Our Research

What is Prevention Research?

Individual behaviors and environmental factors cause many chronic diseases – such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes – as well as injuries and some infections. Prevention researchers develop strategies to help people reduce risk factors in their lives and their communities. By involving community members, academic researchers, and public health agencies, the PRC finds innovative ways to promote health and prevent disease. Together with our partners, we design, test and disseminate strategies – often as new policies or recommended public health practices.

Our Community Advisory Council (CAC) provides the link between the university setting and New Mexico’s citizenry. This link helps insure that our research is sensitive to cultural distinctions, acceptable to participants, and likely to be sustained – characteristics that contribute to high-quality results. Our newsletter, The Connection, provides a forum for sharing information with our CAC.

Department of Pediatrics Office of Research & Creative Endeavors. http://hsc.unm.edu/pedsresearch

Our Research Priorities

Our research agenda is designed to focus on community needs and to create a structure for engaging the community. The priority areas for PRC research include:

    • Nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention
    • Adolescent and school health
    • Tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse prevention
    • Dissemination research and translation of research findings into usable formats

These priority areas emphasize the chronic diseases and conditions that have the greatest total effect on health, longevity and quality of life of New Mexicans. Addressing these areas is crucial for achieving the long term goal of eliminating health disparities in New Mexico communities.