Qualitative methods are powerful for studying populations whose practices and behaviors have been largely excluded from or undervalued in public health research. Positive deviance is an approach to program development, evaluation and research which leads to asset-based solutions and messages that come from within and build upon the strengths of communities. It’s been used across the globe to identify low-cost, easily accessible health interventions using community-engaged methods.

As we further explore the positive deviance research approach with Dr. de Brito, attendees at this workshop will learn how to
1. Describe the prevalence of childhood obesity in the U.S and which populations are disproportionately affected by childhood obesity;
2. Explain the relationship between parent feeding practices and weight outcomes in children;
3. Define the positive deviance approach to childhood obesity;
4. Describe how the positive deviance approach to childhood obesity can be used in epidemiological investigations.

Dr. Junia de Brito

Dr. Junia de Brito is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. de Brito is a social-behavioral epidemiologist, with interdisciplinary training in nutrition and dietetics, maternal and child health, and quantitative and qualitative research methods. Her research is focused on investigating the interplay of structural and social determinants of health and health-related behaviors that contribute to obesity and cardiometabolic health disparities among children of racialized and other marginalized groups.

To learn more about Dr. de Brito’s work before the workshop, check out the following publication:
Identification of Positive Parenting Practices Among Parents of Young Children Living in Low-Income and Racially, Ethnically, and Culturally Diverse Households

This event is free and open to all! CE credits available