Mark Edberg, PhD, MA

Mark Edberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

• Phone: (202) 994-3584
• Fax: (202) 994-3601
• Email: medberg@gwu.edu or sphmce@gwumc.eduor

A cultural anthropologist with a joint appointment in GWU's Department of Anthropology, Professor Edberg is particularly knowledgeable about how poverty and marginalization intersect with key health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, substance use and youth violence. A researcher and consultant with strong interests in theory and in developing and evaluating prevention programs, Dr. Edberg says, "It has been my goal to contribute whatever I can to bridging the gap between the public health approach to these challenges and the ways in which affected populations understand and frame their relationship to a specific issue." He has done field or project work in urban areas of America and in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean and retains a strong interest in immigrant and refugee populations, collaborating closely with organizations in the Hispanic/Latino and Southeast Asian communities.

Professor Edberg also has experience in social marketing, mass media and public information, essential tools to avoid the cultural roadblocks that sometimes impede effective communication. As well, he is a working musician and founder of The Furies, a modern rock band that plays original music in the DC area.

Education

Master of Arts (Political Science/International Relations), UCLA, 1982
Master of Arts (Applied Anthropology), American University, 1989
Doctor of Philosophy (Cultural Anthropology), University of Virginia, 2000

Teaching

PubH 226-Health Behavior and Health Education, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 364-Qualitative Methods in Health Promotion, Department of Prevention and Community Health (and Department of Anthropology)
PubH 121-Principles of Health Education and Health Promotion, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 185-Impact of Culture on Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 377-High Risk and Special Populations, Department of Prevention and Community Health

Research

Dr. Edberg is currently principal investigator on a CDC grant exploring community factors related to violence in the Washington-area Latino community; co-principal investigator on an evaluation of a project intended to prevent sexual exploitation; and a community assessment evaluator on an HIV/AIDS and TB-related effort. Recently, he served as co-PI on a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant that examined substance use and HIV/AIDS risk among Southeast Asian populations; he was also involved in a related study focusing on domestic violence in the same communities. Previously, he has been co-PI on other NIDA-funded research assessing HIV/AIDS and substance use among drug users, runaway youth and other high-risk populations. Dr. Edberg is also project director implementing an evaluation data system he helped to develop for community-based health promotion programs funded by the DHHS Office of Minority Health.

Community Service

Professor Edberg has provided training for the DC Health Department and received a Maryland Governor's Salute to Excellence award for helping to organize music benefits to support local violence prevention programs.

Departments

• Prevention and Community Health

Institutes & Centers

• Prevention Research Center

Research Activities

• Health Information Partners (HIPS)

Community Activities

• Health Information Partners (HIPS)

Publications

• Essentials of Health Behavior.
  Edberg M. Essentials of Health Behavior. In: Essentials of Public Health Series. Boston (MA): Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Forthcoming.
• Risk behavior theory and its discontents: a generative approach to understanding violence, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and other risk behavior.
  Edberg M. Risk behavior theory and its discontents: a generative approach to understanding violence, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and other risk behavior. Med Anthropol Q. Forthcoming.
• El narcotraficante: narcocorridos and the construction of a cultural persona on the U.S.-Mexico border.
  Edberg M. El narcotraficante: narcocorridos and the construction of a cultural persona on the U.S.-Mexico border. Austin (TX): University of Texas Press; 2004.
• The narcotrafficker in representation and practice: a cultural persona from the Mexican border.
  Edberg M. The narcotrafficker in representation and practice: a cultural persona from the Mexican border. Ethos 2004;32(2):257-77.
• Conducting substance abuse prevention research in a workplace setting: issues and barriers.
  Edberg M, Bekelman A, Cohen M, Galvin D. Conducting substance abuse prevention research in a workplace setting: issues and barriers. Report. Rockville (MD): Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), Department of Health and Human Services (US); 2003 May.
• Elimination of health disparities in racial/ethnic minority communities: developing data indicators to assess the progress of community-based efforts.
  Edberg M, Wong F, Woo V, Doong T. Elimination of health disparities in racial/ethnic minority communities: developing data indicators to assess the progress of community-based efforts. Evaluation and Program Planning 2003;26:11-19.
• Preliminary qualitative results from an ongoing study of HIV risk in three southeast Asian communities.
  Edberg M, Wong F, Park R, Corey K. Preliminary qualitative results from an ongoing study of HIV risk in three southeast Asian communities. Proceedings of the XIV International AIDS Conference; 200 Jul 7-12; Barcelona, Spain. Sponsored by the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, Centers for Disease Control and others.
• Identifying a uniform data set of information/data to assess the impacts of activities funded by the Office of Minority Health.
  Edberg M, Cohen M, Bekelman A. Identifying a uniform data set of information/data to assess the impacts of activities funded by the Office of Minority Health. Final Report. Rockville (MD): Division of Policy and Data, Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services (US); 2002 Mar.
• Drug traffickers as social bandits: culture and drug trafficking in northern Mexico and the border region.
  Edberg M. Drug traffickers as social bandits: culture and drug trafficking in northern Mexico and the border region. Journal of Contemporary Criminology 2001;17(3):259-77.