ANNUALREPORT2019

This past year represented an important transition for the Mary Ann Swetland Center forEnvironmental Health. In 2019, we welcomed more than two dozen staff and trainees whocontributed each day to the research, training and community engagement agenda of theSwetland Center; furthered our program of research focused on food systems and health; andengaged more than 50 stakeholders in the development of our future research agenda focusedon neighborhood-level treatment of environmental health exposures. At the core of each ofthese activities were the people including community leaders, organizational partners,governmental stakeholders, our 14 new faculty affiliates, our Advisory Council and staff whodemonstrated a willingness to collaborate in new ways to identify and test solutions thatadvance environmental health equity. Witnessing this unwavering commitment to do better forour community by leveraging research and training to inform community systems change hasbeen the most rewarding part of my first year as Director. As we begin a new decade, I lookforward to working with existing and growing new partners to develop and scale solutions thattransform environmental determinants of health inequities through policies and practices thatpromote community and population health for all.

With gratitude,

Advancing applied and community-engaged environmental health research.Integrating environmental health andcommunity systems science into medicaland graduate education.Engaging the community in researchtranslation to inform changes in policyand practice.

Our mission at the Mary Ann Swetland Center forEnvironmental Health, located in the School of Medicineat CWRU, is to study the complex interplay between theenvironment and health. The center places specialemphasis on investigating the environmentaldeterminants of health inequities to translate thesefindings into policies and practices that promotecommunity and population health. The strategic vision ofthe Swetland Center is to leverage diverse skills andexperiences through transformative research, trainingand community engagement in order to achieveenvironmental health equity by:

The Swetland Center operates within a three-prongedapproach focused on research, training and education andcommunity engagement. Our goal is to build capacity for thenext generation of scientists to work alongside our communitypartners to promote healthy places for people to thrive.

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Innovative

Collaborative

Inclusive

CommunityEngaged

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

Darcy FreedmanD I R E C T O R

Our Mission & Vision Our Approach

Our Values

Faculty Affiliates23%

Faculty4.9%

MD & PhD Trainees6.6%

Interns6.6%

Pre-Doctoral 4.9%

Community Fellows24.6%

Graduate Assistants 13.1%

Staff13.1%

2019 Dissemination Products

Publications by Core & Affiliate FacultyInvited PresentationsMedia Articles & Data BriefsSwetland SeminarsLocal, State, & National Trainings

2212

413

6

National Institute of Drug Abuse *Sears Swetland Family Foundation Sisters of Charity Foundation of ClevelandSteven J. McHale Family FoundationThe S. Livingston Mather Charitable Trust *U.S. Department of Agriculture

*Newly funded research in 2019

Clinical and Transnational Science Collaborative(CTSC) at CWRU *Foundation for Food and Agriculture ResearchMichael and Susan Dell FoundationNationwide Children's HospitalNational Cancer Institute/VentureWell *National Dairy Council

RESEARCH

The Swetland Center was selected to participate in theNational Cancer Institute’s SPRINT program. This programoffered researchers the opportunity to transform evidence-based interventions into “market-ready products” to increaseuptake. The team included four members of the SwetlandCenter as well as two entrepreneurial mentors from CWRULaunchNet. In 8 intensive weeks, they took a deep diveexploring how to scale the FreshLink Ambassadorintervention; the core research of the CDC-funded PreventionResearch Center for Healthy Neighborhoods from 2014-2019.

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The climate is ripe in Cleveland to propel beyond identifying environmental health concerns to focus on finding and scaling solutions topromote health equity locally and beyond. In 2019, the Swetland Center housed multiple initiatives focused on food systems change, evaluation of nutrition incentive programs and capacity building to advance healthy environments. Our research typologies includeintervention development, dissemination and implementation science, systems modeling, and real-world evaluations that aim toinform policies and best practices. Here we highlight our newest efforts to innovate environmental health equity research.

