PRC Core Research

The goal of our core research is to work with CHAP, our community partnership, in order to address rural health issues using community organizing and empowerment strategies.  This project involves the facilitation of a community-based participatory research process in order to identify and focus on the health issues of most importance to community members.  The evaluation of our core research is being conducted at two different levels:

1. Evaluation of community activities that have been implemented by CHAP in order to determine their effect on the health and health behaviors of community members.
2. Evaluation of our community organizing model as an effective intervention to address rural health issues.

For more information about specific CHAP activities, click here.

Rural Restaurant Study

The much publicized obesity epidemic has led researchers and public health professionals in search of affordable and effective community programs that will contribute to a more supportive environment for healthy eating and physical activity.  This project focuses on rural, locally-owned restaurants as a possible point of intervention.  A review of existing restaurant-based programs intended to encourage healthy eating  reveals that these programs are often too expensive and impractical for the typical owner-operated restaurant in the rural Midwest. 

In this pilot project, a low-cost, low-risk intervention is being implemented and evaluated over time in three rural restaurants.  This pilot will test the feasibility of program implementation and data collection methods, examine issues of program sustainability, and provide preliminary data on what customers want and what restaurant owners may be willing to change.  Results will be used to inform the design of a much larger study involving rural restaurants.

The specific aims of this study are:

1. To determine the effects of the program over time on customer perceptions of the restaurant as a place where healthy options are available.

2. To determine the effects of the program over time on customer behavior, specifically, the number of requests for "healthy options."

3. To examine the season as a potential modifier of program effects.

4. To identify program implementation barriers and supports through process evaluation.

Cross-Sectional Community Survey

We are currently analyzing the results from the fourth round of data collection for our cross-sectional community survey. This project is designed to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of health promotion activities in our partnership community and to help prioritize future partnership activities.  Survey measures include body mass index, diet and exercise behaviors, health literacy, and perceptions of community.