Colorado School of Public Health – Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center

Populations of Focus: children, families

Topic Areas: child development, cancer, improving social-emotional development and well-being of children and families in communities experiencing health disparities

Introduction, Mission, and Vision

RMPRC's vision is that children and families live in communities that promote healthy living and increase overall well-being.

The Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center (RMPRC) is one of 26 Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the 2019–2024 funding cycle. Each PRC is funded to establish and maintain their center and to conduct a core research project. PRCs may receive supplemental funding to conduct additional research projects and activities.

RMPRC’s core mission is to research how schools and communities can promote healthy living in communities with limited access to health-promoting resources. Its mission is achieved through community-engaged research with schools and communities across the Rocky Mountain region. Its vision is to create health interventions and programs that allow children and families to live in communities that support positive social-emotional, mental, and physical health and well-being.

Core Research

Each PRC uses a community-engaged approach to conduct one primary applied public health prevention research project called a core research project. Project activities include design, development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. PRCs use at least 50% of their CDC funding to conduct the project in partnership with communities.

RMPRC’s vision is that children and families live in communities that promote healthy living and increase overall well-being.

STANCE (Linking Systems To address ACEs iN Childhood Early on)

The STANCE project builds on a long history of partnerships in the rural San Luis Valley, state partnerships and the need for expansion to other states within the region.

RMPRC’s core research project for the 2019–2024 funding cycle is designed to reduce the likelihood of families passing on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to the next generation. ACEs are modifiable risk factors—like divorce, domestic violence, abuse, or neglect—that have a deep and lasting effect on a person’s overall health well past childhood. STANCE is a community-engaged, multilevel program designed to reduce the negative effect of ACEs among residents of the San Luis Valley of Colorado.

The STANCE program has three primary components:

• An assessment of ACEs for children aged 0 to 5 and their primary caregivers.
• The use of the pyramid model in early care and education settings to promote positive social-emotional development in children.
• A community-level social network analysis to leverage and strengthen the system of care to better meet the needs of children and families struggling with a high number of ACEs and associated health outcomes.

The goal of this intervention is to build capacity across local community partnerships to improve the lives of vulnerable children.

Additional Research

PRCs may receive supplemental funding to work on additional research projects each funding cycle. These Special Interest Projects (SIPs) focus on a variety of health topics or gaps in scientific evidence. PRCS can also conduct additional research as part of SIP Thematic Research Networks, which are groups of PRCs working together on related health topics.