The Brown School has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to increase sustainability of evidence-based tobacco control programs and policies.
Sarah Moreland-Russell, assistant professor of practice and senior scholar to the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, will serve as principal investigator.
鈥淓vidence-based public health programs can only deliver benefits if they reach maturity and sustain activities over time,鈥� Moreland-Russell said. 鈥淚n order to achieve the full benefit of significant investment in public health research and program and policy development, we need to understand the factors related to sustainability and develop tools and training that support long-term program sustainability.鈥�
This project, she said, aims to develop the Program Sustainability Action Planning Model and training curricula and assess the effectiveness of this training in increasing sustainability of state-level tobacco control programs.
鈥淕iven the established evidence for the state tobacco control programs and policies, it is vital that these programs continue in all 50 states, both to improve quality of life and reduce the massive healthcare costs incurred by tobacco-related illness,鈥� Moreland-Russell said. 鈥淭his project is important in establishing the first evidence-based Program Sustainability Action Planning Model and training designed to help public health programs reach maturity and sustain activities over time. Such long-term programmatic sustainability is imperative in order to achieve the full benefit of public health research, programs and policies, which includes improving long-term health outcomes.鈥�
鈥淒r. Moreland-Russell鈥檚 research takes evidence-based practice and effectively translates it into policies and procedures that allow for the increased sustainability of tobacco control programs,鈥� said Gary Parker, director of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute and an associate dean at the Brown School. 鈥淗er work will result in the development of an implementation model that improves care through supporting public health organizations and practitioners.鈥