Center for Excellence in Rural Health Releases Appalachian Research Day Agenda

The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) has released the full agenda for the fourth annual Appalachian Research Day: Come Sit on the Porch.  The one-day event, which shares results of health research conducted with communities in Appalachia, will be held Wednesday, April 18 at the First Federal Center in Hazard. Registration for the event closes on April 6. Click here to register or to view the full agenda.

UK researchers work closely with communities throughout Appalachia to learn more about health issues and improve wellbeing. Appalachian Research Day is an opportunity to highlight community-based research that begins at the local level and builds upon relationships between people, neighborhoods, and groups who have common interests and concerns.

Highlights of this year’s conference, which focuses primarily on the health and wellbeing of youth in Appalachia, will include:

• A keynote address, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience from the Porch, by Kentucky’s Senior Deputy Commissioner of Health, Connie White.
• Panelists from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, and Save the Children and Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) will discuss Opportunities for Youth in Appalachia
• Innovation Stations will be presented by students from seven local high schools to showcase projects implemented by student leaders to address health issues at their schools.  Participants include:
  • Yours Mine and Ours (YMO): The Story of Addiction, Magoffin County High School
  • The Empty Chair, Pikeville High School
  • Providing Ultimate Recovery in Eastern KY (PURE KY),Paintsville Independent High School
  • UK-BREATHE Tobacco-Free Ambassador Partnership (TAP), Hazard Independent High School
  • UK-CARES Air Beam Project, Perry County Central High School
  • Re-Think Your Drink, Breathitt County Youth Health Council, Investing in Kentucky’s Future Grantee
  • Kids on the Move, Hazard Independent/Perry County Schools, Investing in Kentucky’s Future Grantee

Research posters on a variety of health topics will be presented by faculty, medical professionals and students.  Awards will be presented to the top three posters.

Attendees will also be offered tours of On the Move Art Studio, a mobile art room created by UK Master of Social Work graduate Joshua Nadzam.  The refurbished vintage trailer visits underserved neighborhoods to host free arts classes for at-risk youth.

Additional oral presentations include:  

• On The Move Art Studio - Bringing Art to Kids Everywhere, Joshua Nadzam, MSW, On The Move Art Studio 
• Lessons Learned and Preliminary Findings from the Clay County Clock Project, Jody Clasey, PhD, University of Kentucky
• Engaging Youth Serving Communities:  Developing a Sustainably Healthy Community; Mark Mains, PhD, Valerie Stewart and April Tipton, University of Kentucky
• Healthalachia:  Youth Innovation and Problem-Solving Targeting a Looming Opioid Crisis; Students from Paintsville Independent School, Pikeville Independent School and Magoffin County Schools
• Healthy Youth Coalitions; Representatives from Perry County Wellness Coalition and Breathitt County Youth Health Council

Click here to register or to view the full agenda. For more information, contact beth.bowling@uky.edu, 606-439-3557.