Prevention Research Centers and COVID-19: Models of a Community-Engaged Response to a Public Health Emergency
Authors
Busse, Kyle R.Lemon, Stephenie C
Comerford, Beth P.
Islam, Nadia S.
Ulin, Brigette F.
Eriksen, Michael P.
Ammerman, Alice S.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health SciencesPrevention Research Center
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2022-01-21Keywords
COVID-19Prevention Research Centers
disease prevention
emergency response
health promotion
Community-Based Learning
Community-Based Research
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Health Policy
Infectious Disease
Preventive Medicine
Public Health Education and Promotion
Virus Diseases
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
For more than 30 years, the network of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) has worked with local communities and partners to implement and evaluate public health interventions and policies for the prevention of disease and promotion of health. The COVID-19 pandemic tested the PRC network's ability to rapidly respond to multiple, simultaneous public health crises. On April 28, 2020, to assess the network's engagement with activities undertaken in response to the early phase of the pandemic, PRC network leadership distributed an online survey to the directors of 34 currently or formerly funded PRCs, asking them to report their PRCs' engagement with predetermined activities across 9 topical areas and provide case studies exemplifying that engagement. We received responses from 24 PRCs, all of which reported engagement with at least 1 of the 9 topical areas (mean, 5). The topical areas with which the greatest number of PRCs reported engagement were support of frontline agencies (21 of 24, 88%) and support of activities related to health care (21 of 24, 88%). The mean number of activities with which PRCs reported engagement was 11. The PRCs provided more than 90 case studies exemplifying their work. The results of the survey indicated that the PRCs mobilized their personnel and resources to support the COVID-19 response in less than 6 weeks. We posit that the speed of this response was due, in part, to the broad and diverse expertise of PRC personnel and long-standing partnerships between PRCs and the communities in which they work.Source
Busse KR, Lemon SC, Comerford BP, Islam NS, Ulin BF, Eriksen MP, Ammerman AS. Prevention Research Centers and COVID-19: Models of a Community-Engaged Response to a Public Health Emergency. Public Health Rep. 2022 Jan 21:333549211059491. doi: 10.1177/00333549211059491. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35060805. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1177/00333549211059491Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/27545PubMed ID
35060805Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1177/00333549211059491
Scopus Count
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