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Community-based Evaluation |
Steps to a Healthier Cleveland Marathon Program
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| Investigator |
Elaine A. Borawski, PhD (PI) |
| Funding Agency |
Steps to a Healthier Cleveland - Cleveland Department of Public Health |
| Dates |
November 2007 - August 2008 |
| Abstract |
The City Department of Health administers the federally funded Steps to a Healthier Cleveland project (one of 26 in the country). The Center for Health Promotion Research serves as their evaluator. The Steps Program has developed a program for increasing physical activity among middle school youth called the Steps Marathon Program. It "trains" middle school students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and surrounding districts to run in the Cleveland Marathon in the Spring. The students actually run about 24 of the 26 miles during gym class during the school year and the 1+ mile at the actual martathon downtown. It was introduced two years ago with 80 participants (50 finished), increased to 200 (150 completed) last year, and recently the program received additional funds to expand the program (aim is 500 this year). Our goal is to conduct an evaluation on the program's impact on student's health, activity, and school performance by collecting data on these factors before and after the program.
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Ohio Tobacco Research and Evaluation Center (OTREC)
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| Investigators |
Elaine A. Borawski, PhD (PI), Erika S. Trapl, PhD, R. Scott Olds, Ph.D., Roger Bielefeld, PhD (Co-PIs) |
| Funding Agency |
Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation |
| Dates |
7/21/07-7/20/2011 (annual contract renewal) |
| Abstract |
This four-year contract establishes the Ohio Tobacco Research and Evaluation Center (OTREC),
an extension of the research and evaluation efforts of the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation (OTPF),
the agency responsible for the dissemination of Ohio’s Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. OTREC’s primary
responsibility has been to work with OTPF to develop a statewide evaluation of their $12 million
community-grants program which currently involves over 50 community organizations (health departments, hospitals)
across the state that provide community-based prevention and cessation programs and policy change initiatives
(e.g., Issue 5). OTREC has developed a standardized and centralized data collection systems for grantees for
prevention and cessation, developed in cooperation with Case’s ITS department. This system interacts with
OTPF’s online grants management system, allowing real-time data analyses and reporting to important
stakeholders (e.g., Board, Ohio Assembly). Lastly, OTREC produces two important reports each year: first,
the annual Ohio Adult Tobacco Survey Report, which summarizes tobacco-related behaviors, attitudes and policies
at a population level (statewide and regional) and the Ohio Tobacco Key Indicators, which summarizes the
current state of affairs with regard tobacco, including not only trends in tobacco use behaviors, but also
comparative analyses of where Ohio stands in comparison to other states and the nation on issues such as
tobacco-related taxes, health costs, and clean-air policies.
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Adult Surveillance and Program Evaluation of the Cuyahoga County
Comprehensive Partnership for Tobacco Prevention
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| Investigators |
Elaine A. Borawski, PhD (PI) |
| Funding Agency |
Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation; Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Cleveland Vision Council
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| Dates |
11/1/02-12/31/07 (annual contract renewal) |
| Abstract |
Over the past five years, the CHPR has provided two important aspects of surveillance and
program evaluation for this important local health initiative program. First, we are responsible
for the coordination of the annual administration of the Cuyahoga County Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone based survey of adult (age 18+) health behaviors and associated
health, collected by Vermont-based survey organization, ORC Macro. The survey is similar to the BRFSS that
is conducted annually across the country and coordinated by the CDC. The Center is responsible for data
analyses and dissemination of the adult (age 18+) tobacco-related data through reports, data briefs, and
web-based access. Second, prior to taking over the statewide evaluation, the Center conducted the process
and behavioral outcome evaluation of the county-wide programming efforts, which included all school-based
prevention curricula, extracurricular school programming (aimed at prevention and cessation), adult smoking
cessation and monitoring of tobacco-related policy (we no longer provide this service due to the conflict with
the statewide evaluation).
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Evaluation of Steps to a Healthier Cleveland
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| Investigators |
Elaine A. Borawski, PhD (PI) |
| Funding Agency |
Steps to a Healthier US (DHHS project); Cleveland Department of Public Health
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| Dates |
9/22/06-9/21/10 (annual contract renewal) |
| Abstract |
Cleveland is one of 26 communities across the country funded as part of the STEPS to a Healthier
US grant in Cleveland, a DHHS sponsored program “which aims to help Americans live longer, better,
and healthier lives by reducing the burden of diabetes, overweight, obesity and asthma and addressing
three related risk factors -- physical inactivity, poor nutrition and tobacco use”. The Center works
with Cleveland Dept of Health (who administers the grant) and the 20+ agencies it funds to support the
STEPS objectives to carry out a standardized process and outcome evaluation plan. This includes an
online reporting system developed by the Center and the Case ITS department. The Center also coordinates
annual administration of the Cleveland Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS),
a telephone based survey of adult (age 18+) health behaviors and associated health, collected by Vermont-based
survey organization, ORC Macro. Similar to the Cuyahoga County and Ohio BRFSS, the Cleveland BRFSS provides
population-based prevalence estimates on important health behaviors and their health consequences. The Center
is responsible for data analyses and dissemination of the adult (age 18+) tobacco-related data through reports,
data briefs, and web-based access.
During the upcoming 2007-2008, our Center’s involvement will expand to include staff support to help launch a
new initiative intended to increase the availability of health food options in Cleveland’s neighborhood by
working directly with corner food stores to include more variety of healthy foods (fruits and vegetables) and to
reduce children’s exposure to alcohol, tobacco and gambling (lottery) by placing these items behind the counter or
out of view of children, especially during after-school hours. The Center will also receive funding to help
develop a local food policy council that will serve the broader Cleveland community. It is our intention to seek
research funding to study both of these initiatives.
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Evaluation of ASPIRE: A Summer Educational Program for Urban Middle School Girls
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| Investigators |
Elaine A. Borawski, PhD (PI) |
| Funding Agency |
Hathaway Brown School and their funders (e.g, Gund, Abbington, St. Luke’s)
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| Dates |
9/22/06-9/21/10 (annual contract renewal) |
| Abstract |
Dr. Borawski was approached two years ago by Hathaway Brown, a premier all-girls school in Shaker
Heights to assist them in an evaluation of an important program they have developed – ASPIRE. ASPIRE
is a summer program for underserved middle school girls from Cleveland, East Cleveland, and other
inner-ring suburbs. The girls are enrolled in the program at the end of their 5th grade and attend HB
for an intensive summer program for the next three summers. Students attend classes, leadership workshops,
and special events intended to increase academic, communication and leadership competencies. Dr. Borawski
developed a five-year evaluation plan for the ASPIRE program, which is carried out under Dr. Borawski’s
guidance by HB students who are participants in the nationally renowned HB Science Research Program that links
talented HB high students with academic researchers to conduct an independent research project.
HB provides a small stipend for one Center staff member to assist with the evaluation.
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| Primary Investigator |
Borawski |
| Funding Agency |
Cuyahoga County Children and Family First Council; Cuyahoga County Board of Health |
| Abstract |
This ongoing project is a partnership with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health to evaluate the
effectiveness of the teen pregnancy prevention programs funded by the State of Ohio, Cuyahoga County
Children and Family First Council and administered by the Board of Health. The program is currently in
its seventh year, and serves between 6,000-9,000 middle school students each year, depending upon the
funding level. Utilizing a theoretical framework and quasi-experimental design, the outcome-based evaluation
examines the impact of both abstinence-only and safer-sex prevention curricula on mediators (i.e., knowledge,
attitudes, self-efficacy, behavioral intentions) and sexual behaviors (i.e., sexual activity,
sex initiation, condom use, number of partners). |
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