Current Projects
Adverse Childhood Experience
Researchers Involved: Linda Cameron, PH.D., Marisela Yepez, B.A., Kimberly Bristow, Hira Zainul Abideen, Angela Susan George, Preeti Ghuman, Adeline Nibitanga, Aaron Zirbel, Filiberto Delgado-Navarrete, and Collin Stopforth.
Community Organization Involved: ACE Overcomers
Project: In a series of studies, we are evaluating psychosocial and health outcomes of interventions designed to improve emotion regulation skills in adults with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These studies are conducted in collaboration with ACE Overcomers: The Center for Resiliency and Trauma-Informed Training. Adults enrolled in community-based, 8-12 week ACE Overcomers program are invited to participate in the study and complete surveys designed to track immediate and long-term changes in their emotion regulation skills, mental and physical health, and quality of life. Trained research assistants attend the weekly intervention sessions to conduct process analyses that provides evidence of the program’s fidelity. A publication of an initial study in this series of evaluations can be found here. Linda Cameron and Marisela Yepez are members of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Informed Network of Care of Merced County (ACEsINC) Leadership Committee.
Funding Source: These research projects have been made possible with funding from First Five of Merced County, the Central Valley Opportunity Fund, CommonSpirit Health, and Dignity Health.
Climate Change and Health
Researchers Involved: Linda Cameron, Ph.D., Marisela Yepez, B.A., Aaron Zirbel, Kimberly Bristow, Adeline Nibitanga, Filberto Delgado-Navarrete, Collin Stopforth
Project: In this line of research, we are developing and testing communication strategies for promoting adaptive beliefs about climate change and behaviors that help mitigate climate change and its consequences. For example, we are testing the efficacy of “success” messages in which a public policy or human behavior change led to improvements in environmental conditions in enhancing beliefs of behavior efficacy, reducing feelings of hopelessness and fatalism, and motivating support for climate change policies and behaviors that reduce consumption of fossil fuels. We are also exploring relationships between people’s beliefs and concerns about climate change and their mental health and well-being.
Behavioral Economics for Public Health
Researchers Involved: Paul Brown, Ph.D., Linda Cameron, Ph.D., Jeffrey Hoch, Ph.D., Marisela Yepez, B. A., Kimberly Bristow, and the Behavioral Economics Team: Melissa Renteria, M.P.H., Anna Lucia Mendoza, M.P.H., Theresa Spezzano, Ph.D., Adriana Nunez Valenzuela, Ph.D., Gilda Zarate-Gonzalez, Ph.D., Nimrat Sandhu, M.P.H, Rudiel Fabian Sanchez, Ph.D., Bozhidar Chakalov, B.A., and Momata Pokrel, M.A.
Community Organization Involved: California Department of Public Health
Project: This project, led by Paul Brown (UC Merced) as Principal Investigator and Linda Cameron and Jeffrey Hoch (UC Davis) as Co-Principal Investigators, investigates how behavioral economics can be integrated within public health organizations. Behavioral economics is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human behavior and decision making that integrates knowledge from psychology, cognitive science, and other behavioral fields with economic analysis and applies this knowledge to policies and interventions aimed at helping people make beneficial choices. This project is one of multiple projects conducted by a team of researchers from UC Merced, UC Davis, and community partner organizations in collaboration with members of the California Department of Public Health. All of these projects are aimed at improving public health decision making by offering training and support in applying health economics and behavioral economics to public health. The Behavioral Economics research team provides reports to the California Department of Public Health such as "The Use of Behavioral Economics in Public Health and Health-Serving Organizations." The team also provides training programs in behavioral economics for public health.
Funding Source: The research project is made possible by an Epidemiology and Lab Capacity (ELC) Enhancing Detection Expansion Grant from the California Department of Public Health.
Nudges to Promote COVID-19 Vaccinations Among California Residents
Researchers Involved: Linda Cameron, Ph.D., Marisela Yepez, B.A., Kimberly Bristow, Paul Brown, Ph.D.
Community Organization Involved: California Department of Public Health
Project: This research serves as a demonstration project of how to apply behavioral insights methodologies to develop and test behaviorally-informed communications. The team develops public health communications promoting the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines that use strategies (e.g., targeting social norms and ownership biases) and tests them in online experiments with California residents. Data analyses include subgroup analyses to identify how message effects vary across social and demographic groups and particularly groups for whom vaccination rates are low.
Funding Source: The research project is made possible by an Epidemiology and Lab Capacity (ELC) Enhancing Detection Expansion Grant from the California Department of Public Health.
Impact of COVID-19
Researchers involved: Linda Cameron, Ph.D., Paul Brown, Ph.D., Sheleigh Lawler, Ph.D., Alexandra Robbins-Hill, Ph.D., Marisela Yepez, B.A.
Community Organization Involved: Camarena Health Promotores de Salud
Project: In collaboration with Sheleigh Lawler and Alexandra Robbins-Hill at The University of Queensland, we have been conducting surveys assessing the health, financial, social, and health behavior impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in California and Australia since June 2020. This project has included six surveys to date, with the latest survey completed in April 2024. We are tracking shifts in COVID-related attitudes and behaviors such as beliefs about COVID-19 (including conspiracy beliefs), trust in government and public health, vaccine beliefs and uptake, mask-wearing, social distancing, and adherence to public guidelines. We are also assessing experiences of COVID-19, hospitalizations, long COVID symptoms, and COVID-19 cases among family members. Among other health behaviors, we track the use of nicotine and tobacco products, cannabis use, and alcohol use to examine how substance use has changed during the early and later phases of the pandemic. As part of this project, we have collaborated with promotores de salud (community health workers) at Camarena Health to conduct surveys with members of hard-to-reach communities in San Joaquin Valley.
Source: This project is made possible by funding to the UC Merced Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center’s Rapid Response Core from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.
