News
December 2011
Cochlear Implant Toolkit videos are award-winning
KDHRC is pleased to announce that the videos we created for the Cochlear Implant Toolkit recently received three industry awards recognizing their high quality and impact.
“Welcoming Children with Cochlear Implants” is for teachers and discusses optimal approaches for mainstreaming a child with a cochlear implant. It won two awards:
- The Pixie Award, a gold level award, for use of graphic elements in a program.
- A Digital Video (DV) Award, celebrating technical and creative achievement in digital video production.
“Making Sense of Our Senses” is a video for young children (K-2) on the five sense and how cochlear implants help some children hear. It won a DV Award in the Format-Corporate Communications category.
Inertia Films produced the Cochlear Implant Toolkit videos through a subcontract with KDHRC.
KDHRC received funding from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) to develop the Cochlear Implant Toolkit.
November 2011
KDHRC publishes evaluation results of a public health tool to help teachers effectively accommodate and teach children with cochlear implants in mainstream classrooms
Research brief no. 9 reports on the evaluation of the Teachers' Guide and DVD components of the Cochlear Implant School Toolkit. The evaluation results suggest that exposure to the Teacher's Guide and DVD relates to increases in elementary school teacher's knowledge about cochlear implants, the educational and social needs of the children who have them, and methods to accommodate and teach them effectively. Visit our Publications page to view the brief.
October 2011
Research brief no. 8 presents an intergenerational approach to improve the health literacy skills of Latino families
This research brief provides the preliminary evaluation results of a pilot version of the novel health program, En Familia (ENF). The evaluative findings suggest that ENF has several efficacious and feasible elements in its pilot form. The brief outlines these elements and offers insight into ways the program will evolve from the pilot form to one with full content and wide applicability. Visit our Publications page to view the brief.
KDHRC president presents on teen drug and alcohol prevention at Atlanta conference
Dr. Kristen Holtz presented a workshop on Fresh Approaches to Reaching Teens with Drug and Alcohol Prevention Messages at the 24th annual National Prevention Network Conference, Atlanta, Georgia in September. The workshop offered participants the opportunity to explore the mindset of teens who are directly exposed to drugs and alcohol by learning about research, tools, and techniques used by advertisers and marketers.
August-September 2011
KDHRC publishes research brief on challenges to the effective implementation of promotores programs by community-based nonprofits
In 2007, KDHRC launched its Informing Public Health research brief series to disseminate innovative, objective, and timely information to solve public health and other social issues. Brief no. 7 reports on data that suggest that community-based nonprofits that choose to implement promotores programs face substantial implementation challenges. The brief offers macro-level and organizational strategies that may help nonprofits to launch and systemize these programmatic initiatives. Visit our Publications page to view the brief.
Conference season for KDHRC
KDHRC research staff will present at several national conferences throughout the summer and fall. Below is our 2011 conference schedule. We hope to see you there!
- CDC Fifth Annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media, Atlanta, GA. Title: En Familia: An intergenerational approach to improving knowledge and health literacy skills in Latino families. Poster presentation on August 10, 2011. Authors: Palmer, L., Stringer, K., Holtz, K.
- American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. Title: Understanding characteristics of youth willing to interact with a large-scale drug prevention media campaign. Paper presentation on October 31, 2011. Authors: Holtz, K., Twombly, E., Becker, J.
- American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. Title: En Familia: An intergenerational approach to improving health literacy among and delivering health education to Latino families. Paper presentation on November 1, 2011. Authors: Palmer, L., Stringer, K., Holtz, K.
- American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. Title: The Cochlear Implant School Toolkit: Helping children with cochlear implants achieve academically and socially in mainstream schools. Poster presentation on November 1, 2011. Authors: Palmer, L., Eisenstein, J., Holtz, K.
- Annual American Evaluation Association (AEA) Conference, Anaheim, CA. Title: Research and evaluation as public health program development tools. Paper presentation on November 3, 2011. Authors: Palmer, L., Eisenstein, J., Holtz, K.
