Susan Blake, PhD, MA

Susan M. Blake is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health

• Phone: (202) 994-3567; (202) 253-4275
• Fax: (202) 994-3601
• Email: smblake@gwu.edu or smblake1@aol.com

Professor Blake is a behavioral scientist and licensed psychologist with postdoctoral training in public health. Her primary interests lie in applying behavioral and ecological theories to prevent adverse health outcomes and to promote health and mental health in populations. Whether she is seeking ways to prevent violence, substance use, pregnancy, or HIV among adolescents, studying the mental health issues facing at-risk, immigrant or orphan children and families, or evaluating school and community-based prevention programs, Professor Blake's diverse professional, clinical and public service-oriented activities focus on the goal of building healthier families, organizations and communities.

Education

Bachelor of Sciences (Psychology), Old Dominion University, 1972
Master of Arts (Clinical/Environmental Psychology), University of Arizona, 1978
Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical/Environmental Psychology), University of Arizona, 1982
Post-doctoral Fellow, NHLBI-funded fellowship in Behavioral Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology,1982-85

Teaching

HSML 222-Group Leadership and Team Facilitation Interdisciplinary Student Community-Oriented Prevention Enhancement Service (ISCOPES)
PubH 226-Health Behavior and Health Education, Department of Prevention and Community Health

Research

Professor Blake's current research focuses primarily on child, adolescent, family and women's health. Her research is notable for its diversity, and has involved health communications, assessing behavioral and social determinants of risk and resiliency, and designing behavioral and community-based interventions, and quality improvement and assurance programs in primary care. An expert on program development and evaluation, Professor Blake consults regularly with local, national and international agencies; consultancies have included the federal Office of Women's Health, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and various state and local public health and education agencies.

Among the community-based and clinical interventions she has developed or tested are those designed to: enhance parent-child communications; promote physical activity and smoking cessation in communities; and improve health education and services in schools, worksites and primary care settings. She is currently Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded study to prevent environmental tobacco smoke exposure during infancy and a study with Kidsave International looking at the psychosocial adjustment of older Russian and Colombian orphans adopted by American families. As well, she was co-PI on a CDC-funded intervention with Johns Hopkins University to prevent dating violence, and verbal, physical and sexual aggression in Baltimore public schools.

Community Service

As an ISCOPES Academic Preceptor, Professor Blake helps to guide interdisciplinary teams at GWU's School of Public Health and Health Services and George Mason University to conduct service-learning activities in the community. As a volunteer, Professor Blake has developed and implemented a follow-up study of older adopted orphans who were institutionalized in Russia and Colombia for Kidsave International, and is a Member of the District of Columbia Suicide Prevention Coalition Planning Group, the HIV Prevention Community Planning Group (HPCPG), and the Healthy Youth Coalition. She is active in University governance, having served as a member of the GWUMC Faculty Senate Research Committee, Faculty Support Committee, and SPHHS Research Committee, and Chair of the GWUMC Adolescent Health Research Workgroup. She serves as a peer reviewer for multiple journals in psychology and public health, and is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), American Public Health Association (APHA), Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM), and American School Health Association (ASHA).

Departments

• Prevention and Community Health

Institutes & Centers

• ISCOPES
• Prevention Research Center
• HIV/AIDS Institute

Research Activities

• Arts-Based Initiative for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls
• NIH/DC Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality
• Prevention of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Exposure in Children Ages 0-12 Months
• Building Healthy Teen Relationships and Reproductive Practices to Increase Interpartum Intervals
• Evaluation of the BodyWorks Toolkit
• The George Washington University Study of Kidsave Summer Miracles Adoptive Families

Community Activities

• Arts-Based Initiative for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls
• NIH/DC Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality
• Evaluation of the Kidsave International Summer Miracles Program.
• Community of Hope Health Services & Marie Reed Elementary School, Washington, DC.
• Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS), Falls Church, VA.
• DC-HOPE Project, Development of Tobacco Smoke Exposure Prevention Interventions for pregnant African American and Hispanic women.
• DC-STEP Project, Development of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure (ETSE) Prevention and Development & Safety Promotion Interventions for pregnant African American and Hispanic women.

