The Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health (PRC)
The Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health (PRC), founded by Dr. David Olds, is a section in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado school of Medicine and is imbedded in the Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS). The PRC comprises a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in pediatrics, child development, developmental psychology, caregiver-child interactions, maternal perinatal health, family planning, youth in foster care, cross-sector collaboration, maternal and early childhood home visiting, evidence-informed policy, anthropology, mixed-methods research, and implementation science. The PRC team conducts rigorous, mixed-methods research with a focus on intervention early in the life cycle to inform policy and practice for promoting the health of children, families, and their communities. We are committed to conducting research using an equity lens throughout all stages from conception to dissemination and intentionally and authentically engaging with the community affected by the research
The Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health is devoted to fostering healthier and more equitable communities for children and families to flourish through evidence-based interventions, programs, and policies focused early in life.
At the PRC we value and strive to demonstrate the following in our interactions with each other and when conducting research:
- Strengths-based approaches
- Evidence-based foundation
- Equity • Inclusivity
- Transparency
- Respect for all
- Curiosity
- Care for one another
- Collaboration
- Self-awareness
- Integrity
The goals of the PRC are to:
- Conduct rigorous, mixed-methods research with a focus on programs that support families early in the life cycle to inform policy and practice for promoting the health of children, families, and their communities.
- Use a systematic approach and framework to develop and/or test preventive interventions to determine if they improve the health of children, families, and communities.
- Conduct research to determine who has access to, engages with, and benefits from preventive interventions implemented early in the life cycle to improve the health of children and families with the aim of increasing equity in communities.
- Create and maintain a collaborative network of researchers across the University of Colorado and globally with a focus on prevention science to improve parental and child health.
- Conduct research using an equity lens throughout all stages from conception to dissemination.
- 6.Intentionally and authentically engage with the community affected by the research for all research conducted at the PRC.
- Conduct research that moves the field forward on collaboration between systems involved in promoting the health of children, families, and their communities.
- Collaborate with the National Service Office for NFP and Child First to study augmentations and innovations to NFP and Child First.
- Build a community of caring and diverse researchers and practitioners that supports students and young investigators and diversifies the workforce.
- Serve as a hub for providing education on topics consistent with the mission and goals of the Center including:
- Prevention science.
- Mixed-methods research.
- Systems collaboration.
- Community engagement and equity-oriented research .
- Parenting and early childhood development.
- Serve as a hub for supporting development, adaptation, and testing of the NFP model globally.
- Provide consultation and direction to the National Service Office for NFP and Child First in the areas of program implementation and program improvement.
- Provide consultation with individuals and agencies in local, national, and international contexts to support evidence-based preventive interventions, programs, and policies implemented early in life to improve the health of children, families, and communities.
- Conduct our work in fiscally responsible, transparent, and sustainable manner.
Strengths-based approach “an approach that identifies, celebrates, and builds on strengths to support a sense of self-efficacy and where strengths serve as a foundation for new learning and growth”
Evidence-based “denotes an approach to medicine, education, and other disciplines that emphasizes the practical application of the findings of the best available current research.” [Definition from the Oxford English Dictionary]
Prevention science “focuses on the development of evidence-based strategies that reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities. Prevention science draws from a diverse range of disciplines—including the epidemiological, social, psychological, behavioral, medical, and neurobiological sciences—to understand the determinants of societal, community and individual level problems (e.g., trauma, poverty, maltreatment). A central tenet of prevention science is the promotion of health equity and reduction of disparities by studying how social, economic and racial inequalities and discrimination influence healthy development and wellbeing.” [Definition from the National Prevention Science Coalition to Save Lives:https://www.npscoalition.org/prevention-science]