July 2023

From the Work Group chairs and Fellow: If you haven’t already done so, please take 2 minutes to respond to a survey to let us know your preferred day/week/time for the PAPREN Equity & Inclusion Work Group meetings for Academic Year 2023-2024. We’d like to accommodate as many members as possible (and add new ones!) so we’d love to hear from you. Thanks!

Members of the PAPREN Rural Active Living Workgroup convened at the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) Annual Meeting in Uppsala, Sweden this past month (June 14-17). Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and share their research!

We'll kick off the new year of programming in August with a presentation on the Intersections Initiative, a yearlong collaboration among America Walks, the League of American Bicyclists, and the Safe Routes Partnership supported by CDC as part of Active People, Healthy Nation^SM. The Initiative aims to build capacity to apply for infrastructure funding to support active and public transportation projects and identify the policies and practices that make this a reality. There will be an overview and ideas about research opportunities related to federal infrastructure funding.

All PAPREN members will receive the Outlook invitation for the upcoming Network call with meeting access information. Did you receive this newsletter as a forward? Email us to get the calendar invitation for this month and we'll add you to our list.

Upcoming webinar: Physical Activity and Older Adults: Key Findings from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Implementation Strategies for Older Adults

Thursday, July 13 1:00 ET (Physical Activity Alliance, USHHS, Tivity Health, AARP Livable Communities)

Register

Upcoming webinar: Delivering on the Potential of Federal Infrastructure Investments

Thursday, July 13 1:00 ET (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy)

Register

Upcoming webinar: Increasing Physical Activity among Older Adults: Practical Strategies from Health Departments

Wednesday, July 19, 2:30 – 4:30 ET (US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, National Association of County and City Health Officials)

Register

Upcoming webinar: Ready for Safer Vehicles for Pedestrians? How to Speak Up in Support of New USDOT Regulations

Wednesday, July 19 2:00 ET

Register

Upcoming webinar: Sidewalk Inventories - A Tool for Equity and ADA Compliance

Wednesday, July 26 2:00 ET (Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center and America Walks)

Register

Upcoming webinar: Youth-Engaged Design and Quick Build Installation

Tuesday, August 1, 2023, 3:00 - 4:00 pm Eastern Time, (Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center)

Register

Upcoming webinar: Active People, Healthy Nation 101

Tuesday, August 29, 1:00 – 1:30 ET (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Register

Meeting time: 12-1 ET/11-12 CT/10-11 MT/9-10 PT

Next meeting: Aug 28

(Terry Horton, Northwestern University)

Equity & Inclusion

Meeting time: 

1st Wednesdays 2-3 ET/1-2 CT/12-1 MT/11-12 PT

Next meeting: Aug 2

Meeting time: 2nd Tuesdays 1-2 ET/12-1 CT/11-1 MT/10-11 PT

Next meeting: Aug 8

Discussion about next work group project

Worksite Wellness

New meeting day/time:

1st Fridays 1-2 ET/12-1 CT/11-12 MT/10-11 PT

Next meeting: Aug 4

Meeting time:

2nd Tuesdays 2-3 ET/1-2 CT/12-1 MT/11-12 PT

Next meeting: Aug 8

Meeting time: 2nd Wednesdays 1-2 ET/12-1 CT/11-12 MT/10-11 PT

Next meeting: Aug 9

PhD in Public Health at Baylor University: Dr. Renée Umstattd Meyer (Co-Chair of the PAPREN Rural Active Living Workgroup) is looking to work with an incoming doctoral student who is excited to advance health equity through an active living lens and health promotion in rural communities. Applicants can earn a Ph.D. in public health at Baylor University, with either an Epidemiology or Social & Behavioral Health focus. Benefits include full tuition, mentorship, and a guaranteed graduate assistantship (12-month stipend).

Speak up for stronger vehicle safety standards that save the lives of people outside cars: The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking public comment on two proposed rules that address safety of people outside vehicles.

• New Car Assessment Program (NCAP): See Federal Register notice, and America Walks campaign.
• Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking (PAEB): See Federal Register notice and America Walks campaign.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Funding for 162 Community-Led Infrastructure Projects as Part of the Investing in America Agenda

The Biden-Harris Administration has awarded more than $2.2 billion from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program . The RAISE grant program, expanded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supports communities of all sizes, with half of the FY2023 funding going to rural areas and the other half to urban areas. The full list of projects can be viewed here.

