David G. Schlundt

Associate Professor of Psychology

Schlundt's area of interest is behavioral medicine with specific focuses on nutrition and behavior, and racial and ethnic health disparities. He is currently involved in several major studies including Project REACH 2010, a CDC funded demonstration project designed to reduce disparities in diabetes and heart disease among African American residents of North Nashville, and the Southern Community Cohort Study, a study funded by the National Cancer Institute to look at genetic, behavioral, psychological, nutritional, and environmental reasons behind ethnic disparities in cancer and other chronic illnesses between Blacks and Whites living in the Southeastern United States. Schlundt is also involved in developing and testing culturally competent approach to weight loss, increasing physical fitness, and preventing relapse after medical and behavioral interventions for diabetes.

Current Research

Schlundt has been a member of the Diabetes Research and Training Center since 1985. He also works with the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, and the Vanderbilt Institute of Community and Translation Research (VICTR) as the director of the qualitative research core and as a member of the CTSA Community Engaged Research Core. His research has focused on social, emotional, and environmental influences on eating, exercise, and smoking behavior. This work has broadened into an interest in the effects of environmental factors on lifestyle behaviors and health disparities, the development and validation of behavioral assessment tools, and testing behavioral interventions. His current work examines how community action, public policy, and environmental change can be used to promote healthy eating and exercise. Here are some of his current research projects:

• Native American Research Center for Health - using community based-participatory research methods to improve diabetes care in American Indian communities.
• Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) - He is evaluating the Nashville CPPW grant. It is a program funded by the CDC to promote healthy eating and increased physical activity in Nashville
• Tennessee Obesity Task Force (TOT) - He is evaluating the development and implementation of a state obesity plan for Tennessee
• Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS) - I am working on integrating environmental data with the 80,000+ baseline interviews for this cohort to examine environmental effects on eating, exercise, diabetes, and obesity.
• Promoting seatbelt use in youth and minorities - I am collaborating with colleagues at Meharry Medical college on a series of studies designed to increase seatbelt use.
• The effectiveness of addressing health literacy and numeracy in diabetes care - I am working with Dr. Russell Rothman on this project to delivery high quality diabetes education in community health settings.
• Growing Right Onto Wellness (GROW) - I am working with Dr. Shari Barkin on the development and evaluation of an obesity prevention plan for pre-school aged children.