Grantee: Chelsey R. Schlechter, PhD, MPH

Chelsey R. Schlechter, PhD, MPH

Organization:

• University of Utah

Current Title
Assistant Professor, Population Health Sciences
Investigator, Center for HOPE

Describe your scientific identity.
I am an implementation scientist conducting community-engaged research to improve the implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) into community and healthcare settings.

What are your research interests?
My research focuses on developing and evaluating strategies to improve the implementation of EBIs for chronic disease prevention and control; understanding the multilevel level factors that influence implementation; and understanding the factors that influence individuals' engagement in health promoting behaviors and evidence-based interventions.

What is the significance of your current research project?
My current research project will provide critical data regarding the impact of pragmatic and scalable multilevel implementation strategies designed to increase the reach of evidence-based interventions for obesity among historically marginalized populations and healthcare settings. My project partners with safety-net healthcare systems to test strategies widely used in Federally Qualified Health Systems and Community Health Centers (electronic health record [EHR] based clinical decision support, text messaging, patient navigation) to connect patients to existing, digital EBIs for obesity.

What motivated you to work in health behaviors research?
Growing up I was constantly on the move and loved being physically active. I originally had plans to work in a career focused on sport and exercise, but in college took a public health class where I became passionate about understanding why some people were active while so many others weren’t. I began studying the mechanisms of physical activity behavior and became especially fascinated with how the places where we live, learn, work, play, and receive care have a profound impact on our behaviors. I have since expanded my research interests to focus on how we can help those places implement evidence-based interventions to make it easier for people to engage in a variety of healthy behaviors, like physical activity, tobacco cessation, and cancer screenings.

Describe something that had a profound influence on your program of research or scientific interests (an "ah-ha!" moment).
In the first few months of moving to Utah I travelled to safety-net healthcare systems around the state to visit with their clinic staff to launch a research project. I was struck by the resourcefulness of each system, and the dedication of the clinic staff to provide high quality care to patients that needed it most (44% uninsured, 42% at or below the Federal Poverty Level). I realized I wanted to focus my research efforts on ways to make it easier for those Community Health Center systems to use evidence-based interventions and ultimately improve the health of their patients.

Selected training, awards, and honors:

• Cancer Moonshot Scholar, NCI
• Mountain States Partnership for Community Engaged Dissemination and Implementation (CEDI), University of Utah
• Vice President’s Clinical and Translational Scholars Program (VPCATS), University of Utah
• Multilevel Training Institute (MLTI), NCI
• Training for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Cancer (TIDIRC), NCI

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