Bicycle Friendly America Application: The League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly America℠ (BFA℠) program provides a roadmap, hands-on assistance and recognition for states, communities, universities and businesses. The BFA program is a tool for states, communities, businesses, and universities to make bicycling a real transportation and recreation option for all people. In its most recent round of Bicycle Friendly Community Awards, the League recognized 45 cities and towns for earning Bicycle Friendly Community awards, plus five communities that earned Honorable Mentions. There are now 506 Bicycle Friendly Communities across the country.

• Apply for Bicycle Friendly University Status by August 10, 2023
• Apply for Bicycle Friendly Community Status by August 30, 2023.
• Starting in 2024, there will only be one BFC submission deadline per year.
• Apply for Bicycle Friendly Business status by November 2, 2023.

Post-doctoral position, Baylor University: Dr. Renée Umstattd Meyer (Co-Chair of the PAPREN Rural Active Living Workgroup) is looking to work with a postdoctoral-level researcher who is excited to advance health equity through an active living lens and health promotion in rural communities. Qualifications include having Ph.D. in public health or a similar field by the start date, experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research, attention to detail, and willingness to learn! Benefits include: 12-month salary, 100% protected research time, and NIH grant writing opportunities. Those interested in this position can start as soon as possible or until filled. Contact Dr. Umstattd Meyer via email to learn more: renee_umstattd@baylor.edu.

ORISE Fellowship: An ORISE Fellowship opportunity is currently available with CDC’s Climate and Health Program (CHP), located in the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice in the National Center for Environmental Health. The position is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Under the guidance of a mentor, the Fellow will work with a team of evaluators to promote and strengthen evaluation practice in the field of climate and health. Specifically, the fellow will help support state and local health department grantees funded through the Climate Ready States and Cities Initiative (CRSCI) by providing evaluation technical assistance, capacity building, and guidance for reporting. The fellow will also provide support related to sound, evidence-based interventions, and program development. The announcement closes 7/31/23, however applicants will be assessed on a rolling basis.

For additional information please contact Kat Sisler: qln2@cdc.gov.

New Research

Brown, D.R., Zaganjor, H., Graff, K.A., Rose, K. and Sallis, J.F. How health and fitness professionals can further advance the nation's health by working across the ecological model. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal. Vol. 27, No. 4, July/August 2023.

Carson JR, Conway TL, Perez LG, Frank LD, Saelens BE, Cain KL, Sallis JF. Neighborhood walkability, neighborhood social health, and self-selection among U.S. adults. Health Place. 2023 Jul;82:103036. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103036. Epub 2023 May 25. PMID: 37244155.

Webber BJ, Soto GW, Smith A, Whitfield GP. Changes in teleworking and physical activity behaviors in the United States before and after emergence of COVID-19. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ():10.1097/JOM.0000000000002897, June 1, 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002897

New Resources

Complete Streets, Complete Communities Distance Learning Modules

Smart Growth America’s new Complete Streets, Complete Communities distance learning series, part of CDC’s Active People, Healthy Nation initiative, is a set of seven online modules designed for public health and transportation professionals to learn about how to influence community health outcomes through local and regional transportation policies and practices, as well as discover opportunities to collaborate across both sectors.

Physical Activity and Older Adults: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Implementation Strategies for Older Adults (Midcourse Report). The Midcourse Report is a guide to help policy makers; exercise and health professionals; health care providers; gerontologists; built environment professionals; local, state, territorial, and tribal leaders; and others working with older adults implement strategies to support physical activity among adults ages 65 years and older.

USDOT Equitable Transportation Community (ETC) Explorer: The U.S. DOT Equitable Transportation Community (ETC) Explorer is an interactive web application that uses 2020 Census Tracts and data, to explore the cumulative burden communities experience, as a result of underinvestment in transportation, in the following five components: Transportation Insecurity, Climate and Disaster Risk Burden, Environmental Burden, Health Vulnerability, and Social Vulnerability. It is designed to complement the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) by providing users deeper insight into the Transportation disadvantage component of CEJST, and the ETC Explorer's Transportation Insecurity component, which will help ensure the benefits of DOT’s investments are addressing the transportation related causes of disadvantage. USDOT’s ETC Explorer is not a binary tool indicating whether a census tract is considered disadvantaged; it is a dynamic tool that allows every community in the country to understand how it is experiencing burden that transportation investments can mitigate or reverse.