# Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers

> **NIH ALLCDC U48** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2023 · $1,050,000

## Abstract

Abstract
 This Center proposal builds on our long history of partnerships in the rural San Luis
Valley, state partnerships and the need for expansion to other states in HHS Region 8. The
Center’s specific aims cover the required key elements and activities and are framed in five
over-arching long-term areas of investigation: 1) Establish and complete a 5-year center
research and translation agenda to promote family and child health and well-being, thriving
communities, and health equity in the Rocky Mountain Region; 2) Develop and strengthen
community partnerships to bridge research to public health practice; 3) Develop and sustain
translation efforts across Colorado; 4) Communicate and disseminate findings across Colorado
and Region 8; and 5) Train public health and medical practitioners, students and multisector
practitioners across Colorado and Region 8.
 The public health practice-based core research project is designed to reduce the
intergenerational transmission of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the San Luis Valley
(SLV) of Colorado, which are modifiable risk factors that have a profound and lasting effect on a
person’s health. To accomplish this, a community-engaged, stakeholder-driven, multi-level
intervention, entitled STANCE (Linking Systems To address ACES iN Childhood Early on)
is proposed. The STANCE intervention has three primary components: 1) Universal assessment
of ACES for all children aged zero to five and their primary caregivers, 2) Implementation of the
pyramid model in early childcare education (ECE) settings to promote positive social-emotional
development, and 3) a community-level social network analysis to leverage and strengthen the
system of care to better meet the needs of children and families struggling with a high number
of ACEs and associated downstream health outcomes. The primary effectiveness outcomes will
be evaluated using a stepped wedge cluster randomized design conducted in ~15 ECE centers
(~730 children). A systems change approach that marries preschools, community organizations,
government agencies, policy-makers, and researchers, will increase the chances for success for
vulnerable children prior to the compounding effects of health problems caused by ACEs.
 Center and research components together represent the integration of research and
practice with meaningful community participation which will lead to results that are responsive to
local public health needs while promoting templates of community-engaged research also
relevant for other settings. Through active collaboration, we will build local capacity to execute
evidence-based public health practice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10657513
- **Project number:** 5U48DP006399-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** JENN A LEIFERMAN
- **Activity code:** U48 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $1,050,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10657513

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10657513, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers (5U48DP006399-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10657513. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*