RESEARCH & PRACTICE

2021 Scholarship Showcase
Welcome!
Welcome to the 2021 Scholarship Showcase of the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University. Below you'll find a selected sample of research and practice projects conducted by faculty and students in the school of public health over the past three years. Although some of these projects have been published and/or presented, many of them are ongoing. Please scroll down this page to view all of our projects.
Our Mission
We create learning experiences for each generation. We translate scientific discovery into action, improve health, spread hope and promote wholeness from our neighborhood to yours.
Our Vision
Healthy people living in resilient communities supported by equitable systems of health.
BERDOO
Searched and Found: A Wastewater Based Epidemiology program at Loma Linda University as a surveillance method for the COVID-19 pandemic
Daily Macadamia Nut Intake and Its Effect on Macronutrient Intake and Displacement
Pilot Feasibility Study of Incorporating Whole Person Care Health Coaching into an Employee Wellness Program
LLUMC Hospital Food Waste Study
Blue Region Older Adults Mitigate ACEs and Other Chronic Stress Exposures
Stepping Out and Becoming a Bridge For Community Wholeness
Community Collaboration for Water Access
Elevated C -Reactive Protein Is Associated with Obesity When Sleep Quality Is Low
Anticipating a Sabbath as a Day of Rest Predicts Higher Quality Sleep
The LLU Center for Global Surgery
Integrating Service Learning and Interprofessional Work: A Public Health Model
Stepping Out and Becoming a Bridge For Community Wholeness
Rhonda Spencer-Hwang, DrPH, MPH
Background
Critically needed is action encouraging whole health (mind, body, and spirit), across the US and around the world, especially during and following the Covid-19 pandemic. With stress, depression, and chronic health conditions soaring, we greatly need interventions that promote a culture of whole health and resiliency. Often times research institutions and universities are at the forefront of such intervention discoveries. A major challenge for these institutions is translating ground-breaking health research findings into something tangible that the general public can put into practice.
Contact: Rspencer@llu.edu
Description
The community of Loma Linda, CA (an Adventist community) has a special designation as community with exceptional health and longevity. In 2012, I started studying the childhood habits of Adventist centenarians (100+ years in age) to see how we could help parents with young children today, promoting resiliency in families. From the research I found our centenarians had endured tremendous hardships and had overcome them. I published my findings in a peer reviewed scientific journal. As an epidemiologist in the School of Public Health with health promotion program, I became inspired to do more to help take our unique designation as the fountain of youth and help communities put into practice the principles I found through my research.
Implications
As a faith based institution, at LLU we have a higher calling in our lives to go out and reach as many people as we can promoting life-long and especially eternal resilience.
Lessons Learned
- One of the first and most important lessons is for researchers and practitioners across our campus to consider in addition to publishing in scientific journals, to publish in other avenues to help promote wholeness and resiliency.
- If you wish to publish for the general public (like through books and materials for lay audience) seek support from others within and outside our institution who have published in this fashion. Harvard University has a seminar for helping to publish, especially geared for health professionals. https://wps.hmscme.com/
- Understand that it may take 3 or 4 years to go from an idea to a published manuscript and perseverance along with prayer is key.
- If one of your callings is to publish, trust that God can move the pieces into place that you will need. For me, he had planned that a Christian epidemiologist would be publishing a book promoting wholeness in the middle of a pandemic.