Publications

• Clinic-based integrated counseling reduces psychosocial/behavioral risk factors: Results of a multi-site randomized intervention trial of high risk pregnant women.
  Joseph, J.G., El-Mohandes, A.E., Kiely, M., El-Khorazaty, M.N., Gantz, M.G., Johnson, A.A., Katz, K., Blake, S.M., Rossi, M., Subramanian, S. Clinic-based integrated counseling reduces psychosocial/behavioral risk factors: Results of a multi-site randomized intervention trial of high risk pregnant women. American Journal of Public Health, (in press).
• Birth weight may be predicted by cotinine levels during pregnancy in a population of African American smokers.
  El-Mohandes AE, Kiely M, Gantz MG, Blake SM, El-Khorazaty MN. Birth weight may be predicted by cotinine levels during pregnancy in a population of African American smokers. Pediatrics (in press).
• Correlates Of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Avoidance Early In Pregnancy Among African American Non-Smokers.
  Blake, Susan M.; Murray, Kennan D.; El-Khorazaty, M. Nabil; Gantz, Marie; Kiely, Michele; Best, Dana; Joseph, Jill G.; El-Mohandes, Ayman A.E. (2009). Correlates Of Environmental Tobacco Smoke Avoidance Early In Pregnancy Among African American Non-Smokers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36:3, 225–234.
• An Intervention to Improve Postpartum Outcomes in African Americans Mothers: A randomized controlled trial
  El-Mohandes, A.E., Kiely, M., Joseph, J.G., Subramanian, S., Johnson, A.A., Blake, S.M., Gantz, M.G., & El-Khorazaty, M.N. (2008) An Intervention to Improve Postpartum Outcomes in African Americans Mothers: A randomized controlled trial, Obstetrics & Gynecology (Green Journal), 112 (3), 611-620.
• The design, implementation and acceptability of an integrated intervention to address multiple behavioral and psychosocial risk factors among pregnant African American women.
  Katz, KS., Blake, SM., Milligan, RA; Sharps, PW; White, DB; Rodan, MF; Rossi, M; Murray, KB. (2008). The design, implementation and acceptability of an integrated intervention to address multiple behavioral and psychosocial risk factors among pregnant African American women. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 8:22. [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2393-8-22.pdf]
• Pregnancy intentions, happiness, and their correlates among low-income African American women at high risk for adverse infant health outcomes.
  Blake, SM, Keily, M., Gard, CC., El-Mohandes, AAE, El-Khorazaty, MN, and the NIH-DC Initiative. (2007). Pregnancy intentions and happiness among pregnant Black women at high risk for adverse infant health outcomes. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 39(4): 194-205.
• Challenges in the evaluation and implementation of school-based prevention and intervention programs on sensitive topics.
  Jaycox, Lisa H.; McCaffrey, Daniel F.; Ocampo, Beverly W.; Shelley, Gene A.; Blake, Susan M., Peterson, Donna J.; Richmond, Lucinda S.; Kub, Joan E.. (2006). Challenges in the evaluation and implementation of school-based prevention and intervention programs on sensitive topics. American Journal of Evaluation. 27 (3); 320-336.
• Local school district adoption of state recommended policies for HIV prevention education.
  Blake SM, Ledsky R, Sawyer R, Goodenow C, Banspach S, Lohrmann D, Hack T. Local school district adoption of state recommended policies for HIV prevention education. Prev Med 2005;40(2):239-48.
• HIV prevention community planning: challenges & opportunities for data-informed decision-making.
  Amaro HA, Blake SM, Morrill AC, Cranston K, Logan J, Conron KJ, Dai J. HIV prevention community planning: challenges & opportunities for data-informed decision-making. AIDS Behav Suppl 2005;9(1):9-27.
• Bridging data and decision making: development of techniques for improving the HIV prevention community planning process.
  Jenkins RA, Robbins A, Cranston K, Batchelor K, Freeman AC, Averbach AR, et al. Bridging data and decision making: development of techniques for improving the HIV prevention community planning process. AIDS Behav Suppl 2005;9(1):41-53.
