Research Briefs
The goal of the “Informing Public Health” brief series is to disseminate innovative, objective and timely information to solve public health and other social issues.


A Science Education Curriculum to Curb Youth Drug Use: Implications for Practice and Public Policy
Eric C. Twombly, Georgia State University & Kristen D. Holtz, KDHRC
November 2007: Number 2
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Science education offers a unique opportunity to infuse persuasive health information into core curricula in a crowded school environment. This brief presents the results of an evaluation of a multimedia science education curriculum on drugs of abuse developed with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Students exposed to the curriculum showed increases in knowledge, providing tentative support for the effectiveness of this approach.

Mandates and recommendations for public health materials to improve health literacy
Kristen D. Holtz, KDHRC & Eric C. Twombly, Georgia State University
September 2007: Number 1
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This research provides a systematic examination of the linkage between two bodies of theory – behavior change theories and cognitive development theories from the fields of psychology and education – to inform the creation of public health materials for low literacy populations.