Colorado School of Public Health News and Stories

U.S. Representatives Brittany Pettersen and Jason Crow are leading a group of Colorado Representatives urging the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to continue funding the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center (RMPRC), which resides within the Colorado School of Public Health. It has conducted instrumental public health research in the region for nearly 20 years, but the CDC recently decided not to fund the RMPRC for the next five-year funding cycle.

Ark Valley Voice | March 28, 2024

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to end its funding for a Colorado center that helps local public health organizations get their programs off the ground and prove they work. Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the director of the CDC this week asking that the agency reconsider cutting funding to the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center.

The Denver Post | February 23, 2024

The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) has published a supplemental issue of Cancer Causes and Control to mark the Network’s 20th anniversary. As one of the Network Centers since 2019, the Colorado-based CPCRN site in the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center (RMPRC) at the Colorado School of Public Health played an integral part of in the writing and release of this supplement.

Colorado School of Public Health | December 12, 2023

Sonya Palafox was a freshman at North High School in Denver 25 years ago when she got a message kids don’t want to hear: come to the principal’s office. She had no way of knowing it at the time, but the call would represent a turning point in her life.

Tyler Smith | November 30, 2023

Across Colorado, a diverse community of some 60,000 often unseen and overlooked people dots the state. They are refugees who have fled drought, poverty, persecution, violence and other threats from countries around the globe. But their challenges do not cease once they arrive in Colorado. Their plight frequently contributes to chronic medical problems.

Tyler Smith | October 05, 2023

In preparing this newsletter, I was struck by the broad array of initiatives led by our faculty to address community mental health needs. I was also reminded of the complex challenges our state faces.

Colorado School of Public Health | June 27, 2023

Get more exercise. Eat right. Make new friends.

Lisa Marshall | January 10, 2023

Charlotte Farewell, PhD, MPH, and Jini Puma, PhD, are one of six research teams awarded a 5-year grant from the Administration for Children and Families for the "Wellbeing of the ECE workforce working in Low-resources Locations (WELL)" study. The goal of the study is to investigate factors associated with worker wellbeing in Head Start settings and then implement and assess the multi-level, multi-strategy intervention (WELL) via partnerships with five large urban and rural Head Start agencies in Colorado. Collectively, the six research teams will create the Head Start-University Research Collaborative to establish evidence related to worker wellbeing in the early childhood education workforce. 

Colorado School of Public Health | September 30, 2021

More than a year after the coronavirus pandemic began, the United States at last appears to be gaining the upper hand in fighting the spread of COVID-19. That’s thanks largely in part to effective vaccines delivered to hundreds of millions of people. As of late May, half the U.S. population had received at least one vaccination dose; about 40% were fully vaccinated.  

Tyler Smith | June 18, 2021

Emily Bergling, Community and Behavioral Health DrPH Candidate and RMPRC Professional Research Assistant, passed her dissertation defense with no conditions on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. Congratulations to Dr. Emily Bergling!

Colorado School of Public Health | February 24, 2021

The Integrated Nutrition Education Program (INEP) and Culture of Wellness in Preschools (COWP) team won the best physical activity programming video at the 2021 Association for SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA) Virtual Conference. 

Check out the video on YouTube.

Learn more about the Association for SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA) virtual conference on the summary page. 

Colorado School of Public Health | February 03, 2021

The early childhood education workforce has a significant impact on the development of language, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional skills in young children. The ability of these workers to foster this development in the children under their care is influenced by their own physical and mental health. The well-being of this workforce is often overlooked when considering the quality of the care that children receive. Early childhood education is an occupation with many stressors, including low wages, long hours, high job demands, increased risk of exposure to infectious diseases and environmental hazards such as cleaning supplies. These work conditions contribute to the disproportionately high mental and physical conditions experienced by the early education workforce, where high turnover rates are also seen. Those who work at Head Start programs, which provide free care to low-income families, have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to these demands.

Colorado School of Public Health | January 05, 2021

The Colorado School of Public Health is one of four new Collaborating Centers to join the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) in Cycle 5 of the Network, spanning from 2019-2024. Led by Betsy Risendal, PhD, and Project Director, Emily Bilenduke, BA, the Colorado School of Public Health is presently comprised of nine investigators participating in seven CPCRN projects, in addition to center-specific involvement in local core projects dedicated to understanding and advancing risk-based cancer prevention and control strategies. 

Dr. Risendal, Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health, is the lead investigator on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Research Center (PRC) Special Interest Project (SIP), titled, "Cancer RESULTS (Resources, Engagement, and Support for the Use of Lifetime Tailored cancer prevention Services)." Dr. Risendal's SIP is one of the seven CPCRN projects. 

Read the full interview on CPCRN. 

Colorado School of Public Health | September 28, 2020

Were you unable to make the RMPRC Open House on Wednesday, September 23, 2020? Relive some of it with us by visiting the video links below highlighting our projects in the Center.

Linking Systems to Address ACEs in Childhood Early on (STANCE)
CDC Special Interest Project: Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (SIP 19-005)
CDC Special Interest Project: Validation of Self-Reported Vaccination among Adults (SIP 20-008)
San Luis Valley Community Advisory Board (SLV CAB)
My Baby, My Move+ Prenatal Wellness Program (MBMM+)
Culture of Wellness in Preschools (COWP)
Integrated Nutrition Education Program (INEP)
Text2LiveHealthy
Mindful Moms to Be
Fostering Resilience in Early Education Program (FREE)
Fostering Resilience Among Mothers Early (FRAME)
Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention

Colorado School of Public Health | September 23, 2020

As the Colorado School of Public Health-led modeling team considers potential trajectories of the COVID-19 pandemic, they base their forecasts on the levels of success of a few different containment strategies. Many cities and counties in Colorado have now implemented mask orders, businesses are required to maintain certain levels of social distancing as they reopen, and older adults are continuing to stay home. The state moved into the Safer-At-Home and Protect-Our-Neighbors phases while strengthening the fourth piece: aggressive case detection and containment through contact tracing.

