Caroline Sparks, Ph.D., M.A.
Caroline H. Sparks is an Associate Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and is the Director of the Health Promotion program in that department.
- Phone: (202)994-3589
- Email: ihochs@gwumc.edu
A licensed psychologist with expertise in behavioral health and adolescent psychology, Professor Sparks teaches graduate-level courses in program design and evaluation, behavior change and public health advocacy. In both her teaching and research, Dr. Sparks promotes the value of community-level interventions to address public health challenges. She has developed and evaluated programs to promote tobacco-free environments and HIV/AIDS education, and to prevent violence against women. She has consulted with national and local organizations addressing these and other health issues, including health informatics. Dr. Sparks often applies a participatory research approach to her work with community coalitions and has evaluated numerous programs of local and national community-based organizations and associations, including Vida Senior Centers for Hispanic elders, the America Psychological HIV/AIDS program, Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded SmokeLess States Initiative for tobacco control.
Education
Master of Arts (History), Tulane University
Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology), Ohio State University
Teaching
PubH 6531 – Health Promotion in Health Care Settings, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 6500 – Planning and Administration of Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Programs, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 6501 – Evaluation of Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Programs, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 6532 – Community Organization, Development, and Advocacy, Department of Prevention and Community Health
Research
Dr. Sparks is currently the evaluator for the American Psychological Association’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Volunteer (BSSV) program on HIV/AIDS. She is also testing a positive mental health curriculum for the elderly, including Hispanic seniors and is working on a textbook for teaching public health advocacy. In the past, she has served as the Principal Investigator for numerous grants and contracts, including a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded evaluation of a youth curriculum to promote a tobacco-free environment; an evaluation of school programs to prevent violence; geriatric programs and a program to train medical students in complementary and alternative medicine.
Community Service
Professor Sparks has served on an Institute of Medicine committee to develop a blueprint for a tobacco-free society and is a reviewer for two journals focused on health promotion. She has been a member of the Advisory Committee for the American Psychological Association's Adolescent Health Project and for an APA program to prevent early childhood violence.
Expertise
- Aging
- Evaluation Research
- HIV/AIDS
- Mental Health
- Smoking Cessation