Three researchers from the Physical Activity Policy Research Network (PAPRN), funded by the CDC, will present progress during a one hour long presentation on February 24.
1. “Understanding What Walking Means to Mom: New Research for Branding Walking to Motivate Increased Family Physical Activity” — Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH
As family gatekeepers, women are uniquely positioned to internalize persuasive messages about the value of walking and subsequently influence the walking habits of their families. This study aims to understand low-income mothers’ perceptions about walking as the first step in a translational program of research aiming to develop and evaluate a motivating brand for walking and key persuasive messages that can be used in campaigns and interventions to foster sustainable walking behavior.
2. “What influences municipal officials’ involvement in local transportation policies?” — Marissa Zwald, MPH
This presentation will describe findings from a study conducted in 2012 on the facilitators and barriers to municipal officials’ participation in transportation policies supportive of walking and bicycling.
3. “Worksite Wellness Policies Within Hospitals” — Jeanette Gustat, PhD, MPH
A multi-state study is being carried out to examine how hospitals promote physical activity and healthy eating among employees and visitors.
Marissa Zwald, MPH
Marissa Zwald is a doctoral student at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and a research assistant at the Prevention Research Center in St. Louis. Prior to joining the doctoral program, she received her masters in public health form the University of South Florida in Tampa and previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. Her research interests include the study of transportation and community policies supportive of physical activity.
Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH
Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH, is the Co-Director of The Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center at the University of Michigan and Chair of the National Physical Activity Plan’s Communications Committee. Her work is grounded in research on motivation, decision making, and culture, and refined through almost 20 years of coaching individuals to adopt physically active lifestyles they sustain. Segar speaks internationally about these ideas and trains health care and wellness professionals how to use an innovative method she developed (MAPS) and evaluated that helps people follow new maps to lasting motivation and physical activity.
Jeanette Gustat, PhD, MPH
Jeanette Gustat, PhD, MPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She is a co-investigator of the Tulane Prevention Research Center which focuses on environmental and policy determinants of physical activity and obesity. She is also principal investigator of the Tulane collaborating center of the national Physical Activity and Policy Research Network (PAPRN). Her research background is in the assessment of how behavior and the physical environment impacts health outcomes. She has focused on health outcomes of physical inactivity, obesity and cardiovascular risk factors.
Source: National Physical Activity Society
February 18, 2014
http://physicalactivitysociety.org/