Tori Forsheim | July 17, 2020

Wearing a mask or face covering in the US has become about more than just slowing the spread of COVID-19 — some experts say it's a political statement, signalling another layer in the deep divisions within America.

ABC News | June 30, 2020

Dr. Charlotte Farewell, Senior Research Instructor in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health, received the Lorna Grindlay Moore, PhD Faculty Launch Award. The title of her abstract is, "Fostering Resilience Among Mothers Early (FRAME): Protective Impacts on Obesity in Early and Middle Childhood."

Learn more about the Lorna Grindlay Moore, PhD Faculty Launch Fund on the OB-GYN funding opportunities page. 

Colorado School of Public Health | April 21, 2020

Minutes after Katie Lohmiller and Halley Gruber arrived at Cole Arts and Science Academy near downtown Denver, an alarm began to blare and a voice announced that the school was in a lockdown. “Don’t worry,” Gruber reassured us as she scuttled around, turning off lights and lowering blinds. “This is just a drill.” It isn’t always a drill, though. In 2018, a 14-year-old was arrested for shooting a student outside of the school.   

Tori Forsheim | February 19, 2020

Texting programs aimed at parents of young children have proliferated over the last several years as smart phones have become ubiquitous and health and education groups look for new ways to get kids on track early.   

Jini Puma, associate director of the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center, said the six-week parenting class represents the “Cadillac” version of the program, but that it was a big ask for parents with multiple jobs or other conflicts. 

Texting, she said, is “super effective to use in this way, where it’s part of a multilevel intervention.”   

Read the full story on Chalkbeat Colorado.

Colorado School of Public Health | December 20, 2019

It takes four hours and 20 minutes for Jenn Leiferman, PhD, and Jini Puma, PhD, to drive to the San Luis Valley from central Denver. When faculty and staff from the Colorado School of Public Health get to this rural community in Southern Colorado, they’re often greeted by their first name and a hug. They know the school well here. 

Kathleen Bohland | June 03, 2019

The Integrated Nutrition Education Program (INEP) is a creative and fun way for kids to learn about healthy eating in their classroom and to share what they learn with their families. Each lesson includes a hands-on cooking activity that teaches students how to prepare and taste new fruits and vegetables. INEP is funded by SNAP-Ed and conducted through partnerships with the University of Colorado and various school districts and schools from around the state. INEP’s goal is to instill life-long nutrition behaviors to prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. To accomplish this goal, INEP targets increased fruit and vegetable consumption, overall healthy eating, children’s willingness to try new foods and increased physical activity.

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Colorado School of Public Health | March 15, 2019

Building on our long history of partnerships in the rural San Luis Valley, state partnerships and the need for expansion to other states in HHS Region 8, the Center's public health practice-based core research project is designed to reduce the intergenerational transmission of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the San Luis Valley (SLV) of Colorado. ACEs are modifiable risk factors that have a profound and lasting effect on a person’s health. To accomplish this, a community-engaged, stakeholder-driven, multi-level intervention, called STANCE (Linking Systems To address ACEs iN Childhood Early on) has been funded by the CDC.

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Colorado School of Public Health | March 15, 2019

Because we value participatory research, we engage in a collaborative process involving community, state, and national partners to inform decisions on the overall direction and scope of the Center, as well as on the project level. Representing the community of the San Luis Valley, the Community Advisory Board (CAB) partners in leadership with the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center by identifying community needs and concerns; providing input on research design and implementation; providing input on communication and dissemination activities; recommending project specific team members; and acting as a liaison with our partner community.

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Colorado School of Public Health | March 15, 2019

The Culture of Wellness in Preschools (COWP) is a comprehensive and collaborative early childhood obesity program, which aims to promote a “culture of wellness” in preschool settings by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity levels. This is accomplished by bringing the following to preschool sites throughout Colorado: 

Colorado School of Public Health | March 15, 2019

Prenatal depression is associated with numerous, deleterious maternal and child health outcomes. Pregnant women have expressed a need for help in identifying and treating their depressive symptoms.  Healthcare providers play a significant role in managing (i.e. identifying and treating/referring to care) prenatal depression as they are often the sole exposure to mental health resources for women. However, many providers may not be meeting these recommendations. Identifying women who are exhibiting depressive symptomatology and providing guidance based on evidence-based practices and/or utilizing linkages to mental health specialists are all integral to providing optimal patient-centered care. This study will conduct a pilot, randomized-controlled trial to test the preliminary effects of an online training with a diverse group of providers on the management of prenatal depression.   

The present study intends to test an evidence-based, online training for a diverse group of providers on how to manage prenatal depression. Providers will be recruited from two states, Colorado and Virginia.   

Our online training provides an overview of the harmful effects of prenatal depression on numerous maternal and child outcomes, as well as provides a framework that uses the 5As model (i.e. Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist and Arrange) to teach providers how to 1) assess for depression, 2) advise the patient on treatment options, 3) agree on a treatment plan, 4) assist patient in any problem solving related to obtaining treatment, and 5) arrange for supports for the patient (e.g. link patients to mental health resources in the community).

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Colorado School of Public Health | March 15, 2019