P. A., Dodge, J. A., Quinn, M., Heminger, C. L., Moultrie, R., Taylor, O., Nelson, B. W., Lewis, M. A. (2016). Program Implementation Approaches to Build and Sustain Health Care Coordination for Type 2 Diabetes. Health Promotion Practice, 18(2), 306-313.

Heminger, C. L., Boal, A., Zumer, M., Abroms, L. C. (2016). Text2Quit: An analysis of participant engagement in the mobile smoking cessation program. The American Journal of Drug Abuse & Addiction, 42(3), 1-9.

Heminger, C. L., *Schindler-Ruwisch, J. M., Abroms, L. C. (2016). Smoking cessation support for pregnant women: a review of mHealth applications. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, 7, 15-26.

Abroms, L. C., Johnson, P. A., Heminger, C. L., Leavitt, L. E., Van Alstyne, J. M., Schindler-Ruwisch, J. M., Bushar, J. A. (2015). Quit4Baby: Results from a pilot test of a mobile smoking cessation program for pregnant women. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 3(1), e10.

*Weaver, M. S., Heminger, C. L., Lam, C. G. (2014). Integrating Stages of Change Models to Cast New Vision on Interventions to Improve Global Retinoblastoma and Childhood Cancer Outcomes. BMC Public Health, 14.

Lewis, M. A., Williams, P. A., Fitzgerald, T. M., Heminger, C. L., Hobbs, C. L., Moultrie, R. R., Taylor, O. M., Hold, S., Karns, S. A., Burton, J. A., Kamerow, D. B. (2014). Improving the Implementation of Diabetes Self-Management: Findings from the Alliance to Reduce Disparities in Diabetes. Health Promotion Practice, 15(2 Suppl).

Henderson, S., Degroff, A., Richards, T. B., Kish Doto, J., Soloe, C., Heminger, C., & Rohan, E. (2011). A qualitative analysis of lung cancer screening practices by primary care physicians. Journal of Community Health, 36(6).

Hersey, J. C., Lynch, C. M., Williams-Piehota, P. A., Rooks, A. E., Hamre, R., Franco, E., Roussel, A. E., O’Toole, T., Grasso, T., & Hannan, C. (2010). The association between funding for statewide programs and enactment of obesity legislation. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 42(1).

Evans, W. D., Blitstein, J., Lynch, C. M., de Villiers, A., Draper, C., Steyn, N., Lambert, V. (2009). Childhood obesity prevention in South Africa: Media, social influences, and social marketing opportunities. Social Marketing Quarterly 15(1).

Lang, J. E., Hersey, J. C., Isenberg, K. L., Lynch, C. M., Majestic, E. (2009). Building company health promotion capacity: A unique collaboration between Cargill and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Chronic Disease 6(2).

*Publications with asterisks represent research conducted and products produced through a mentoring relationship with GW students/advisees.

Web 2019 Update - CSS

Christina

Heminger

Teaching AssociateProfessor

Christina Heminger

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