Advancing HERO’s role in connecting science to practice often involves bringing researchers and company leaders together in our think tanks, webinars, and conferences. We recruit experts from organizations and universities, around the world, and we are always eager to hear from our members about studies and stories we can share. A regular source of great ideas comes from the American Journal of Health Promotion (AJHP) where Paul Terry, PhD, A HERO Senior Fellow, serves as AJHP’s Editor in Chief. In cooperation with AJHP, we are pleased to share some of the journal’s “Papers of the Year” from 2022. Eight studies in total were recognized. Here, we share those related to workplace well-being.
For free access to the complete list of winners read AJHP’s January 2023 Editorial.
Editor in Chief Award 2022
Fight like a Nerdy Girl: The Dear Pandemic Playbook for Combating Health Misinformation
Lindsey J. Leininger, PhD., Sandra S. Albrecht, PhD, Alison Buttenheim, PhD, MBA, Jennifer Beam Dowd, PhD, Ashley Z. Ritter, APRN, PhD, Amanda M. Simanek, PhD, MPH, Mary-Jo Valentino, MFA., Malia Jones, PhD. American Journal of Health Promotion, Volume 36, Issue 3.
Editor’s Picks Awards: The Best of 2022 List of Health Promotion Researchers (Volume 36)
Supporting Employee Health at Work: How Perceptions Differ Across Wage Category
Kristi Rahrig Jenkins, PhD., Emily Stiehl, PhD., Bruce W. Sherman, MD., Susan L. Bales, MS., American Journal of Health Promotion, Volume 36, Issue 1., 2022.
Sense of Purpose in Life and Subsequent Physical, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Health: An Outcome-Wide Approach.
Eric S. Kim, PhD., Ying Chen, ScD, Julia S. Nakamura, BS. Carol D. Ryff, PhD, Tyler J. VanderWeele, PhD. American Journal of Health Promotion. Volume 36, Issue 1. 2022.
Exploring COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy amongst Black Americans: Contributing Factors and Motivators
Sayuri Sekimitsu, Jessica Simon, Mika; Matsuuchi Lindsley, Melissa Jones, Umin Jalloh, Titilayo Mabogunje, Jordyn Kerr, Mikyla Willingham, Sula Bahiyyih Ndousse-Fetter, Gloria White-Hammond, Wayne Altman. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2022. Volume 36, Issue 8.
Confronting a Pandemic Driven by Misinformation
Paul Terry’s Editor in Chief Award recipient of the year was written by self-proclaimed “nerdy girls.” Led by Dartmouth’s Dr. Lindsey Leininger, this paper was co-authored by a cohort of brilliant researchers, also from all parts of the country, who have committed to being “your trusted messengers for practical and factual health information.” As is detailed in their paper about their “Dear Pandemic Playbook,” they set out to “invigorate the scientific discipline of infodemiology… by intentionally bringing together many disciplines to share perspectives including data science, health communication, behavioral science, and epidemiology.” Now with over 2,000 posts on their “those nerdy girls” website, these scholars hope that “by combining infodemic practice and research, we can be helpful to fellow health professionals working hard to amplify the impact of good health information and lessen the impact of the bad.”
HERO’s Webinar Archives: Scroll to the November 2022 webinar to view an interview with Dr. Kristi Rahrig Jenkins who discusses her award-winning study above and the University of Michigan programs that were recognized with the C. Everett Koop Award.
You can also watch the September 2021 webinar with a presentation by Dr. Leininger who discussed her award-winning study.
A word from Paul Terry – I have come to assume that the handful of wellness apostates who deride health promotion professionals don’t read studies like those in AJHP’s “best of 2022 list.” That is because I seldom read a critique from a blogger troll that these serious scholars have not already leveled on their own research. When I have co-authored original research papers, I have usually taken lead on drafting the discussion and limitations sections. Trying to put your study’s findings in the context of knowledge that preceded your hypothesis, and describing factors that could invalidate your findings, has always impressed me as the hardest, but also the most enjoyable part of research. When you read these award-winning authors’ discussion sections you will see how they applied what they learned to continuous improvement for our discipline, to enlarge our field’s reach, and to produce a more equitable world.
