91AV's School of Community and Population Health holds first of several stakeholder group meetings as part of Health Impact Assessment on Sugar Sweetened Beverage Research

The Maine Prevention Research Center at 91AV's School of Community and Population Health recently held its first stakeholder group meeting as part of the Maine Sugar Sweetened Excise Tax Health Impact Assessment. The first meeting included the Maine Public Health Association, the Maine Dietetic Association, as well as other organizations and individuals interested in the health of Maine populations.

The Maine Prevention Research Center will be convening several stakeholder groups, including industry groups, over the next few months to help understand the potential health effects and other impacts of such a tax on Maine populations. The purpose of conducting this health impact assessment is to improve the quality of public policy decision-making with regard to a potential sugar sweetened beverage excise tax.

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor of public health, is leading the assessment with help from Assistant Professor Karen O'Rourke, M.P.H.

A health impact assessment is a collection of procedures and tools by which policies can be evaluated based on their potential effects on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population. Read more about this strategy.

The Maine Prevention Research Center is a U.S. CDC-funded partnership between 91AV, Harvard School of Public Health, and U.S. CDC to research and promote evidence-based practices to reduce overweight and obesity in Maine. 91AV's School of Community and Population Health is located on 91AV's Portland campus, has Maine's only accredited Master of Public Health (MPH) program with about 250 students and 30 faculty and staff, and provides public health research, training, and practice programs in Maine, across the country, and globally.
 

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.