ASPIRE Lab
Center for Health and Community Impact
Wayne State University, College of Education
Department of Kinesiology, Health, and Sports Studies
About Us
The Adaptive Strategies for Prevention Implementation Research in School Environemnts (ASPIRE) Lab is dedicated to the study of improving the implementation of prevention and early intervention for substance use disorders in Michigan middle and high schools. Schools are an important part of universal prevention and early intervention, but often are under resourced and stretched thin. The ASPIRE Lab studies strategies to improve the implementation of comprehensive health education in schools, including financial stragegies.
Research Themes
- Utilizing implementation research and evidence-based strategies for improving intervention effectiveness.
- Comprehensive health curriculum implementation utilzing existing implementation support practitioners
- Bridging the gap between promising prevention programs and effective real-world implementation in schools.
- Integrating multiple shareholders' perspectives to positively change the course of substance use disorders among youth.
- Effective and sustainable funding models to support robust implementation infrastructure.
Implementing Evidence-Based Prevention Effectively
A Team Effort
Health Educators
Health educators are pivotal in implementing comprehensive health education, serving as the backbone of effective drug use prevention efforts. Their role extends beyond merely delivering content; they are instrumental in adapting curricula to meet the specific needs of their students, ensuring that the material is both relevant and impactful. Health educators also play a crucial role in identifying emerging trends and issues, allowing them to adjust their teaching strategies and content to address the evolving challenges that students face. Additionally, they collaborate with school and community partners, fostering a supportive network that enhances the delivery of health education and ensures a holistic approach to student well-being. By actively engaging in these multifaceted responsibilities, health educators not only impart essential knowledge but also empower students to make informed decisions about their health and future.
School Adminstrators
Research indicates that teachers are significantly more effective in implementing a comprehensive health curriculum with fidelity when they have the full support of school administrators. This support can take various forms, such as ensuring access to dedicated health education professional development time, providing time for teachers to collaborate with their health coordinators, and actively promoting initiatives that prioritize health education, like the Michigan Profile for Healthy Youth survey. Administrators are crucial in shaping the school environment, setting priorities, and allocating resources that enable health educators to succeed. By championing health education and drug use prevention initiatives, administrators not only enhance the quality of instruction but also foster a school culture that values and prioritizes student health and well-being. Their leadership is vital in creating sustainable, school-wide efforts to promote healthy behaviors and prevent drug use among students.
School Health Coordinators
Michigan's Regional School Health Coordinators are key implementation support practitioners who advance the needs of the whole child by providing leadership, training, technical assistance, and consultation on school health policies, programs, and practices. They work with every public, private, and charter school in Michigan, leveraging their unique expertise to support health-related efforts within broader educational and community contexts.
Health coordinators play a central role in whole child initiatives, ensuring that health interventions are integrated into the overall educational experience. They have been instrumental in innovating and deploying data-driven implementation strategies, particularly with the Michigan Model for Health curriculum, to improve health outcomes for children and youth across the state. By fostering collaborations with community partners and tailoring programs to meet diverse needs, they ensure that health programs are effectively adopted and sustained.
State Agencies
State agencies like the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) play a vital role in supporting the implementation of health education in schools. They ensure that curricula, such as the Michigan Model for Health, are regularly updated to remain relevant and accessible to educators. These agencies also provide essential training opportunities for Regional School Health Coordinators, equipping them with the skills needed to effectively implement health programs. Additionally, MDHHS and MDE coordinate the necessary funding for curriculum development, training, and ongoing support. By enhancing the visibility of the importance of health education and promoting multi-tiered prevention and early intervention strategies, these state agencies contribute significantly to improving student success and well-being, embedding health education as a core component of the educational experience.
Community Partners
Community organizations, including local health departments, prevention coalitions, health systems, and community mental health agencies, can play a pivotal role in promoting drug use prevention in schools. These partnerships allow schools to leverage the expertise, resources, and networks of various stakeholders. For example, prevention coalitions can provide targeted programs and policy advocacy, while local health departments can offer data-driven insights and public health expertise. Health systems and community mental health agencies can contribute by delivering specialized services and integrating school-based prevention efforts with broader community health initiatives. By working together, these partners can develop and implement comprehensive strategies that address the unique needs of students and the community, enhancing the effectiveness of drug use prevention programs in schools.
