Lorien Abroms, ScD, MALorien Abroms is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health.
Professor Abroms' career focuses on the use of health communication and social marketing to promote health in adolescents and young adults. Always interested in integrating research with practice, Professor Abroms strives to find innovative ways of reaching young people with health information and services. Much of her work to date has focused on the application of media and new communication technologies for smoking cessation in young adults and other populations. Professor Abroms has served as a research consultant for Population Services International and the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics. She has conducted trainings in health literacy and risk communication for the DC Department of Public Health. Prior to coming to GW in 2004, Professor Abroms was a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she initiated the High Five Study. In 2001, Professor Abroms, with members of the Harvard Tobacco Control Working Group and in partnership with Population Services International, developed an innovative smoking cessation kit for young adults, the X-Pack (www.x-pack.org). To date over 14,000 X-Packs have been distributed to help young adult smokers quit smoking. EducationBachelor of Science (Psychology), Brown University, 1993 TeachingPubH 363-Introduction to Public Health Communication & Marketing, Department of Prevention and Community Health ResearchAs principal investigator for "X-Pack: Smoking Cessation for Youth," funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Dr. Abroms is leading a study to evaluate the effects of email counseling and a self-help kit (the X-Pack) on smoking cessation in young adults. Other research projects are focused on identifying ways of increasing consumer demand among young adult smokers for smoking cessation services, on developing a smoking cessation kit for Latinos, and on developing a social support intervention to help pregnant smokers quit smoking. Dr. Abroms has also conducted research on the psychosocial predictors of smoking, on gender and family influences on sun protection, and on cancer prevention in adolescent girls. Community ServiceProfessor Abroms reviews manuscripts for a number of peer–reviewed journals, including Social Science and Medicine, the Journal of Health Communication, the Journal of Internet Medical Research, and the American Journal of Health Behavior. She serves on the executive board of the DC Tobacco Control Coalition and has served on the editorial committee of the DC Cancer Consortium. Dr. Abroms is a member of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, the Society for Public Health Education, and the American Public Health Association. DepartmentsInstitutes & CentersResearch ActivitiesPublications |