By Stephen M. Gavazzi, Ph.D.

The Latest News, Views, and Announcements

What’s New at CHRR

As many of you know, this month I am celebrating the completion of my 34^th year at Ohio State. This newsletter also marks the beginning of my fourth year at the helm of CHRR, Ohio State’s remarkable center for data and survey excellence. Because center directors serve 4-year terms here at Ohio State, Social and Behavioral Sciences Dean Ryan King recently initiated a discussion with me about my future plans. I am pleased to share the bottom line of that conversation, which surrounds my formal intention to seek one additional term as director of CHRR, pending your support, of course! I anticipate a process that will initiate an evaluation of my past achievements and future potential over the next few months.

So far, the old saying “time flies when you’re having fun” perfectly captures my experience as director of CHRR. Will the road ahead be just as rewarding and energizing? That remains to be seen, as even the quickest scan of the current federal and state landscapes makes it clear that we’re facing a future filled with significant challenges. But higher-risk environments also bring new opportunities—and if the past month is any indication, we can expect plenty of those opportunities to come knocking in the months and years ahead. Stay tuned!

CHRR's Leadership Team

Last week, the CHRR Leadership Team hosted a virtual town hall meeting with ASC Human Resources consultant Catie Shuman-Damanti, largely in response to the significant number of HR-related questions that arose in our pervious town hall meeting. Several topics were discussed in depth, including:

• Performance evaluation
• Career Roadmap
• The HR process for promotions
• Remote work policies
• University policies on free speech

Over 40 CHRR employees joined us for this town hall, which represented another impressive attendance effort in a string of virtual meetings we have held more recently! We will continue to offer these opportunities for community learning as topics of interest arise. Speaking of which, we will be scheduling our next virtual town hall to discuss issues surrounding accessibility. More soon!

CHRR Team Member Celebrations

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”  -Theodore Roosevelt

This month we are observing the work anniversaries of four valued employees:

• Karima Nagi, 35 years of service to CHRR.
• Jeremy Alexander, 18 years of service to CHRR.
• Scott Cooney, 17 years of service to CHRR.
• Gary Shadley, 9 years of service to CHRR.

These four individuals collectively have provided CHRR with almost 80 years of experience in data management, technology services, and administrative functioning. Thank you for all that you do!

Things You Might Want to Know

New Publications Based on APP Research Activities

New articles have been published recently by researchers who have used the American Population Panel (APP) to recruit participants and/or gather survey data. Information about this scholarship appears below.

Public Perspectives on Multi-Cancer Early Detection: A Qualitative Study

Norah Crossnohere, Nicola Campoamor, John Bridges, and other colleagues used the APP to recruit participants for a study on early cancer detection. A total of 1,287 individuals completed the screener survey and subsequently were invited for interviews on a rolling basis based on their confirmed eligibility, order of sign-up, and race/ethnicity. Findings indicated that multiple-cancer early detection tests (MCEDs) that are found to be safe and effective will be acceptable to patients as a part of primary care, and underscore public interest in improving this technology.

Read the full study at the Sage Journals: Cancer Control website (doi.org/10.1177/10732748241291609)

Examining the Associations Between Substance Misuse and Suicide Bereavement

William Feigelman, Julie Cerel, and colleagues used the APP to survey 1,132 recently bereaved respondents about their patterns of binge drinking and non-prescribed drug use. While these researchers did not find heightened problematical substance misuses among respondents when compared to national survey results, analyses did show that binge drinkers had more grieving problems than those not engaged in that problematic behavior.

Read the full study at the Sage Journals: OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying website (doi.org/10.1177/00302228241254133)