The West Virginia Prevention Research Center (WV PRC) is one of 33 Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These PRCs are housed in universities across the country and share a focus on public health in community settings. WV PRC researchers and public health specialists are committed to conducting culturally-appropriate research that benefits the health of the people of Appalachia.

Our research focuses on examining the underlying behaviors and social conditions related to tobacco use, sedentary lifestyle, and poor nutrition. We strive to reduce health disparities related to race/ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic status in West Virginia.

Some of our successes include:

• Developed a teen smoking cessation program, Not On Tobacco (N-O-T), adopted by the American Lung Association and used in all 50 states, and internationally by the US military. N-O-T is nationally recognized as a Model Program by several federal agencies including the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH). (Click here for more on N-O-T)
  
  
• Produced four widely-distributed atlases that influence national public health policy – Heart Disease in Appalachia: An Atlas of County Economic Conditions, Mortality, and Medical Care Resources; Women and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality; Men and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality; and Obesity in Appalachia: An Atlas of Geographic Disparities.
  
  
• Collaborated with the WV Department of Education to develop and implement a research-based state-wide school tobacco nonuse policy consistent with CDC guidelines.
  
  
• Responsible for the evaluation of all prevention programs funded by WV Bureau for Public Health’s Division of Tobacco Prevention.