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Playing a Bigger Role in Community Health Advocacy

 
Dr. Julia Alber, Kinesiology & Public Health professor, is the new CHR advocacy and communications associate director.

 

Playing a Bigger Role in Community Health Advocacy

CHR investigators hope research findings will play a bigger role in identifying and shaping local health-related policies as Julie Alber, kinesiology and public health professor, joins the staff as advocacy and communications associate director. Alber began this new position and will lead the effort to help CHR play a bigger role in presenting health-related evidence to local policy makers and collaborating with community stakeholders to identify community needs. 

“I believe that CHR can play an important role in the San Luis Obispo community by advocating for evidence-based policy changes that promote health for all,” Alber said.

Most recently, Alber wrote a letter to San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deanna Cantrell on behalf of CHR, urging her to address inequalities in police force and arrests. She explained Black Americans are 5.1% more likely to be arrested than white Americans, and more likely to be handcuffed. The letter explained, “These differences in arrests have long-term adverse health outcomes for communities of color,” and provided ideas to decrease excessive force.

In another letter to elected to city officials, Alber encouraged them to pass a smoking ban in units and common areas in apartment and condo buildings. Pushing for this change protects residents from second-hand smoke, especially since research second-hand smoke is associated with more severe complications of COVID-19.

Alber came to Cal Poly in 2017 from the University of Pennsylvania where she worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the Perelman School of Medicine. She received her doctorate in health and human performance with an emphasis on health behavior from the University of Florida in 2015 and is interested in developing and testing public health messages and applying health behavior theory to understand cancer-related behaviors and beliefs. 

 

 

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