- Annual American Evaluation Association (AEA) Conference, Anaheim, CA. Title: Using research and evaluation as tools to design and implement culturally-appropriate interventions. Paper presentation on November 4, 2011. Authors: Palmer, L. Stringer, K., Holtz, K.
July 2011
KDHRC celebrates the official launch of the new Latino Health program area
July 1, 2011 marks the official launch of the Latino Health program area at KDHRC. The new program area seeks to understand and address the unique health risks of Latino families and communities, and explore optimal methods for community-based organizations to deliver health education to Latinos.
June 2011
Abstracts accepted to 2011 APHA conference in Washington, DC
KDHRC is pleased to announce that four abstracts were accepted for presentation at the 139th APHA Annual Meeting, to be held in Washington, DC, on October 29 through November 2, 2011. Abstracts were accepted for research from four KDHRC projects: CI School Toolkit, En Familia, Familias Fuertes, and the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. KDHRC researchers will travel to Washington, DC to present findings at the APHA conference.
May 2011
Manuscript published in Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education
A manuscript entitled "Resonant Messages to Prevent Prescription Drug Misuse by Teens," by KDHRC Principal Research Associate, Eric C. Twombly, and President, Kristen D. Holtz, and former KDHRC employee Christina B. Agnew, was published in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education. The abstract of the paper is found below.
Prescription drug misuse is a major health problem, particularly among teens. A key step in curbing misuse is the development of effective prescription drug prevention messages. This paper explores the elements of prescription drug misuse prevention messages that resonate with teens using data from focus groups with seventh and eighth grade students. In contrast to some previous research, students reported that messages with positive alternatives and refusal skills had little resonance, but scare tactic data also suggest a substantial difference in message resonance between seventh and eighth grade students. Overall, the findings suggest the need to craft and target different types of messages for prescription drug misuse prevention to targeted teen audiences.
Manuscript accepted for publication in Journal of Applied Communication Research
A manuscript entitled "Using Communication Infrastructure Theory to Formulate a Strategy to Locate 'Hard-to-Reach' Research Participants" with authorship by KDHRC employee Kimberly Stringer, and others, was accepted for publication in the May 2011 issue of Journal of Applied Communication Research. The paper reports results from a project funded by the Partnership for Urban Health Research, at Georgia State University. The abstract of the paper is found below.
In health-communication research, participants who are disproportionately affected by health disparities are often ‘‘hard-to-reach,’’ making them difficult to identify for formative research. This study used communication infrastructure theory (CIT) to create a strategy for locating a specific subset of residents*those who use 911 for healthcare within a low-income Atlanta community. Findings suggest the need for strategies that involve employing both the communication channels that are part of the neighborhood storytelling network and the community’s discursive spaces, more specifically the communication hot spots and community comfort zones located within the community’s built environment.
March 2011
KDHRC president invited to participate in expert panel for Surgeon General's office
Kristen Holtz, President of KDHRC, was invited to participate in an expert panel on the prevention of prescription drug abuse among youth, hosted by the Office of the Surgeon General. The meeting will be held to evaluate the state of science as it pertains to the prevention of prescription drug abuse among youth. The goal of the meeting is to review the existing science on the topic and engage in a dialogue to guide the development of a Call to Action on Rx drug abuse issues by the Office of the Surgeon General.
Manuscript accepted for publication in Public Performance & Management Review
A manuscript entitled "Social service agencies and program change: implications for theory and policy," by Jennifer C. Auer, Eric C. Twombly, and Carol J. De Vita was accepted for publication in the March issue of Public Performance & Management Review, a publication that explains factors influencing the performance of public and nonprofit organizations and agencies. The abstract of the paper is provided below.