Ongoing Research Studies
Mi-LEAP
Michigan Model for Health - Learning to Enhance and Adapt for Prevention (Mi-LEAP) completed data collection in 2022 and is in the final stage of data analysis. This project included 9 teachers from 8 high schools in Michigan and was focused on adapting MMH to include trauma-sensitive materials and training as well as ongoing implementation facilitation provided by Regional School Health Coordinators. Learn more about this by visiting the Mi-LEAP project website here.
RAPD
The Rapid Adaptation to Prevent Drug Use (RAPD) study concluded data collection in June of 2024 and is beginning the data analysis phase. This project began with an After Action Review phase in 2023 to develop a plan for implementing rapid responses to changing drug trends in Michigan middle schools. Teachers worked with their Regional School Health Coordinators to develop an implementation blueprint customized to their schools. Each blueprint was based on 3 central tenents: Collaboration, Readiness, and Planning. To learn more about RAPD and the implementation blueprints, please visit our study site here.
Recent Publications
For a list of ASPIRE Lab's published research, click here.
Building on Strong Foundations: Deploying Enhanced Replicating Effective Programs for evidence-based prevention curriculum adaptation
Andria Eisman, Lawrence Palinkas, Christine Koffkey, Hajir Lafta, Judy Fridline, Christina Harvey, Amy Kilbourne
Translational Behavioral Medicine (2024)
A mixed methods partner-focused cost and budget impact analysis to deploy implementation strategies for school-based prevention.
Andria Eisman, Jacob Whitman, Larry Palinkas, Judy Fridline, Christina Harvey, Amy Kilbourne, David Hutton
Implementation Science Communication (2023)
Michigan Model For Health Learning to Enhance and Adapt for Prevention: protocol of a pilot randomized trial compairing Enhanced Replicating Effective Programs versus standard implementation to deliver an evidence-based drug use prevention curriculum
Andria Eisman, Lawrence Palinkas, Christine Koffkey, Todd Herrenkohl, Umaima Abbasi, Judy Fridline, Leslie Lundahl, Amy Kilbourne
Journal of Pilot and Feasibility Studies (2022)
Andria Eisman, PhD, MPH
Principal Investigator
(she/her/hers)
Dr. Eisman is an Associate Professor of Community Health in the Department of Kinesiology, Health, and Sports studies. Her research interests center around improving adolescent health through the effective implementation of evidence-based programs in schools.
Christine Koffkey, MPH
Research Coordinator & Lab Manager
(she/her/hers)
Christine has worked with Dr. Eisman at the ASPIRE Lab since it began in 2020. She is interested in utilizing implementation strategies to make programs more effective and improve outcomes in a variety of settings. In her free time, she enjoys spending time camping with her family, volunteering at her church, and gardening with her ducks.
Jacob Whitman, Ph.D.
Jacob received his Ph.D. in health economics from Wayne State University. His research focuses on the intersection of public health and public poilicy. Jacob has worked on the Mi-LEAP and RAPD projects, utilizing innovative methods to gather, analyze, and present costs to ensure program fidelity and priority alignment among shareholders.
Contact Us
We would love to hear from you!
Project Alumni
- Nikita Patil, MPH Practicum Intern at WSU
- Bilal Shahid, MPH Practicum Intern at WSU
- Nadija Basic, Public Health undergraduate student at WSU, NIDA Summer Intern, 2024
- Juhi Devliyal, MPH Practicum Intern at WSU
- Sreemathi Ramesh, MPH Practicum Intern at WSU
- Caroline Paige, NIDA Summer Intern, 2023
- Kelly Harlan, MPH Practicum Intern at WSU, Research Assistant
Affiliated Groups
Collaborators & Community Partners
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Thank you to the many individuals at MDHHS for their work, input, and feedback on our projects. We espeically thank you for the work you have done with Michigan Model for Health and adolescent substance use prevention.