Cancer Prevention & Reducing Health
Disparities in Rural Southwest Georgia

The Emory Prevention Research Center (EPRC) is dedicated to reducing health risks associated with cancer by studying behaviors and environments that support and/or hinder tobacco use, physical activity, and healthy eating.  The core research of the EPRC is conducted in the spirit of community based participatory research and emphasizes understanding and improving social-environmental contexts in rural communities that influence the major risk factors of tobacco use, nutrition, physical activity, and obesity.

The EPRC’s primary partner is the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition, which has defined a 31-county rural region as its service area; the EPRC has adopted these same boundaries to define its partner community. An active and engaged Community Advisory Board (CAB) provides ongoing community input and guidance into planning and implementation of research and other activities, in the spirit of community-based participatory research.