SPHHS Receives ASPPH Award for Outstanding Community Service

The University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) has been named as the recipient of the 2022 Harrison C. Spencer Award for Outstanding Community Service by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).

This prestigious award is given annually to an ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited school or program of public health demonstrating a major institutional commitment to addressing community needs through education, practice, and/or research. It was created in 2018 to honor Dr. Spencer, former ASPPH president and a pioneer in public health with a long-standing commitment to principles of social justice with a focus on community engagement to address the social determinants of health. 

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The SPHHS is being recognized for work done in the last three years during a time of many public health challenges. The school has been actively engaged with community partners in the region, resulting in impactful educational and intervention programs, as well as internship opportunities that have uplifted the power of community members and created authentic campus-community partnerships.

These partnerships were not built over night but rather reflect two decades of active engagement with communities in Western Massachusetts. An example of this work is the making of the film “Intergenerational Conversations on Racism and Health” which will premier in April on the UMass campus and in various other venues in the region. The film highlights the voices of people of color in the region and will offer a unique opportunity to learn about current community issues related to racism as a public health crisis and what our communities are doing to address inequities.

“It is an honor to accept this award on behalf of the school and the community we serve,” says Anna Maria Siega-Riz, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. “Our faculty, staff and students in partnership with western Massachusetts local boards of health, community health centers and hospitals, civic partners and state legislators, to name just a few, are committed to improving and protecting health and eliminating inequities in the social determinants of health. Currently we have over a third of our faculty engaged in community activities with involvement of over 50% of the student body. This award recognizes the hard work and value of cultural humility in creating partnerships and demonstrates that collectively we can do good work.”

The school places health equity at the core of its community-engaged activities through its work with the Office for Public Health Practice and Outreach (OPHPO), the Western Massachusetts Health Equity Network (WMHEN), and the Center for Community Health Equity Research (CCHER).

The OPHPO, led by Risa Silverman ‘91MPH, works to strengthen the school’s relationships with the local and statewide public health community. The office works closely with state congressional leaders and the state Department of Public Health, providing support for legislative initiatives, creating internship pipelines, and by helping to organize public forums on critical public health issues, such as vaccine hesitancy and the opioid epidemic that has devastated rural western MA communities in particular. OPHPO engages students in practice opportunities and outreach, as well as assists the school in our workforce development.

Says Silverman, "It has been great to see SPHHS grow – since I started in 1996! – to include so many staff and faculty committed to the development of authentic and sustainable community partnerships that strive to mutually benefit both our communities and the educational experience of our students."

Silverman also leads the Western Massachusetts Health Equity Network (WMHEN), a broad, cross-sectional coalition of community members from western Massachusetts. SPHHS houses this network, and works with WMHEN to advance health equity by addressing the social determinants of health, exploring the root causes of institutional and structural racism, and other barriers to healthcare access and support. WMHEN engages community partners in developing a bi-annual SPHHS health equity summit, offering yearly policy assemblies, and providing guidance for other special events such as an annual policy assembly run in partnership with the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

The Center for Community Health Equity Research (CCHER), also centered within the SPHHS, aims to advance understanding of health equity, cultivate equitable partnerships with communities, promote community engaged research at the school, and support youth programs to diversify the health equity research workforce. CCHER community research liaison Brenda Evans, MPH, helps faculty identify and establish contact with potential community partners for research collaborations. Through campus-wide trainings and workshops, CCHER helps faculty build capacity for establishing equitable partnerships with community organizations who have shared research interests.

“CCHER core faculty members and affiliates are engaged in many valuable participatory research projects that promote health equity,” says CCHER Director Susan Shaw, who also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Policy. “These projects rely on long-term community partnerships to generate actionable findings on sexual and reproductive health, chronic disease management and prevention, and substance use disorders, among other topics.”

“Today, we can say that the bond between the school and our community is strong and enduring,” says Siega-Riz. “That engagement will continue to thrive and be at the center of our mission.”

Dean Siega-Riz will accept the Spencer Award on behalf of SPHHS faculty and staff during the ASPPH Annual Meeting held March 22-24.