Think Kids and the West Virginia Prevention Research Center receive grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded a new two-year grant to support a research collaboration between Think Kids and the West Virginia Prevention Research Center to assess how West Virginia compiles and reports health surveillance data in order to build a more inclusive surveillance system.
The $358,497 award for the “When All Are Counted: Closing the Health Surveillance Gap in West Virginia” is funded under RWJF’s Community Research for Health Equity program that seeks to elevate community voices and make the priorities of communities the primary goal of local health system transformation efforts.
“Substantial gaps persist in West Virginia’s public health surveillance and monitoring systems. Too often, Black, LGBTQ, and disabled populations are considered statistically insignificant,” Think Kids’ Executive Director, Kelli Caseman, said. “They fall off the state’s radar. Without data, it becomes impossible to understand and respond to their health care needs. This project is the start of a journey to understand and articulate the challenges and solutions to building a better, more inclusive surveillance system where all West Virginians are counted.”
The study seeks to examine how data are collected and shared, how marginalized groups are adversely affected, and structural solutions for a more representative system. The team will conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups to study variables for minority populations, disaggregated race, disability categories, and how minority populations are aggregated. The team will also examine how other states use small populations methodologies, and how data are reported and translated into policies and practices.
Unique to the project will be a creative communications component. Three writers— Erin Beck, Crystal Good, and Jack Jarvis— will join the project to articulate and amplify the prevailing themes expressed during the research process in the public discourse, online and on social media. Look for the tag line “writing for the When All Are Counted Project” from them as the project progresses.
About Think Kids
Think Kids is a nonprofit organization, launched in 2020, that advocates for the health and well-being of West Virginia’s kids. We use data-driven advocacy to ensure that generations of children grow up safe, healthy, and aspire to do great things. A better West Virginia begins with its kids. Visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
(Source: Think Kids)
mg/04/20/22
-WVU-
CONTACT: Micah Gregory, Project Coordinator
WV Prevention Research Center, WVU School of Public Health
micah.gregory@hsc.wvu.edu
or
Nikky Luna, Director of Marketing and Communications
WVU School of Public Health
304-293-1699