Prevention & Community Health Students Receive School and Departmental Research Awards
The excellence of student research in the Department of Prevention and Community Health (PCH) was recently recognized at both the Milken Institute School of Public Health’s Research Day and the department’s annual awards ceremony at the George Washington University. Master’s students from all four programs—Community-Oriented Primary Care, Health Promotion, Maternal and Child Health, and Public Health Communication and Marketing—as well as doctoral students in the PhD and DrPH programs, were honored for projects that spanned diverse populations, methods, topics, and geographic areas.
Populations studied included infants and toddlers, marginalized youth, college students, community health workers, the maternal and child health workforce (including midwives), migrants, transgender men, and survivors of female genital mutilation. Students evaluated programs and policies, conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses, developed models, produced scoping reviews and case studies, conducted critical discourse analyses, and created training tools and awareness campaigns.
Research topics included:
- Early intervention programs for children with disabilities and/or developmental delays
- Youth leadership development for organizers and advocates
- Sexual education videos
- Gender-based violence on college campuses
- Physician assistant education and training
- Cannabis Social Equity Initiatives
- Community-based climate adaptation programs
- Cancer prevention, awareness, and screening (including breast and cervical cancer programs)
- The impact of funding on immunization programs
- Migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border
- Narratives surrounding immigrants and immigration in public health and federal policy
The geographic scope of student research ranged from the D.C. region to national studies across the United States, as well as international projects in low- and middle-income countries.
The following PCH students received research awards (listed alphabetically): Ranhani Anirudhan, Jucel Ann Arizabal, Palash Bhanot, Nisaa Chaudhry, Katherine Cox, Alyssa Hargis, Toniah Harrison, Amal Hassan, David Hernandez, Sydney Iannantuono, Emily Jackson, John McClure, Darby Mihelich, Anneli Merivaara, Yusser Ouederni, Courtney Riggle van-Schagen, Kristen Rodrigues, Hannah Safron, Simone Sawyer, Lilli Silverston, Morgan Speer, and Noah White.