Lorien Abroms, ScD, MA

Lorien Abroms is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health.

• Phone: (202) 416-0482
• Fax: (202) 416-0433
• Email: Lorien@gwu.edu

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.

Education

Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Brown University, 1993
Master of Arts (Sociology), Brown University, 1996
Doctor of Science, Harvard School of Public Health, 2002
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, National Institutes of Health, 2003

Teaching

PubH 363-Introduction to Public Health Communication & Marketing, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 206-Health Behavior and Health Education, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 205-Policy Approaches to Public Health, SPHHS Interdepartmental Course

Research

As 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 Service

Professor 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.

Departments

• Prevention and Community Health

Institutes & Centers

• Prevention Research Center

Research Activities

• The X-Pack: Smoking Cessation for Youth Study

Publications

• Managing serious medical risks with information and performance requirements: Isotretinoin as an on-going natural experiment.
  Abroms LC, Maibach E, Lyon-Daniel K. Managing serious medical risks with information and performance requirements: Isotretinoin as an on-going natural experiment. PloS Medicine. November, 2006.
• Psychosocial predictors of smoking trajectories during middle and high school. Addiction.
  Abroms LC, Simons-Morton BG, Haynie DL, Chen R. Psychosocial predictors of smoking trajectories during middle and high school. Addiction. 2005; Jun;100(6):852-61.
• The strength e-zine: an application of email for health promotion in adolescent girls.
  Abroms LC, Fagan P, Eisenberg M, Remba N and Sorensen G. The strength e-zine: an application of email for health promotion in adolescent girls. Am J Health Promot 2004;19(1):28-32.
• Latent growth analyses of peer and parent influences on smoking progression among early adolescents.
  Simons-Morton BG, Abroms LC, Haynie DL, Chen R. Latent growth analyses of peer and parent influences on smoking progression among early adolescents. Health Psychol 2004;23(6):612-21.
• Gender differences in young adults' attitudes to sun protection and sunscreen use.
  Abroms LC, Jorgensen CM, Southwell B, Geller A, Emmons KM. Gender differences in young adults' attitudes to sun protection and sunscreen use. Health Educ Behav 2003;30(1):29-43.
• More work for mother: How spouses, cohabiting partners, and relatives affect the hours mothers work.
  Abroms LC, Goldscheider FK. More work for mother: How spouses, cohabiting partners, and relatives affect the hours mothers work. J Fam Econ Issues 2002;23(2):1.