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The IMPACT (IMproving Prevention through ACTion) Research lab is led by Drs. Laura Hill, Brittany Cooper, Louise Parker, Elizabeth Weybright, and Jen Duckworth, and includes undergraduate and graduate students interested in the prevention of social, emotional and behavioral health problems for youth, families and communities. Our research is aimed at closing the gap between the science and real-world practice of prevention, and therefore strong collaborations with prevention practitioners and policymakers are central to our approach. Specifically, our goal is to better understand what it takes to get effective, culturally relevant prevention programs and policies widely disseminated, implemented with high quality, and sustained across time in diverse community settings. To this aim, we engage in action-oriented, mixed-methods research on quality implementation, and sustainability, and conduct evaluations (including non-experimental evaluation in real-world settings) of evidence-based prevention interventions.
News & Noteworthy
2022 Gitanjali Shrestha is awarded the Early Career Prevention Professional Award
Gitanjali Shrestha received the Early Career Prevention Professional Award at the 2022 Washington State Prevention Summit’s Awards of Excellence ceremony. Congratulations Gitanjali!
2022 IMPACT Lab's Suicide Prevention Work Featured in WSU Insider
Dr. Elizabeth Weybright's work on farm stress and rural/agricultural suicide prevention was featured in a WSU Insider article. The article specifically highlights Dr. Weybright's comments on the necessity of suicide prevention focused in rural and agricultural communities. You can read the article by clicking on this post.
2022 Kathryn Bruzios chairs a Symposium
Kathryn Bruzios chaired a symposium, Building a Bridge Between the Practice and Science of Implementation Support: Three Examples from Prevention Science. the symposium highlighted the Prevention Support System (Wandersman et al., 2008) which helps build general and intervention specific capacity in organizations that are delivering evidence based-programs. These studies helped improve understanding of the supports needed to scale evidence-based programs in real-world settings.
2022 IMPACT Lab attends SIRC
IMPACT Lab members Dr. Brittany Cooper, Dr. Elizabeth Weybright, Jordan Newburg and Kathryn Bruzios attended the 2022 Society for Implementation Research Collaboration Conference.
2022 Cassandra joins the IMPACT Lab
Cassandra Watters joined the IMPACT Lab in July 2022 as a new research coordinator. After graduation from the University of Arizona in 2020, she worked as a Lab Coordinator in the Child Cognition Lab at UArizona. Cassandra then completed a fellowship at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan, investigating mental healthcare provider training in Japan. As a research coordinator she is interested in translational science, and adolescent developmental psychopathology.
2022 Brittany is awarded the SPR Friend of ECPN Award
Brittany was selected by the Society for Prevention Research Early Career Preventionist Network (ECPN) Steering Committee to receive the 2022 Friend of ECPN Award. This award is given in recognition of Brittany's support of early career activities, by helping ECPN as an organization; promoting training, and early career involvement in prevention efforts; and encouraging early career Preventionists in their work. Brittany will be presented the award at the Annual Awards Presentation at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research.
2022 Brittany is named President-Elect for the Society for Prevention Research
Brittany was named President-Elect for the Society of Prevention Research. Brittany will serve a one year term (2022-2023) as president-elect, a two-year term as president (2023-2024) and one final term as past-president (2024-2025). We're proud of you, Brittany!
2022 Jen Duckworth featured in the CAHNRS News
The WSU College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) recently featured the work of IMPACT faculty Jen Duckworth. Funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Jen along with colleagues at the University of Washington conducted online confidential surveys with students at four- and tow-year college students to assess alcohol and marijuana use. The study found four-year college students drink more, use marijuana less than community college peers. To read the whole story in CAHNRS news, click here.
2022 IMPACT joins the University of Washington on FORE Grant
The University of Washington was one of nine awardees for the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts Grant. IMPACT lab members are contracting with UW to provide training and technical assistance through the center for the Strengthening Families Program Ages 10-14. IMPACT will also be providing expertise in dissemination and implementation science for the projects final evaluation design. Click here to read the FORE Foundation press release.
2022 Kate Presents at WSU Showcase
Kate presented on work from CROPTR exploring training needs of Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Providers in rural Washington. Results indicated that stigma prevented people from seeking opioid treatment and recovery resources in rural communities. Additionally, results showed that a majority of rural providers were interested in training topics on for opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery. Showcase is a weeklong celebration and recognition of WSU Faculty, Staff, and Students for the scholarly work that they have been completing.
2022 Jordan Presents Two Posters at WSU Showcase
Jordan presented two posters at WSU Showcase. The first presented findings from the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative Evaluation project. The second presented Jordans findings from her masters thesis work exploring graduate student attitudes towards evidence-based programs. Showcase is a weeklong celebration and recognition of WSU Faculty, Staff, and Students for the scholarly work that they have been completing. Click here to see the poster from the CPWI evaluation.
2022 CROP+TR team is awarded Organizational Impact Award for Excellence in Research and Programming for Youth
The Society for Research on Adolescence Organizational Impact Award recognizes efforts that serve young people in diverse backgrounds through significant scientific, political, or programmatic contributions. The CROP+TR team was recognized for their work with Youth Participatory Action research projects aiming to help Washington State communities understand and address the opioid crisis. Click to read more!
2022 Elizabeth Weybright is awarded the Faculty Excellence in Extension Award
IMPACT's Dr. Weybright was awarded the 2022 College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) Faculty Excellence in Extension Award. From the CAHNRS website, the Faculty Excellence in Extension Award was established to recognize faculty with Extension appointments in CAHNRS for program innovation, scope, the impact of their programs, and leadership. These areas could include the development of new or innovative programs, expanded linkages with non-college organizations, or innovative program delivery. Congratulations, Elizabeth!