A multi-ethnic group of young school children are indoors in their classroom. Their teacher is watching them playing instruments together. The instruments include drums, maracas, and a guitar.

PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER

Our mission is to develop, implement and evaluate culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to address the disparities and determinants of health for residents of the Clarkston community.

Prevention Research Centers (PRC) are a network of academic research facilities in the United States that study how people and their communities can avoid or counter the risks for chronic illnesses. Through rigorous research, each center conducts at least one main project with an underserved population that has high rates of disease and disability. An initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PRCs are leaders at the scientific forefront of translating and implementing well-tested programs. Our mission is to develop, implement and evaluate culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to address the disparities and determinants of health for residents of the Clarkston community.

The PRC at Georgia State, headquartered on the Clarkston Campus at Perimeter College, works with community organizations, state and local government, residents and other partners in Clarkston, Ga., to develop, implement and evaluate culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to address the disparities and determinants of health for migrants and refugees and to disseminate this work at the community, states and national levels.

The core research project, conducted in partnership with the community, will address the health and well-being of migrant children by adapting SafeCare, an evidence-based parenting program. Researchers in the School of Public Health, College of Education & Human Development and Perimeter College, in collaboration with the Center for Community Engagement , will use SafeCare to conduct the first systematic effort in the nation to develop culturally and linguistically relevant care and interventions for migrant and refugee children to improve the parent-child relationship, alleviate parenting stress and boost children’s social and emotional health.

Community Spotlight

Stop The Bleed (STB) is a hands-on course that teaches by-standers in communities how to attend to a bleeding emergency while awaiting the arrival of first responders. It focuses on empowering community members to take action in trauma emergencies by providing them with the knowledge and tools needed to act. Stop the Bleed has trained 1.5 million people nationally but aims to train 200 million. A team of acadmicians, researchers, and community physicians led by Drs. Mary Helen O’Connor (GSU, Deputy Director of the PRC) and Randi Smith (Trauma Surgeon, Emory and Grady Memorial Hospital) adapted STB to be culturally and linguistically responsive for the diverse refugee communities in Clarkston. Support for this project came from the Atlanta Global Research and Education Cooperative and the Adult LIteracy Research Center.

57 members of the Clarkston community were trained on STB in March, 2022. All training materials were translated into Burmese, Swahili, Arabic, and Somali, and interpreters from the community (including GSU students and Vaccine Confidence Network Ambassadors) provided language support. The training included a powerpoint to describe the importance of providing onsite emergency support. Community members then practiced how to stop bleeding emergencies with the use of dummy legs and arms. This part of the training was provided by Emory/Grady physicians who are certified in STB training. Community members received a certificate of completion and their own Stop the Bleed kit; their names are also registered with the American College of Surgeons as being STB certified. Participant evaluations were quite positive; the STB team intends to seek further funding to provide STB training at community health fairs in Clarkston.