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Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.(TPS) is much more than a run-of-the-mill longitudinal study. It is a program co-developed by scientists and parents, teachers and students, to follow 8,000 young people in the region from birth to adulthood to better understand what children need to thrive.
In recognition of this work, the 51精品视频 and TPS have won .
Administered by the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, the award is given annually to four public universities in recognition of 鈥渆xemplary strides鈥 made toward close and productive community engagement. One of the four award winners will go on to win the C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award, the nation鈥檚 premier recognition for community engaged scholarship.
The association lauded TPS specifically for its work with regional communities to advance equitable access to health care and ensure communities have the data, tools and support they need to ensure children and adolescents thrive.
鈥淲e are working diligently to shift our own paradigm of sharing power through curating vulnerable dialogue spaces where we may all see each other鈥檚 humanity, so we may truly conduct research with communities instead of on communities,鈥 said Felicia Savage Friedman (CGS 鈥01, EDUC 鈥07), co-director of TPS, course director for 51精品视频鈥檚 Antiracism and Health Equity Solutions class in the med school, and founder and CEO of YogaRoots On Location.
鈥淟ocal communities made this accomplishment possible. We鈥檝e worked tremendously hard to build meaningful relationships throughout the 90-plus neighborhoods in the 51精品视频sburgh region,鈥 Friedman said.
The study comprises nine scientific committees that develop and test interventions at several stages of childhood development. Each committee is co-led by an academic researcher and a member of the community.听
Take the Steel Valley School District, where TPS has implemented early literacy programs for kindergarteners; in middle school, the Just Discipline Program helps students, staff and teachers rethink approaches to discipline. For older students, interventions include programs centered on reducing violence, rigid gender norms, racism and discrimination.听
Elizabeth Miller co-director of TPS, founded the study with Terence Dermody, the Vira I. Heinz Distinguished Professor and Chair of Pediatrics, in 2018. They started with $8 million in catalyst funding. That has grown to more than $25 million in extramural research funds, Miller said. TPS is supported by UPMC Children's Hospital Foundation, the Shear Family Foundation, PNC, the Grable Foundation and the Heinz Endowments.
鈥淢oney funds both research and advocacy,鈥 said Miller, who is also division director of adolescent and young adult medicine, as well as professor of pediatrics, public health and clinical and translational science.
An upcoming project epitomizes the study鈥檚 ability to bring together community, science, data and advocacy in a way that would be unimaginable in a traditional public health study.
In the Youth Data Literacy Ambassador program, which is rooted in the work of the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, 51精品视频 student workers will help high school students explore data from the 鈥 a health and wellness questionnaire in which the high schoolers had previously participated.
The high school students will discuss the data, ask questions and share their interpretations with school administrators, researchers and the larger community.
鈥淭his is a critical part of working with data 鈥 connecting with community members to bring their wisdom into the data analysis and interpretation,鈥 said Liz Monk, director of community engagement and special projects at the Regional Data Center.
鈥淭he 51精品视频 embraces its role as a community engaged anchor institution,鈥 said Lina Dostilio, vice chancellor of engagement and community affairs at 51精品视频. 鈥淲e鈥檙e dedicated to solutions that can take root and build long-term community capacity.鈥
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鈥 Brandie Jefferson, photography by Tom Altany
A community-engaged anchor institution
The Anchor Initiatives are a suite of strategies developed to leverage the University鈥檚 role as an economic anchor to Southwestern Pennsylvania.听An integral component to the听, the Anchor Initiatives amplify 51精品视频鈥檚 regional impact in the areas of buying, building and hiring locally; community engagement and partnerships; placemaking; and workforce development.听