Professor, Colleagues Receive 2007 Prevention Science Award
Media Contact: , (859) 257-3303, x254
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 5, 2007) − University of Kentucky
communication professor Phillip Palmgreen, along with his research group from the University of
Kentucky, recently received the 2007 Prevention Science Award at the15th Annual Meeting of the
Society for Prevention Research. Palmgreen and
the SENTAR (sensation seeking-targeting) research group were selected for their outstanding
contributions to advancing the field of prevention science by designing effective anti-drug
public service announcements.
Palmgreen said he feels the award is "a great honor for me and my colleagues, especially since the Society for Prevention Research is the top scientific association devoted to preventing health-related problems.”
Palmgreen's research focuses on designing televised anti-drug public service announcements to attract attention and enhance the effects of such PSAs on high risk youth. The research group working with him includes Lewis Donohew and Nancy Harrington from the communication department, and Elizabeth Lorch from the psychology department. One series of PSA campaigns in Fayette County designed by this group reduced marijuana use by high sensation-seeking teens by over 38 percent.
Palmgreen served as a member of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Campaign Design Expert Panel (1997-1998) and Behavior Change Expert Panel (1998-2001), which both contributed to the development and implementation of the recent $2 billion national substance abuse prevention campaign. In 2001, Palmgreen was asked to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources to explain why PSA campaigns can be effective when designed successfully. Palmgreen has also served as a member of the advisory board for the Partnership for Drug-Free America.
Palmgreen's work is unique in that it not only consists of traditional scholarship in terms of laboratory and field-based research, but it involves the development and production of original public service announcements for television and radio. In 1997, one of Palmgreen's PSAs (used in the Fayette PSA campaign) won the "Best in Show" award for all televised PSA or product ads in the Lexington Advertising Club ADDY awards competition.
The Society for Prevention Research seeks to advance science-based prevention programs and policies through empirical research. The international membership of the organization includes scientists, practitioners, advocates, administrators and policy makers who are concerned with the prevention of social, physical and mental health problems and the promotion of health, safety and well-being.
Palmgreen said he feels the award is "a great honor for me and my colleagues, especially since the Society for Prevention Research is the top scientific association devoted to preventing health-related problems.”
Palmgreen's research focuses on designing televised anti-drug public service announcements to attract attention and enhance the effects of such PSAs on high risk youth. The research group working with him includes Lewis Donohew and Nancy Harrington from the communication department, and Elizabeth Lorch from the psychology department. One series of PSA campaigns in Fayette County designed by this group reduced marijuana use by high sensation-seeking teens by over 38 percent.
Palmgreen served as a member of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Campaign Design Expert Panel (1997-1998) and Behavior Change Expert Panel (1998-2001), which both contributed to the development and implementation of the recent $2 billion national substance abuse prevention campaign. In 2001, Palmgreen was asked to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources to explain why PSA campaigns can be effective when designed successfully. Palmgreen has also served as a member of the advisory board for the Partnership for Drug-Free America.
Palmgreen's work is unique in that it not only consists of traditional scholarship in terms of laboratory and field-based research, but it involves the development and production of original public service announcements for television and radio. In 1997, one of Palmgreen's PSAs (used in the Fayette PSA campaign) won the "Best in Show" award for all televised PSA or product ads in the Lexington Advertising Club ADDY awards competition.
The Society for Prevention Research seeks to advance science-based prevention programs and policies through empirical research. The international membership of the organization includes scientists, practitioners, advocates, administrators and policy makers who are concerned with the prevention of social, physical and mental health problems and the promotion of health, safety and well-being.