Behavioral, Social, & Health Education Sciences Research & Practice

Understanding the behaviors that help or harm health can inform the development of effective interventions. Risk behaviors with significant public health impact include tobacco and substance use, sexual risk-taking, poor diet, and physical inactivity. Identifying how patterns of these behaviors change over the life course can inform the optimal timing for effective interventions. 

Examples of research being done by BSHES faculty: 

• Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other substance use across the lifespan
• Uptake of novel nicotine delivery systems among young adults
• Pregnancy prevention and sexual well-being during adolescence and emerging adulthood
• Patterns of sexually transmitted infections and substance abuse among men who have sex with men and vulnerable populations such as refugees
• Risk and protective factors for sexually transmitted infections and HIV acquisition among high-risk populations in the U.S. and abroad
   

Chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease affect individuals’ health and well-being over the course of their entire lives. Understanding interventions to both prevent these conditions and manage them is essential to maintaining long-term community health.

Examples of research being done by BSHES faculty:

• A large intervention study to test whether health coaches can help families create home environments that support healthy eating and physical activity
• Curriculum that focuses on establishing smoke-free homes to protect children and non-smokers from secondhand smoke exposure
• Testing the Community Coalition Action Theory as a framework for impacting local community-driven policy change globally
• Assessing factors related to HPV vaccination to inform intervention development through a qualitative study in southwest Georgia

Interventions to influence health behaviors can be directed at individuals, households, or organizations. It is important to identify the interventions that are most beneficial to different groups and best promote healthful behaviors.

Typically, these interventions rely in part on effective health communication strategies that consider health literacy, cultural contexts, and target audiences.

Examples of research being done by BSHES faculty:

• Culturally sensitive interventions to improve access to transplantation among African Americans
• Reducing smoking among survivors of childhood cancers
• Mindfulness interventions to prevent and manage depression and anxiety
• Socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental determinants of health in conjunction with how psychosocial and spiritual factors contribute to a woman’s health and wellness
• Contribution of lay patient navigation on cancer screening, treatment adherence, and quality of life post-treatment

Once an evidence base is available to support the effectiveness of an intervention, efforts are needed to disseminate the intervention to target audiences who can benefit. Often this involves additional steps to:  

• Build workforce capacity that is needed to implement the intervention
• Adapt the intervention to specific social or organizational contexts
• Assess options for sustaining the intervention for the long run

Examples of research being done by BSHES faculty:

• Development of a nationwide workforce of lifestyle coaches to address diabetes
• Chronic disease mobile text messaging as a prevention and maintenance strategy
• Impact of online peer learning networks on public health collaboration and evidence-based practice
• Engagement of rural communities in strategic planning and partnerships

Societal factors have a large influence on the health behaviors of individuals and populations. Many of the factors have been well-described—negative influences such as segregation and poverty, and protective influences such as community cohesiveness that can buffer these effects. Understanding how to measure these competing forces and evaluate their influence on health behaviors and outcomes is key to inform social policy and organizational-level interventions.  

Examples of research being done by BSHES faculty:

• Factors influencing African Americans’ willingness to participate in organ donation
• Access to cancer screening and treatment services among the uninsured or underinsured
• Social factors influencing early unplanned pregnancy
• The role of urban redevelopment and housing policies on HIV and substance use
• Impact of community group outreach on safe sex as a norm among gay and bisexual men.