• Improving the use of data for HIV prevention decision making: lessons learned.
  Jenkins RA, Averbach AR, Robbins A, Cranston K, Amaro H, Morrill AC, et al. Improving the use of data for HIV prevention decision making: lessons learned. AIDS Behav Suppl 2005;9(1):87-99.
• HIV prevention community planning: enhancing data-informed decision-making.
  Morrill AC, Amaro HA, Blake SM, Cranston K, Averbach AR, Logan JA, et al. HIV prevention community planning: enhancing data-informed decision-making. AIDS Behav Suppl 2005;9(1):55-70.
• Training and resource needs of teachers who provide HIV education to special population students.
  Sawyer R, Blake S. Ledsky R, Goodenow C, Evans D. Training and resource needs of teachers who provide HIV education to special population students. J HIV/AIDS Prev Educ Adolesc Child 2005;6(1):27-42.
• Condom availability programs in Massachusetts high schools: Relationships with condom use and sexual behavior.
  Blake S, Ledsky R, Goodenow C, Sawyer R, Lohrmann D, Windsor R. Condom availability programs in Massachusetts high schools: Relationships with condom use and sexual behavior. Am J Public Health 2003;93 (6): 955-62.
• Preventing sexual risk behaviors among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents: The benefits of gay-sensitive HIV instruction in schools. In: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Issues: Selections from the American Journal of Public Health.
  Blake SM, Ledsky R, Lehman T, Goodenow C, Sawyer R, Hack T. Preventing sexual risk behaviors among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents: The benefits of gay-sensitive HIV instruction in schools. In: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Issues: Selections from the American Journal of Public Health. Am J of Public Health 2001. Washington, D.C., 191-8.
• Evaluation of school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs in New Jersey: Lessons learned.
  Lohrmann D, Blake S, Collins T, Windsor R, Parrillo A. Evaluation of school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs in New Jersey: Lessons learned. J Sch Health 2001; 71(6); 207-12.
• A review of substance abuse prevention interventions for young adolescent girls.
  Blake SM, Amaro HA, Schwartz P. and Flinchbaugh L. A review of substance abuse prevention interventions for young adolescent girls. Special Issue: J Early Adolesc 2001; 21 (3):294-324.
• Developing theory-based substance abuse prevention programs for young adolescent girls.
  Amaro HA, Blake SM, Schwartz P, Flinchbaugh L. Developing theory-based substance abuse prevention programs for young adolescent girls. Special Issue: J Early Adolesc 2001;21 (3):256-93.
• Preventing sexual risk behaviors among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents: The benefits of gay-sensitive HIV instruction in schools.
  Blake S, Ledsky R, Lehman T, Goodenow C, Sawyer R, Hack T. Preventing sexual risk behaviors among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents: The benefits of gay-sensitive HIV instruction in schools. Am J Public Health: Special Issue: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health 2001;91 (6): 940-6.
• Recency of immigration, substance use, and sexual behavior among Massachusetts adolescents.
  Blake S, Ledsky R, Goodenow C, O'Donnell L. Recency of immigration, substance use, and sexual behavior among Massachusetts adolescents. Am J Public Health 2001;91 (5): 794-8.
• Effects of a parent-child communications intervention on young adolescents' risk for early onset of sexual behavior.
  Blake S, Simkin L, Ledsky R, Perkins C, Calabrese J. Effects of a parent-child communications intervention on young adolescents' risk for early onset of sexual behavior. Int Fam Plan Perspect 2001;33 (2):52-62.
• Receipt of school health education and school health services among adolescent immigrants in Massachusetts.
  Blake S, Ledsky R, Goodenow C, O'Donnell L. Receipt of school health education and school health services among adolescent immigrants in Massachusetts. J Sch Health 2001;71 (3):105-13.