Although the implementation of social welfare policies in the United States are predicated on the ability of nonprofit managers to innovate, adapt, and respond to changing government and community service priorities, there is little empirical information on the number and types of social service providers that actually alter their programming over time. This exploratory paper begins to fill that information gap by using data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics and descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the proportion, types and conditions under which nonprofits changed their programming between 1999 and 2001. The results show that programmatic shifts among social service agencies are uncommon, although they are more likely for family service providers and nonprofits with greater financial capacity.
February 2011
KDHRC awarded NIDA “Brain Power” subcontract
KDHRC was awarded as subcontract on a major National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) contract to develop materials for NIDA’s “Brain Power” science education curricula. These four curricula – targeting grade ranges K-1st, 2nd-3rd, 4th through 5th, and 6th through 9th, educate youth about the brain and body and how drugs change healthy functioning. Thousands of copies of these curricula have been distributed at no-cost to schools and teachers nationwide since their release in the early-2000s.
Under the subcontract, KDHRC will extend the reach and resonance of the print curricula by developing web-based games that will be available on the NIDA Goes to School website. These games will cover key learning objectives of the curricula in an engaging and interactive manner. We anticipate that the games will be made available in Fall 2011.
December 2010
Manuscript accepted for publication in Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet
A manuscript entitled "Exploring the use of the Internet by caregivers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders to obtain caregiving information," by Eric Twombly, Kristen Holtz, and Alison Daub-Sychra, was accepted for publication in the January-March 2011 issue of Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet. The study was made possible in part by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. The abstract of the paper is found below.
The paper reports on data from a population of caregivers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to examine the extent and motivations for their use of the Internet to obtain information on caregiving. We find considerable interest for Web-based information, but a strong bifurcation among respondents on the preferential type of information. The majority of respondents indicate that Web sites that provide factual information about caregiving are most important. Other respondents see the Internet as a vehicle for social exchanges about ASD. Regardless of their preferred method to consume Web-based information, all respondents reported using Web sites to obtain caregiving information.
November 2010
KDHRC researcher presents at American Public Health Association conference in Denver, CO
Kimberly Stringer, a research associate at KDHRC, presented two items at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Denver, Colorado. The first, entitled "Staying connected: Examining strategic communication plans of organizations in the wake of client displacement," was based in Ms. Stringer's graduate research conducted at the Department of Communication at Georgia State University. The second presentation, entitled "Science education: A promising approach to prevent youth prescription drug abuse," offered findings from KDHRC's Preventing Over-the-Counter and Prescription Drug Abuse (POP-D) project.
October 2010
KDHRC sponsors reception at 8th Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference in Washington, DC
KDHRC was honored to sponsor an author's reception for the 8th Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference, hosted by the Organization for Autism Research (OAR). The conference, held in Washington, DC, featured presentations from 20 leading autism professionals on the theme of evidence-based education and intervention across the lifespan.
Mind Over Matter science education materials to be debuted at USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, DC
The KDHRC Mind Over Matter expansion of science education materials for National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) was completed and debuted at the USA Science & Engineering Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC on October 24 & 25, 2010. NIDA has developed numerous science education tools that it distributes at no cost to the public to improve science education and literacy in the U.S. Mind Over Matter is a crucial part of its outreach arsenal.
In addition to the public debut of Mind Over Matter material, the activities created by KDHRC are available on the NIDA website www.teens.drugabuse.gov.
August 2010
KDHRC researchers present at the fourth annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media (NCHCMM) in Atlanta
Two KDHRC staffers presented new research at the fourth annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media (NCHCMM) Conference, sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Marketing. Kristen Holtz, the president of KDHRC, presented the findings from a recent evaluation of a school-based prescription drug abuse prevention program. Eric C. Twombly, principal research associate, presented a model to improve the health service delivery capacity of community based organizations using lay health workers.
Eric C. Twombly named faculty affiliate at Georgia State University.
Eric C. Twombly, principal research associate, has agreed to serve as a faculty affiliate of the Nonprofit Studies Program at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. Dr. Twombly has extensively studied the behavior of community-based health and human service nonprofits.
