PITCH

New Team Member

2009-10-13T15:01:00.004-04:00

In September, our first graduate student joined the PITCH team. Whitney Raglin recently completed her undergraduate degree at the Ohio State University. She comes to us at UC with a passion for working with under-served communities to improve child health. Among the many PITCH projects in which she will be involved, Whitney has taken the lead on the development of a measure of cultural health attributions. Potential applicants to UC, particularly those interested in working in the PITCH lab, are welcome to contact Whitney with questions (email: raglinwj@mail.uc.edu).

Healthy Habits for Kids Intervention Program

2009-09-01T11:30:00.003-04:00

The PITCH lab is pleased to begin a new intervention study designed to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary activity among kindergartners. In partnership with Nancy Jennings, professor of communication, and Judy Murnan, professor of health promotion & education, we were awarded a University Research Council grant to fund the project.

The theme of the intervention program is "See-View-Do." Each week for six weeks, children who participate in the study will receive backpacks with a short video, a book, and a physical activity assignment each revolving around a single theme. We will be conducting assessments with children at school to identify changes in their attitudes and perceptions of physical and sedentary activity. Assessments with parents will detect changes in child behaviors. The goal of the project is to effectively use media to increase physical activity and decrease sedentary activity in kindergartners.

Community-Based Participatory Research Readings

2008-12-16T11:00:00.004-05:00

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a "collaborative approach to research that equitably involves, for example, community members, organizational representatives, and researchers in all aspects of the research process" (Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998, p. 177).

Future PITCH projects will utilize CBPR approaches to develop child health promotion and intervention projects. For example, we are in the planning phases of a project that will assess the outcomes of a school-wide health initiative in a suburban elementary school. The school community formed a Health and Wellness committee made up of students, parents, and faculty. The committee aims to make changes in the school as part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation program. PITCH has become a partner in their project and will collect data at baseline and after the changes have been implemented in order to identify how the changes impact student health.

If you'd like to learn more about CBPR, including the rationale for using CBPR methods, please see these selected readings:

Articles:
Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173-202.

Wallerstein, N.B. & Duran, B. D. (2006). Using community-based participatory research to address health disparities. Health Promotion Practice, 7, 312-323.

Books:
Community-based Participatory Research for Health, edited by Minkler & Wallerstein

Methods in Community-Based Participatory Research for Health, by Israel et al.

Meera Rastogi, Ph.D.

2008-11-25T12:21:00.002-05:00

Meera Rastogi is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Cincinnati, Clermont College. She received tenure from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin in 2006 where she was an Associate Professor of Psychology , Director of the Center for Multicultural Education and Ethnic Studies Program, and the Clinical Counseling Coordinator. At Edgewood, she received the 2006 Faculty Advisor of the Year Award. Dr. Rastogi is partnering with PITCH to conduct community-based research in the rural areas surrounding Clermont College.

Teaching areas: general psychology, psychopathology, counseling theories and techniques, multicultural psychology, career theory and counseling.

Clinical areas: general practice, emerging adults, immigrants/ international students, and career counseling.

Contact Information: meera.rastogi@uc.edu

Farrah Jacquez, Ph.D.

2008-11-24T12:37:00.003-05:00

Dr. Jacquez is part of the Health Faculty in the psychology department at the University of Cincinnati and director of PITCH. She completed her graduate training in clinical child psychology at Vanderbilt University and a clinical internship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at the University of Miami.

As the director of PITCH, Dr. Jacquez's research focus is health promotion and intervention for children and families in underserved communities. Eliminating health disparities is the overarching goal of PITCH; recent projects are focused on obesity and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. PITCH aims to develop contextually appropriate obesity intervention programs specifically designed to accommodate the unique needs of families living in poverty, as children living in poverty are 50% more likely to be overweight than non-poor children (Miech et al., 2006).Using community-based participatory research methods, PITCH aims to partner with key stakeholders in the community to address concerns that are applicable to the community as a whole.

For information about publications and presentations, please see Dr. Jacquez's Vita

2008-11-24T10:15:00.002-05:00