The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN) Research Seminar Series is back for the 2021-22 academic year and will kick off Wednesday, Sept. 8, at noon ET via Zoom. The PRCHN Seminar Series aims to foster conversations and new collaborations, create opportunities to address health concerns and aid in the work to achieve health equity in our communities.
The first seminar will feature Kristina Knight, who serves as the associate director of the MPH Program and is an assistant professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences. Knight is a community-engaged scholar who has more than 20 years of experience in school, governmental and academic public health.
For more than 15 years, Case Western Reserve University has been part of an academic-community partnership to support youth development in Cuyahoga County. This has included the development of the Cuyahoga County Youth Work Institute (CCYWI), a training and technical assistance resource designed to support high-quality, evidence-based, after-school and out-of-school time programs. The diversity of these programs, workforce, and the youth they serve creates unique challenges for program capacity, sustainability of services, and youth access—even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knight’s presentation will explore the resilience of youth programs and consider how innovations in research and practice can allow us to re-envision the work of youth professionals.
This year, the PRCHN’s seminars will feature presentations by researchers and partners focused on community-engaged work that aims to improve health in historically underserved communities. All community members and organizations, CWRU staff, faculty, and students are welcome to register to attend the lecture.