Case Western Reserve University received a $65.9 millionfederal grant from the National Institutes of Health to launchOhio’s participation in the HCS. This initiative will plan,implement and evaluate data-driven approaches to integratemulti-pronged, evidence-based interventions within healthcare, behavioral health, justice systems and communities toreduce opioid fatalities by 40%. Faculty from the School ofMedicine, College of Arts and Sciences and the Mandel Schoolof Applied Social Sciences have joined forces withstakeholders from across Ohio to combat the opioid crisis. Dr.Freedman is co-leading Community Engagement efforts forOhio and Landscape Analysis data report planning with thenational team.

The impact of our research findings are directly linked to ourdissemination efforts. Equally important is ensuring diversity oftheir translation to reach a variety of audiences. We aim to providea menu of ways to access our work that can be utilized to informpolicy, systems and environmental change.

2019 Funders Our work would not be possible without generous contributionsfrom funders supporting the Swetland Center in 2019.

The Swetland Center is focused on creating a diverse set ofopportunities to engage students, staff, faculty and lifelonglearners.

2019 Center Staff Makeup

Dissemination HEALing Communities Study (HCS)

Speeding Research-tested INTerventions (SPRINT)

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CASE.EDU/SWETLANDCASE.EDU/SWETLAND/NEWS-EVENTS/MONTHLY-NEWSLETTER

@CWRUSWETLAND

TRAINING & EDUCATIONCOMMUNITY ENGANGEMENT

In May 2019, over 150 stakeholders came together to: (1) Learnmore about the systems that shape food experiences in GreaterCleveland, (2) Voice opinions about opportunities and barriers toequitable food systems change and (3) Identify solutions to createfood opportunities for our future. The event generated ideas forsolutions to improve economic opportunity, food security, andnutrition equity and fostered relationships that can be leveragedfor equitable food systems change. The Swetland Center was fortunate to receive pilot fundingthrough the CTSC to support multi-disciplinary collaboratives bydeveloping a Translational Research Project (TRP). We utilizedthis opportunity to bring together a diverse group of over 25stakeholders to co-create a plan for a translational researchproject and agenda for the Center. As a result, a new  focus ofreducing asthma disparities among Cleveland youth emerged.This also informed our proposal to the National Institute of Healthfor funding and recognition as a Center of Excellence inEnvironmental Health Equity. In early 2020, we will begin pilotwork to inform the creation of a Child Asthma ImprovementReview (C-AIR) modeled from the Fetal Infant Mortality Reviewprocess. This initiative will begin on the near west-side ofCleveland with the long term goal of reducing pediatric asthmadisparities through neighborhood-level treatment.

Broaden focus on finding and scaling solutions to promoteenvironmental health equity and inform policies andpractices.Increase opportunities for all learners through advancingour second cohort of summer interns and buildingcapacity for training of doctoral students andinvestigators.Collaborate with university services to improve oursustainability initiatives and become a leader in greenoffice practices.Develop and test decision support tools to offer asystems lens, within an equity framework, to inform acommunity driven process for creating sustainable localfood systems.Grow our seminar series to feature local and nationalleaders in environmental health and highlight the work ofour affiliates.

Looking to 2020

In June 2019, the Swetland Center welcomed our first cohort of5 summer interns. Our inaugural class included trainees fromthree schools at CWRU and from Tri-C. They participated in anintense 8-week internship where they had the opportunity tolearn new skills working on various research projects housedwithin the Center. From data collection to organizationaldevelopment, the interns engaged in meaningful activities thatenriched both their learning and our growth as a center. 

Summer Internship Training Program

Connect with Swetland:

Convening Ideas & Actions: Creating Food Opportunities for the Future

The Building Capacity for Obesity Prevention Project (BCOP)celebrated its statewide launch of PSEREADI.org in early 2019.The website features four PSE READI assessment tools, anextensive online resource library of worksheets, toolkits, generalresources and a series of 20 videos featuring communitynutrition practitioners from across Ohio working in the fourcommunity nutrition intervention areas. The BCOP teamprovided targeted training for practitioners on how to use thetool via five topic-specific webinars and a statewide training.

PSE-READI Tool TrainingClinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC)

Strategic Planning Process for Team Science