July 2010
KDHRC welcomes a new research coordinator.
Phoebe Alleman recently joined KDHRC as a research coordinator. Ms. Alleman received her Master of Public Health with an emphasis on Behavioral Sciences from Emory University.
June 2010
National Institute on Drug Abuse contracts with KDHRC to reduce prescription drug abuse in schools
KDHRC won a contract from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop and evaluate SecuRX, an online training program to help middle and high schools develop diversion prevention programs to reduce prescription drug diversion and abuse. SecuRx will include materials to educate school administrators, teachers, and nurses about the risks of prescription drug abuse and support schools’ development of policies and procedures to reduce the availability of abusable drugs in school settings.
May 2010
Louise Palmer joins KDHRC as a new research associate.
Louise C. Palmer recently joined KDHRC as a research associate. Ms. Palmer received her Master of Arts in Sociology from Georgia State University and worked at the Urban Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
August 11, 2009
KDHRC researchers present at the third National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media (NCHCMM) in Atlanta, GA
Two KDHRC staffers presented new research at the third annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media (NCHCMM) Conference, sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Marketing. Christine Agnew, MPH, research associate at KDHRC, presented results from a qualitative study on resonant prescription drug abuse prevention messages for teens. Alison Daub-Sychra, research assistant at KDHRC, presented a poster that provided results of a needs assessment of caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
July 1, 2009
KDHRC welcomes new research coordinator.
Kristen L. Burgess recently joined KDHRC as the research coordinator. Ms. Burgess is currently pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas.
June 16, 2009
KDHRC welcomes new research associate.
KDHRC is pleased to welcome Kimberly Stringer as a research associate at KDHRC. Ms. Stringer recently received her Master of Arts in Communication with a certificate in public health from Georgia State University.
May 27, 2009
KDHRC researcher presents at the Society for Prevention Research conference.
Kristen Holtz, Ph.D., president of KDHRC, presented new research on the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (NYADMC) at the Society for Prevention Research conference in Washington, D.C. More specifically, Dr. Holtz participated in a panel discussion on the NYADMC's recent prescription drug abuse prevention campaign targeted to parents of 14 -16 year old children. The campaign uses mass media to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse as a growing public health problem.
May 1, 2009
KDHRC hosts meeting of top prescription drug abuse researchers in Washington, D.C.
With funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, KDHRC convened a meeting of top scholars in the field of teen prescription drug use to discuss trends in youth prescription drug misuse, reflect on the unique demographic, personal, and societal underpinnings of the behavior, and develop ideas for future research to stem the growth of this public health problem. The following experts participated in this one day meeting:
- Carol Boyd, Ph.D., University of Michigan
- Peggy Compton, Ph.D., UCLA School of Nursing
- Robert Denniston, M.A. Director of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
- Elvira Elek, Ph.D. Research Triangle Institute
- Angela Golden, D.N.P. Northern Arizona University
- Sean Esteban McCabe, Ph.D. University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center
- Elizabeth 'BJ' McConnell, M.A. DARE America
- Cathrine Sasek, Ph.D. National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Christian Teter, Ph.D. McLean Hospital at Harvard and Northeastern University
Key findings of the meeting will be summarized in a series of research briefs published in KDHRC's Informing Public Health series.
December 16, 2008
KDHRC welcomes four researchers to its staff.
KDHRC is pleased to welcome four new researchers to its staff. They include Christine B. Agnew, who recently completed her Master of Public Health degree at Emory University; Carrie A. DeBoer, who recently received her Master in Public Health and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from Emory University; Stephanie N. MacLaverty, who recently completed her Master of Science degree in Experimental Psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology; and Alison R. Daub-Sychra, who graduated from Berry College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.
November 20, 2008
KDHRC principal research associate discusses the impact of changes in Medicaid on community-based nonprofit organizations.
