Health Promotion Behavioral Science Students Awarded CORE Fellowship Funding
Mariah Blevins is currently in the first stage of her research project through VIIDAI. VIIDAI is a collaborative international public health program that involves volunteers, nonprofits, and students and faculty from San Diego State University, University of California – San Diego, and Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. For over 20 years, VIIDAI has provided the rural community of San Quintín, Baja California with health services and promotion projects to target pressing health issues and improve the health of the colonías.
The purpose of Mariah’s project is to understand the relationship between the local community and sugar-sweetened beverages from a Social Cognitive perspective. This project will assess this relationship and identify the needs of the community through survey research that will be collected this fall. Using the findings from this data, the second stage of the project will entail designing and implementing an education-based health promotion workshop. In the long term, this project aims to improve the community’s health by reducing and discouraging the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and increasing water consumption.
Mariah says about her project, “I am so grateful for the fellowship opportunity. It has given me the motivation to pursue a topic I am passionate about. In terms of the project itself, the grant allows me to maximize the facilitation of the project and provides a great resource for study materials, participant incentives, and other research inputs. Also, VIIDAI is not a for-profit organization, and therefore most if not all projects rely on donations and outside-source funding. Thus, it is a great opportunity to continue research through VIIDAI and support the amazing work they do!” She would also like to recognize her mentor and advisor for the project, Jessica Haughton. On her thesis committee are SDSU Professors Heather Corliss, Benjamín Aceves & Amanda McClain.
About the CORE Fellowship, Eamonn says, “It’s a great opportunity for students to initiate their own research projects in their field of interest. For students who wish to pursue a doctoral degree or continue their career in research, this fellowship offers students an insight into different processes that may be unfamiliar to them, such as working with the Institutional Review Board and managing budgets. Ultimately, the CORE fellowship has allowed me to pursue a project of interest that will hopefully benefit my community partners.” Eamonn will be working with Dr. Emily Schmied at the SDSU School of Public Health and Diego Flores, Operations Director at the Urban Restoration Counseling Center.
