Listening First, Researching Together: An Example of Building Community-Centered Research on Adolescent Physical Activity, Mental Health, and Social Connection

Please join AAHB’s Professional Development and Mentoring Council  (PDMC) for the final speaker in our annual webinar series. This year's series aligns with the focus of AAHB's upcoming Annual Conference, which will be held in Austin, TX, from March 29-April 1, 2026. The theme of this year's conference is "Centering Community in Health Behavior Research and Practice" (conference link: https://aahb.org/2026-Scientific-Meeting-Overview/). Our third PDMC webinar session will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2026, 4:00pm – 5:00pm (EST).

Community-centered research requires more than good intentions. It demands ongoing listening, flexibility, and genuine reciprocity at every stage. This webinar, hosted by the American Academy of Health Behavior, chronicles a multi-year research journey that began with a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs and evolved through continuous dialogue with community stakeholders and youth participants. Our work started when club leadership identified summer programming needs related to adolescent physical activity and social connection. After a successful project and through many conversations with club staff and administrators, they helped us understand a deeper need: mental health evaluation and social emotional learning support for their members. We responded by conducting a longitudinal evaluation of their summer care program and co-creating a social emotional learning and physical activity program alongside girls in the club. As our partnership deepened, club leadership shared concerns about teens who age out of their programming and the unique challenges these youth face around physical activity, mental health, and social connectedness during summer months when structured support disappears. This community-identified gap became the foundation for a K01 grant to better understand how social and built environment factors influence adolescent mental health and physical activity during summer using ecological momentary assessment. This phase required us to extend beyond the club setting and conduct study visits in families' homes, which brought new challenges in preparation, coordination, and relationship building. Throughout this journey, we prioritized participant ease and comfort while giving data back to participants and partners through community reports and individualized family reports. I will walk through each of these steps, sharing the challenges we encountered, the approaches we used to center our participants, and the successes that emerged.

This session will be led by Dr. Tyler Prochnow, Assistant Professor of Health Behavior in the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. Dr. Prochnow’s research focuses on the social dynamics that drive health behavior, with particular emphasis on social network analysis, physical activity, mental health, and health equity. His work examines how social connections influence health behaviors and outcomes across diverse settings, including youth programs, community-based organizations, and underserved populations. Using interdisciplinary and applied approaches, Dr. Prochnow collaborates with community partners and health departments to develop, evaluate, and implement programs that promote physical activity, mental well-being, and equitable health opportunities.