Eric C. Twombly, principal research associate at KDHRC, participated in a colloquy on Medicaid and nonprofit organizations at the 2008 annual conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) in Philadelphia, PA. As part of the colloquy, Dr. Twombly provided preliminary findings of a study on the effects of changes in Medicaid in Georgia on the financial and programmatic capacity of community-based health providers in the Atlanta metropolitan region. Other colloquy participants included Melissa A. Walker of Wichita State University, Deborah Auger of the University of Delaware, and Steven Rathgeb Smith of the University of Washington.
November 15, 2008
KDHRC researchers publish an article in the Journal of Primary Prevention that provides evidence-based recommendations to curb the growing societal problem of teen prescription drug abuse.
The paper, authored by Eric C. Twombly and Kristen D. Holtz, provides a systematic synthesis of multiple strands of literature to recommend effective prevention methods for teen prescription drug abuse. Using a social-ecological framework, the research reviews the scope of prescription drug use among teens, analyzes the multiple factors that may influence teen knowledge and attitudes toward prescription drugs, and discusses the important challenges related to the construction of effective prevention programs targeting this class of drugs.
November 1, 2008
KDHRC opens its corporate headquarters in Atlanta.
KDHRC is pleased to announce the opening of its corporate headquarters in Atlanta. The office, replete with state-of-the-art technology, is located at 730 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 820, in the heart of vibrant Midtown Atlanta.
October 28, 2008
KDHRC researchers present findings on a study of the geographic diffusion of illicit drug use among teens.
Eric C. Twombly and Kristen D. Holtz of KDHRC, and Greta K. Tessman of Emerson College and Tufts University, presented research on how the use of specific illicit drugs by teens is geographically diffused throughout the United States at the 2008 American Public Health Association meetings in San Diego, CA. This paper uses a four-fold categorization methodology to predict the level and type of geographic diffusion of four drugs – prescription drugs, methamphetamine, marijuana, and alcohol -- and uses secondary data and information sources to ascertain their diffusion patterns.The researchers found descriptive evidence that the geographic diffusion of drugs of abuse by adolescents varies by the drugs’ social acceptability, supply, legal status, and use in medical treatments, prompting recommendations for specific prevention efforts and directions for future research.
September 29, 2008
KDHRC is awarded a contract from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to expand the Mind Over Matter science education materials.
NIDA has developed numerous science education tools that they distribute at no cost to the public to improve science education and literacy in the U.S. Mind Over Matter is a crucial part of this outreach arsenal. Developed nearly 10 years ago, the original Mind Over Matter series was targeted to students in grades 5 through 9 and consisted of full-color, four-page magazines, each on a different illicit drug: steroids, opiates, nicotine, methamphetamine, marijuana, inhalants, hallucinogens, and stimulants. Mind Over Matter has been reprinted numerous times, and millions of copies have been distributed at no cost to schools in the U.S. KDHRC will expand the materials to include a Mind Over Matter magazine on prescription drug for middle school students and to construct a Mind Over Matter interactive website for high school students, which will be integrated into the NIDA for Teens website. The 14-month Mind Over Matter project will be managed within KDHRC’s Drug Abuse Education and Prevention focus area.
September 15, 2008
The National Institute on Mental Health contracts with KDHRC to develop supportive materials for autism caregivers.
Caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may experience higher rates of stress than caregivers of individuals with other disabilities, and there is a significant need for additional research to understand the unique stressors faced by this population and for the development of customized interventions to provide support for this group.
To this end, the National Institute of Mental Health has contracted with KDHRC to develop ASDNet 2.0, a comprehensive web-based support system for caregivers of people with ASD. The content on this website will be customizable and highly interactive and will provide information, build skills, and foster social support in caregivers of people with ASDs. The one year project will be managed within KDHRC’s Vulnerable Populations focus area.
September 2, 2008
KDHRC wins grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop and evaluate a culturally relevant outreach program to provide education and support for Latino families with children affected by cancer.
