Research

The EPRC has a strong history of evaluating community coalitions to address chronic diseases and their risk factors. While these coalitions have successfully worked to reduce unhealthy behaviors such as tobacco use within North America they have generally not been applied in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Local public health in many LMIC’s focuses heavily on communicable disease and environmental health, with less attention paid to non-communicable disease and risk factors such as tobacco use. This is particularly important for countries with high rates of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure such as Georgia and Armenia.

The Georgia and Armenia Teams for Healthy Environments and Research (GATHER) study represents an effort to:

1. Build capacity for these countries to conduct high-quality mixed methods tobacco research
2. Test the Community Coalition Action Theory as a framework for impacting local community-driven policy change

Partners from the Georgia National Center for Disease Control and Armenia National Institute of Health have collaborated with the EPRC and George Washington University to train practitioners within local communities to build coalitions for tobacco control policy. To date, 14 community-based multi-sectoral coalitions have conducted situational analyses, and developed and implemented action plans to promote smoke-free environments. Data collection for this community randomized trial includes population-based surveys, coalition member surveys, document review and key informant interviews. Data analysis is underway and results will be available soon. Findings will serve as a catalyst for future action-oriented science and evidence-based practice to support tobacco control progress in this region and broadly.

The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) is a national network of academic and community partners that utilizes principles of community-based participatory research to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based cancer prevention and control strategies in communities. The largest thematic and oldest thematic research network of the Prevention Research Centers, CPCRN conducts research and implements projects within and across sites that are based at nine academic institutions across the country, including Emory University. 

From 2024 to 2029, Emory CPCRN will be collaborating with local providers to implement a lung cancer screening (LCS) project in rural, Southwest Georgia. Despite new, effective LCS techniques becoming more widely available in recent years, rates of LCS screening in Southwest Georgia remain disproportionately low. Research on this topic is critical in understanding how various LCS interventions and implementation strategies can effectively increase community uptake of LCS and promote equity. Through our research and collaboration with providers, we plan to develop, implement, and evaluate an LCS intervention at six participating primary healthcare centers in rural, Southwest Georgia. 

From formative research to project evaluation, our study aims are as follows:  

1. Conduct a scoping review of lung cancer screening tools to measure eligibility for lung cancer screening.
2. Conduct a systematic review of interventions to promote lung cancer screening in the United States to inform intervention development.
3. Survey up to 100 primary care clinicians and lung cancer experts to assess optimal, pragmatic lung cancer screening tools for LCS eligibility and optimal intervention strategies for lung cancer screening.
4. Design and evaluate an intervention of tailored implementation strategies to promote lung cancer risk assessment, referral, and screening through a stepped wedge, cluster RCT design in primary care clinics in rural, SW Georgia.
5. Conduct implementation research on program reach, adoption, implementation, feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability through surveys and interviews with primary care staff, using the RE-AIM model for sustainability and equity and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 2.0).

After project completion, this intervention can be scaled up in Georgia and nationally to reduce lung cancer disparities and burden.

The principal investigator for Emory CPCRN is Dr. Cam Escoffery, PhD, MPH and the Project Director is Madeline Lynam, MPH. CLICK HERE to learn more about CPCRN and its work across the United States.

SIP24-008 Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW Coordinating Center)

Co-Principal Investigators: Cam Escoffery, PI (Emory University), Elaine Kiriakopoulos and Barbara Jobst, MPI (Dartmouth-Hitchcock)

The Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) network is a thematic research network dedicated to improving quality of life and wellbeing for individuals living with epilepsy. Our current funding cycle is comprised of several collaborating centers: Emory Prevention Research Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (coordinating center), Arizona Prevention Research Center, and NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center. The MEW Network will continue to collaborate with previous MEW Network sites including University of Washington and Case Western Reserve University. The MEW Network works close with and collaborates with the Epilepsy Foundation, American Epilepsy Society, and other community epilepsy organizations.

The mission of the MEW Network is to advance the science related to epilepsy self-management by facilitating and implementing research, conducting research in collaboration with network members and community stakeholders, and broadly disseminating research findings. Emory University and Dartmouth-Hitchcock are actively working on evaluating the cost-effectiveness and evaluation of implementing two evidence-based self-management programs: 

• HOBSCOTCH: A one-on-one coaching program that helps individuals with epilepsy improve their cognitive function and quality of life.
• Project UPLIFT: A group-based program that empowers individuals with epilepsy to manage their mental health through mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral techniques.

For more information, visit the Managing Epilepsy Well Network website.

The BreatheEasy Georgia Homes Program aims to reduce secondhand smoke exposure in multiunit housing in Georgia by supporting and recognizing apartment communities that implement smoke-free policies. The program provides resources and technical assistance to apartment communities interested in adopting a smoke-free policy at their property(ies), and provides free BreatheEasy Smoke-free Recognition to those that adopt a policy. The Emory Prevention Research Center coordinates the BreatheEasy Georgia Homes Program in partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Atlanta Apartment Association, and other public health and housing stakeholders committed to promoting smoke-free homes for Georgia residents. This includes an active Learning Community of partners across the state who disseminate BreatheEasy resources in their local communities. Read more about the program and view all of the available resources for apartment owners, managers, and residents, including a listing of recognized smoke-free properties, on the BreatheEasy GA Homes website: http://breatheeasygahomes.org/