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PORTLAND, Maine

School of Community and Population Health well represented at American Public Health Association annual meeting

Several faculty and staff members from the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ’s (SCPH) gave presentations at the .

Rebecca Boulos, M.P.H., Ph.D., assistant clinical professor, presented a poster with a graduate of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program, Doreen Fanton, M.P.H., B.S.N., R.N., titled β€œWho is the β€˜Community’ in Community Outreach?” They presented findings from fieldwork completed during Fanton’s MPH Practical Experience that explored barriers to participation in Chronic Disease Self-Management programs among African American adults living in a New York State community.

Karen O'Rourke, M.P.H., SCPH, assistant professor and Maine AHEC Network director, gave an oral presentation titled "Policy, Research and Unique Partnerships: How One Maine County Eliminated Sugary Beverage Scoreboards on School Owned Property," with contributions from Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor. O’Rourke discussed the work being done in Maine to limit junk food marketing in public schools.

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor, gave two oral presentations, β€œDirect Education Meets Policy, Systems and Environmental Change: A Unique Statewide Approach To Deliver SNAP-Ed” and β€œEstimating State-level Cost-effectiveness of a Sugar-sweetened Beverage Excise Tax. Local Stakeholder Partnerships: A Sugar Sweetened Beverage Excise Tax for Maine.” The former discussed the evaluation of Maine’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) delivery model, which provides direct education through statewide community-based coalitions. The latter discussed a study of Maine-specific estimates for the cost-effectiveness of a sugar-sweetened beverage excise tax. 

In addition, she presented a poster titled β€œDevelopment of a Tool to Assess the Nature and Extent of School Based Digital Food and Beverage Marketing.” Polacsek discussed a tool she developed with Berkeley Media Studies Group to help elucidate the nature and extent of school based digital food and beverage marketing.

Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S., research associate, presented a poster titled β€œInnovative Approaches to Increasing Physical Activity Among Youths in Rural Maine,” with associate research professor, Ronald Deprez, Ph.D., M.P.H., and former SCPH research associate, Henry Stabler, M.P.H. They presented evidence that comprehensive, community-based efforts to affect students’ physical activity levels can be successful at increasing the percentage of students who meet recommended guidelines.

About the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ

The ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.