The program, tentatively entitled Familias Fuertes (Strong Families), will address two different health situations. First, Familias Fuertes will provide specific materials for Latino families with a child diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Second, Familias Fuertes will supply materials to help Latino families with a child who has a parent, caregiver, or other close family member with cancer. Latinos experience significant health disparities and barriers to care when coping with cancer. This product will support families with children, a vulnerable population presently underserved by existing programs. The one year project will be managed within KDHRC’s Vulnerable Populations focus area.
August 12, 2008
KDHRC researchers present findings on the emerging public health challenge of youth prescription drug abuse.
Kristen Holtz and Eric Twombly of KDHRC presented new research at the National Center for Health Marketing Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The research examined the emerging public health problem of youth prescription drug abuse. More specifically, Drs. Holtz and Twombly presented a conceptual model for analyzing and describing media messages on prescription drugs, to better understand how the teen media environment may affect knowledge and attitudes about prescription drugs. Exploration of youth's information about this class of drugs is a critical component to the development of effective prevention messaging to decrease abuse.
July 22, 2008
KDHRC president gives speech at the annual NIH Small Business Innovation Research conference.
Kristen Holtz, the president and founder of KDHRC, gave an invited presentation at the 10th Annual Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) conference, hosted by the National Institutes of Health in Atlanta, Georgia. The SBIR program is a small business that set-aside funding mechanism used by the federal government to fund research and development projects. Dr. Holtz has more than 10 years experience with the SBIR program and has served as principal investigator on more than 15 SBIR projects. Dr. Holtz presented as part of the Behavior Sciences Interactive Research panel, where she reflected on lessons learned during her experience with the program.
June 16, 2008
KDHRC hires Eric C. Twombly as principal research associate and director of organizational studies .
KDHRC is pleased to announce that Dr. Eric C. Twombly joined KDH Research & Communication as principal research associate and director of the organizational studies program area. Dr. Twombly is a national expert on the organizational behavior of community-based health and social service providers and has been the chief evaluator on several public health projects funded by the National Institutes of Health. Before joining KDHRC, Dr. Twombly was a senior research associate and associate scholar at the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute, as well as an assistant professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, where he continues to lecture on public policy and social policy issues.
May 30, 2008
Kristen Holtz presents new research from the National Youth Anti-Drug Media campaign at the International Communication Association conference in Montreal, Quebec.
Kristen Holtz presented a paper entitled Application of Theory to Develop and Implement the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign at the International Communication Association conference in Montreal, Quebec. The paper was part of a panel presentation on new research findings from the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (NYADMC). The NYADMC, which began in 1998, is a large-scale, national social marketing effort to use mass media and other public communications to prevent drug abuse among youth ages 12 to 17, with a special emphasis on 14 to 16 year olds. Dr. Holtz's research examined methods by which advertising is developed, evaluated, and tracked in the market.
May 9, 2008
National Institute on Drug Abuse awards KDHRC two new projects on youth drug abuse.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, granted two new projects to KDHRC that focus on drug abuse education. The first project is Attitude Boost, which will develop a multimedia curriculum to increase youth attitudes toward science, particularly as they relate to neuroscience and drug abuse research. A multi-phase evaluation will examine the extent to which attitude boosting lessons improve performance on science curricula. The second project, POP-D, focuses on the emerging public health problem of prescription drug abuse. KDHRC will develop an education and prevention curriculum on this topic and explore the most effective ways to provide persuasive and protective information to youth on this class of drugs. Both projects will be housed in KDHRC's Drug Abuse Education and Prevention program area.
April 12, 2008
KDHRC wins grant to increase scientific literacy on genetics among youth.
