Community and population health promote the public’s health through the use of upstream practice and prevention strategies. Community health endeavors to “engage and work with communities, in a culturally appropriate manner.” Population health aims to understand the distribution, determinants and changes in health status of populations by tracking and measuring indicators for health outcomes and exposures between and across populations.
Both community and population health approaches are important to ultimately prevent the onset of future negative health outcomes, target and tailor interventions and programs for communities, and elevate the health of populations disproportionately affected by certain health conditions.
School of Nursing faculty members are working to identify the social, economic, biological and environmental issues that impact the health of vulnerable populations, with an emphasis on diverse and high-risk communities. The school partners with public and private organizations and academic institutions to devise sustainable solutions that increase communities’ chances for having more positive health outcomes.
Major Projects
Major projects within this research theme that are being led by School of Nursing faculty include:
- Reducing Pesticide Exposures to Preschool-Age Children in California Child Care Centers (principal investigator: Abbey Alkon)
- Integrating Tobacco Use Cessation into Family AIDS Care and Education Services (principal investigator: Stella Bialous)
- Linking Minority Youth to Substance Use and HIV Prevention and Care (principal investigator: Carol Dawson-Rose)
- Impact of COVID-19 on Disinfectant Exposure and Associated With Health Effects (principal investigator: Soo-Jeong Lee)
- AmbassADDOrs for Health: Supporting Youth Women's Health Through Girl-Friendly Drug Vendors (principal investigator: Jenny Liu)
- Tobacco Retail Policy Innovation to Reduce Health Disparities (principal investigator: Ruth Malone)