Community Belonging Project
The Community Belonging Measurement (CBM) project aims to measure belonging and resilience in Central Oregon (Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, Northern Klamath Counties, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) to provide information that is useful for the creation of public health programs throughout the region. A community-engaged and equity-focused approach was used to collect survey and focus group data from Central Oregonians. The Central Oregon Health Council (COHC) contracted with Oregon State University-Cascades’ researchers, Drs. Kothari and Lipscomb, and Oregon Health & Science University Community Research Hub to facilitate this project. The COHC will use the findings from this effort to inform investments in new public health initiatives.
Flame Retardants, Home Environments, and Children’s School Readiness Study
This multi-disciplinary study is co-led by faculty with vastly different areas of expertise. Together we seek to discover how exposure to chemical toxics affect early development, and how children’s social experiences may either accentuate, or protect them from, negative impacts of these potentially harmful chemicals. Innovative collaborations such as this can revolutionize how we think about and study human health and development.
Roots of Resilience
Roots of Resilience is an evidence-based professional development program to help early childhood teachers promote resilience with children impacted by trauma. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Lipscomb and the Roots of Resilience team developed the intervention, and studied both the implementation and impacts of the program with local early childhood teachers and children.
Stronger Youth Networks and Coping
Stronger Youth Networks and Coping (SYNC) is a group-based program designed to help adolescent youth in foster care to improve their coping and help-seeking. The SYNC program was designed to enhance usual services for transition age youth in care and includes near-peer facilitation. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), Dr. Kothari (co-Investigator) and the SYNC team developed the intervention and will test and evaluate feasibility and efficacy of the program.