About the WVPRC
Who We Are
Our Center has been continuously funded by the CDC since 1995. Each CDC-funded Prevention Research Center (PRC) must go through a Competitive Renewal Application Process every 5 years to compete for continued funding. Our CDC funding is called a federal Cooperative Agreement. This type of funding is different from typical grants because Cooperative Agreements include substantial involvement from the federal funder, i.e., the CDC.
The WVPRC is one of 26 centers funded by the CDC in the 2019-2024 funding cycle.
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve health and wellbeing in West Virginia and elsewhere through community-based participatory research, evaluation, and programmatic support to enhance public health knowledge and translating that knowledge into improved policy and practice.
We work closely with our Community Partnership Board which include members and stakeholders in public health, education, business and community welfare across the state.
Our Work
We organize our efforts into three broad focus areas: state partnerships, fostering youth and community engagement to address locally-identified needs, and preventing and addressing substance and tobacco use.
The WVPRC is committed to promoting health equity in West Virginia and the greater Appalachian region and works to reduce disparities rooted in social determinants of health throughout our research, evaluation, and programmatic efforts.
Diversity Statement
The West Virginia Prevention Research Center (WVPRC) believes that everyone should have equitable opportunities to live a healthy life, regardless of one’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, socioeconomic status, or age.
The social determinants of health significantly impacts health outcomes. The WVPRC understands that health disparities in our communities are rooted in existing structural injustices. Specifically, we recognize that racism is a systemic public health issue, and that we cannot truly achieve health equity without addressing racism.
The WVPRC seeks to center health equity and anti-racism in both our organizational and collective work. Our research, evaluation practices, and programs, focus on addressing obstacles to health equity. As a member of the West Virginia Health Equity Action Team, the WVPRC collaborates with statewide partners and stakeholders to build capacity and create resources to achieve health equity.