Prevention and health promotion research encompasses research aimed at reducing the risk of disease or injury and promoting overall well-being. Researchers focus on identifying factors that contribute to health issues, developing interventions to prevent illness, and promoting behaviors that enhance health and quality of life.
Description of the video:
Cancer is not one disease, it's many diseases. And if we use the tools we have, we would reduce mortality by 65 to 75%. I'm Victoria Champion, and I'm a distinguished professor in the School of Nursing. I'm associate director for the Cancer Prevention and Control and Community Outreach and Engagement in the cancer center also. So dual role. My research interest in research really started as a child. I've always been inquisitive. I wanted to know why and how things work. My formal research started when I was in my master's work. I actually did a study in one of my courses and first publication, the only publication I've ever had without revision. So it started there. I got my PhD, and I became very interested in cancer prevention because many of my friends and relatives had cancer. My mother died of cholangiocarcinoma, which is more deadly than pancreatic cancer, but I've also known a lot of people who've died of preventable cancers. For instance, they might be cured of breast cancer with an early mammogram, but die of colon cancer because they didn't get in for colon cancer screening. I have a big study and many partners in rural Indiana, the Indiana Rural Health Association, about 130 clinics there, and we are helping the clinics implement colon cancer screening. It is the best research team in terms of how we work together that I've ever had. So, it's really satisfying to look at implementing a lot of the things that I've discovered throughout my career. Indiana University School of Nursing is one of the best environments for new faculty coming in who want to develop a research program. We have senior people here, like myself, who've been funded for a long period of time and want to give back and mentor. We are a team, we work with our collaborators across schools, across disciplines, across states in the United States. So that type of environment is not always found. Schools have different personalities. I like to think that our school has one of the most collaborative personalities going in the U.S.
PhD student Ryan Page and Dr. Jeanne Ward, a postdoctoral research fellow, presented their posters during the Midwest Nursing Research Society's 49th Annual Research Conference in Indianapolis. While pursuing their research, both found more than just a research result. They also found leadership, mentorship, and incredible support from IU School of Nursing faculty Greg Carter and Victoria Champion.
Learn More
Over the next two years, the study will collaboratively develop and test a patient-empowered, trauma-informed methadone treatment protocol in Arizona. Greg Carter, assistant professor at the IU School of Nursing, is a member of the Harm Reduction Research Lab in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.
Learn More