WV Prevention Research Center receives funding to continue community-based projects

Dr. Geri Dino and the West Virginia Prevention Research Center team have received over $1 million in CDC funding for the continuation of their administrative core, the core research project Activate! as well as a special interest project to conduct a community-based chronic pain self-management program in West Virginia.

Project Activate! is an intervention study that engages community health workers, parents and school personnel to increase physical activity in home and school environments. The long-term goal is to increase physical activity and improve the academic performance of fifth grade students.

The Activate! project team, led by primary investigators Dr. Lesley Cottrell and Dr. Nancy O’Hara Tompkins along with Project Specialist Charlotte “Sue” Workman, will be finalizing data analysis and focusing on dissemination and translation of research findings in the final year of this five-year project.  

The special interest project, led by primary investigator Dr. Dina Jones, will enroll 128 participants in 16 workshops at eight community-based sites in two counties in WV: Greenbrier (rural) and Wood (urban). Participants will be a part of group discussions on managing pain, emotions, depression, fatigue, and sleep; proper exercise, nutrition, and medication use; weight management; strategies for effective communication with healthcare professionals; evaluating treatments; and pacing/planning.