Foundations of Mental Health Promotion

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Manoj Sharma, MBBS, Ph.D., MCHES® is a public health physician with a medical degree from the University of Delhi and a doctorate in Preventive Medicine (Public Health) from The Ohio State University.' He is licensed to practice medicine and surgery anywhere in India by the Medical Council of India.' He is also a master certified health education specialist certified from the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing.' He has recently accepted a position as a tenured professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the School of Public Health.'In his career, spanning over 30 years, he has trained/taught over 6,000 health professionals that include physicians, health education specialists, dietitians, community health nurses, health care administrators, epidemiologists, sanitarians, health and development workers, allied health professionals and others. He has designed and taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in health behavior, health education, and health promotion at twelve national and international universities working full time or part-time (Jackson State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Central Michigan University, Walden University, National University, The Ohio State University, Saint Mary's College of Minnesota and Minnesota State University, Mankato).' He has worked for local health departments (City of Columbus, OH; Douglas County Health Department, NE; City of Cincinnati Health Department, OH, etc.); state health departments/agencies (OH, MS, NE, Ohio Commission on Minority Health, etc.); federal government agencies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- CDC, United States Environmental Protection Agency – USEPA, etc.); invited keynote presenter at universities (Chongqing Medical University, China; Lincoln Memorial University; University of Arkansas, University of Oklahoma); non-profit agencies (American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, Charles Drew Health Center, Indian Chicano Health Center, Voluntary Health Association of India, etc.); professional organizations (American Public Health Association, American School Health Association); and international agencies including governments of other nations (European Union, World Health Organization, Swiss Development Corporation, Government of Mongolia, Government of India, Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau (Italy), etc.).'He is a prolific researcher and as of January 2020 had published ten books, over 250 peer-reviewed research articles, and over 450 other publications and secured funding for over $4 million.' He has been awarded several prestigious honors including the American Public Health Association’s Mentoring Award, ICTHP Impact Award, William R. Gemma Distinguished Alumnus Award from College of Public Health Alumni Society at the Ohio State University and others. His research interests are in developing and evaluating theory-based health behavior change interventions, obesity prevention, stress-coping, community-based participatory research, and integrative mind-body-spirit interventions.

Ashutosh Atri, MD, MS is a Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. He has completed post graduate training in health education and health promotion from the University of Cincinnati. He has worked as a physician at SS Medical College, Rewa, India and MGM Medical College, Indore, India. His research interests are in the field of international health, psychoeducation, mental health and designing health education interventions for the mentally ill.''

Dr. Paul Branscum is an Associate Professor of Public Health in the Department of Kinesiology & Health at Miami University, in Oxford, OH. Dr. Branscum is a registered dietitian by initial training, earning his B.S. in Human Nutrition (2005) and M.S. in Nutrition (2008) at The Ohio State University. He then earned his Ph.D. in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Cincinnati in 2011. He has also been awarded the status of Fellow from the American Academy of Health Behavior.' He has designed and taught a variety of courses in health behavior theory and program planning & evaluation at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.' He has designed and evaluated several school-based and after-school childhood obesity prevention programs, in association with such organizations as The Columbus Foundation; the YMCA of the Greater Columbus area; the United Way; Action for Healthy Kids; the Princeton City Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio; the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio; the Community After School Program in Norman, Oklahoma; the Coalition for a Healthy Community-Oxford Area, Ohio; and the Talawanda School District, in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Branscum has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, and his main research focus has been in the area of nutrition and childhood obesity prevention; specifically, predicting and changing obesogenic health behaviors among children, parents and young adults. Health behaviors he has studied includes: snacking behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, sleep, and parental monitoring behaviors centered around sugar sweetened beverage consumption and fruit and vegetable intake.' Additionally, his research focuses on planning, implementing and evaluating innovative theory-based obesity prevention programs. He is also interested in the area of Health Literacy (specifically digital health literacy) and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to understand how individuals search for, and find, health related information on the Internet.' He is currently serving as a Senior Co-Chair of the Theories and Techniques of Behavior Change special interest group of the Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM).' Recently, his research has focused on methods to better operationalize psychosocial constructs used in theories of behavior change (i.e. perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control/self-efficacy), to be better able to evaluate them in research and in practice.'