The National Center on Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health, granted KDHRC a two-year project to develop and evaluate science education materials for middle school students on the topic of genetics. Rapid advancements in genetic research have prompted society to consider the ethical, legal, and social implications of this new knowledge, technology, and capabilities. Meanwhile, because of the complexity of genetic concepts, there have been calls from educators and policymakers to increase dissemination of educational materials on these topics, particularly to youth. To that end, KDHRC will develop a multimedia curriculum on genetic education and evaluate its effectiveness to change knowledge about genetic concepts, attitudes toward science, and overall science literacy. The project will be housed in KDHRC's Health and Science Literacy program area.
February 1, 2008
NIH funds KDHRC to develop a program to help children with cochlear implants in school.
The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institute of Health, granted KDHRC a 2 ½ year project to develop and evaluate a comprehensive program to assist children with cochlear implants succeed in mainstream and inclusive classrooms. A cochlear implant is an assistive technology that allows deaf children to access sound, and most children with these devices can function successfully in a classroom with hearing peers with customized educational accommodations. KDHRC will construct and evaluate the CI School Toolkit, a comprehensive set of materials that will help parents, teachers and classmates of a child with a cochlear implant support learning. The project will be managed as part of KDHRC's Vulnerable Populations program area.
November 7, 2007
Science education is a promising strategy to increase school-based drug prevention efforts.
KDHRC researchers presented the results of two National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded studies that suggest that science education about drugs of abuse may be an effective method to integrate prevention messaging into time- and standards-constrained classrooms. Kristen Holtz from KDHRC and Eric Twombly from Georgia State University presented this research at the 135th American Public Health Association meeting in Washington DC. The research explored the effectiveness of a science education curriculum on drugs of abuse created for middle school students , and the findings suggested that exposure to the curriculum was associated with a change in knowledge about the physiological effects of drugs. Because prevention programs have been cut by an emphasis on the core curriculum created by recent educational policy like No Child Left Behind, science education may be a promising strategy to increase the amount of persuasive health information that students receive.
October 13, 2007
KDHRC launches research collaboration with Georgia State University to examine the use of social marketing by nonprofit organizations.
KDHRC launched a new research project with the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University to investigate the extent to which Atlanta area nonprofit organizations use social marketing techniques to communicate to both their constituency and their funders. Because community-based nonprofit organizations are key partners in the implementation of public health programs, understanding methods by which these organizations promote their services will allow greater understanding of their role in the health provision process. Research briefs and manuscripts on this research will be released in 2008.
September 19, 2007
KDH Research & Communication launches the Informing Public Health research brief series to disseminate innovative, objective, and timely information to solve public health and other social issues.
The inaugural brief in this series is entitled “Mandates and Recommendations for Public Health Materials to Improve Health Literacy”, and it provides a systematic examination of the linkages between behavior change theories and cognitive development theories to inform the creation of public health materials for low literacy populations.
Research briefs in the Informing Public health series are available at the KDHRC website.
August 29, 2007
KDHRC presents research at CDC's National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media in Atlanta, Georgia.
The CDC hosted their first annual conference to provide a scientific and professional forum for researchers and practitioners to share insights, research findings, and best practices to advance the fields of health communication, marketing, and media. KDHRC was invited to present two pieces of research at this high-level conference, entitled:
- Science education curriculum: Can it improve knowledge and attitudes about drugs of abuse?
- Linking cognitive development and behavior change theories in promoting health literacy
Working papers and briefs on this work are available within Publications.
July 7, 2007
KDHRC reaches Latino families with information about developmental disabilities.
In collaboration with the Organization for Autism Research, Fusion Multicultural, and Día de la Mujer Latina, KDHRC developed culturally specific communication tools to reach Latino families with information about developmental milestones and the warning signs of autism. Using a manual developed by KDHRC staff, the team held a training for 15 promotoras, or lay health workers, in Northwest Georgia in late July, 2007. Promotoras were provided with information and tools to disseminate through community health outreach programs. To date, the promotoras have reached more than 500 Latino families with culturally appropriate information on child development and autism. An evaluation of the promotora program is forthcoming.
