Prochaska to speak at URI wellness conference Sept. 14

This article has been updated to reflect the removal of Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, U.S. assistant secretary of health for mental health and substance abuse at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from the list of speakers. She was unable to attend.

JAMES PROCHASKA, professor of psychology and director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center at the University of Rhode Island, will speak at URI's Wellness Conference on Population Health: Breakthroughs in Population Health and Multiple Health Behavior Changes on Sept. 14. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – University of Rhode Island will host its first wellness conference on population health Sept. 14 at the campus’s Memorial Union, where professor of psychology James O. Prochaska and other leading experts in population health and behavior change will speak. Prochaska, director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center at URI, is best known as the developer of the transtheoretical model of behavior change. The evidence-based model is used around the world, from individuals trying to adopt healthy habits to the World Bank’s governance and accountability program. During the conference, he will present examples of how the center’s interventions and interactions lead to improved health and well-being of individuals and populations.

Among the examples of the center’s positive effect on population health Prochaska will talk about is its investment in research.

The center has generated more than $100 million in research grants, Prochaska said. More than 20,000 smokers have participated for free in CPRC research programs, including about 80 percent of whom would have been excluded from most programs because they were assessed to be unmotivated. About 5,000 have been helped to quit. Smokers cost employers about $4,000 more per year than nonsmokers. The CPRC programs are estimated to have saved employers about $16 million year after year. More importantly, Prochaska said, they saved about 50,000 years of life since smokers die about 10 years sooner than nonsmokers.

Additional speakers at URI’s Well-being Conference on Population Health: Breakthroughs in Population Health and Multiple Health Behavior Changes:

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  • David Katz, founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, an international authority on nutrition and weight control, discussing what actually can make people well.
  • Leanne Mauriello, director of behavioral science and lifestyle management at Spectrum Health Systems in Michigan, speaking on promoting healthy energy-balance behaviors and freedom from addictive behaviors in middle and high school students.
  • John C. Norcross, professor of psychology at the University of Scranton and an international leader in the science and practice of psychotherapy, discussing breakthroughs in the field.

Registration is required and space is limited. The free event begins at 7 p.m. in Edwards Hall.

Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.

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