June 16, 2007
KDHRC tapped to provide expert input on a new product for parents of a child with cleft lip and/or palate.
KDHRC has been asked to provide subject matter expertise on the development of a new health communication product entitled Facing Cleft: Encouraging Healthy Development. Funded by the National Institute on Craniofacial and Dental Research, this product will include a DVD and supplemental print materials for families of children with cleft lip or palate across the lifespan of the child.
May 9, 2007
KDHRC tests a new web-based game entitled Who wants to be a NIDA Neuroscientist? at the National Institutes of Health "Take your child to work" day.
KDHRC research staff attended events at the NIH campus to test a new interactive quiz game, developed for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, that provides middle school students with information on the brain, how drugs change the brain, and the work of neuroscientists studying this topic. More than 50 children in the target age range provided feedback on the game. KDHRC will use these comments to improve the design and interactivity of the product, and once KDHRC completes revisions to the game it will be available on the NIDA website.
April 12, 2007
New KDHRC research may help children with Tourette Syndrome succeed in their classrooms.
Kristen D. Holtz, President of KDHRC, conducted a study to examine the impact of a video-based intervention to increase children’s knowledge about and positive attitudes toward a peer with Tourette Syndrome. Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by verbal and motor tics, is a confusing and potentially stigmatizing disorder that effects school age children.
Because children with Tourette Syndrome are at risk for peer rejection, Kristen Holtz created a video-based intervention to provide classmates of a child with Tourette Syndrome accurate information about the disorder. The evaluation of this intervention suggests that the video can effectively increase knowledge, create positive attitudes, and improve behavioral intentions toward children with Tourette Syndrome by typical children in the classroom. A paper reporting the development and evaluation of this intervention is forthcoming in the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities.
March 1, 2007
KDHRC awarded HubZone status
The HUBZone contracting program is an initiative of the Small Business Association to support businesses located in historically underutilized business zones. The federal government has set a goal that 3 percent of all procurements must come from HUBZone companies, and larger companies can receive HUBZone credit on their bid by including a qualified HUBZone company as a subcontractor. KDHRC's HUBZone certification number is 25917. For more information on partnering with KDHRC on federal grants or contracts, contact Kristen D. Holtz.
January 24, 2007
KDHRC will support the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s community outreach for Brain Awareness Week.
Brain Awareness Week is an international event sponsored by the Dana Brain Alliance to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is strongly involved in this event and reaches out to students in the Washington. D.C., area with games and activities during this week. KDHRC has been awarded a project to develop a web-based game that educates students about drugs, the brain and science; the game will be a cornerstone of NIDA’s outreach to this audience. Check back for updates on the progress of this game!
December 1, 2006
Corporation launched to provide creative solutions to public problems.
On December 1st, KDH Research and Communication opened its doors. KDH Research and Communication (KDHRC) is a woman-owned small business that provides social marketing, research and communication services to government and other customers. Our mission is to produce and disseminate high quality, objective and timely information that can be applied to public health and other social issues. KDHRC was formed by Dr. Kristen Holtz, a senior level public health practitioner and developmental psychologist with experience in the fields of social marketing, health communication and product development.
November 6, 2006
Kristen Holtz presents at American Public Health Association annual meeting.
At the 134th annual meeting of APHA in Boston, Massachusetts, Kristen D. Holtz presented a paper with results from an evaluation of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded science education curriculum for middle school students entitled "Development and evaluation of a science education approach to drug abuse prevention".
Although preliminary, the results of this evaluation suggest that science education can be an effective method of substance abuse prevention. Students who were exposed to the curriculum on drugs and how drugs change the brain showed greater changes than their peers in knowledge and protective attitudes, particularly if they had more positive attitudes toward science at the outset of the evaluation. Holtz suggests that combining sound educational techniques with behavior change theory may have particular utility in delivering prevention messages to time-pressed classrooms.
This paper has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Drug Education.