Abby C. King
Academic Appointments
- Professor, Health Research & Policy - Epidemiology
- Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
- Professor, Medicine - Stanford Prevention Research Center
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Tel (650) 723-6254 Tel (650) 725-5394
Professional Overview
Administrative Appointments
- Acting Director, Division Chief, Stanford Prevention Research Center/Medicine (2009 - 2010)
- Advisory Committee member, Sustainable Built Environment initiative, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment (2007 - 2010)
- Member, faculty steering committee-Mobility initiative, Stanford Center on Longevity (2007 - 2008)
- Member, Appointments & Promotions committee, Stanford Medical School (2006 - 2008)
Honors and Awards
- President, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2011 - 2012)
- President-Elect, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2010 - 2011)
- Member, US Secretary of DHHS Sci Advis Committee, National Health Promot-Dis Prev 2020 Objectives (2007 - 2011)
- Recipient, Distinguished Research Mentor Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2003)
- Recipient, Teaching Award for Outstanding Contributions to Divisional Teaching Activities, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Dept. of Medicine (2001)
- Elected Member, Academy of Behavioral Science Research (1999)
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Community and International Work
- The online health literacy of older adults, SF peninsula region and Baltimore, MD
- Computer-based physical activity advice for ethnic minority aging adults, San Jose
- Creating more sustainable decisions and behaviors through new processes and focused interventions, International
- Multi-scale modeling of health behaviors: Water, sanitation, and child survival in Africa, International
- Preventing obesity among socioeconomically disadvantaged women and children, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Get Mobile, New South Wales and Queensland, Australia
Internet Links
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
My interests include the applications of behavioral theory and social ecological approaches to achieve large scale change in chronic disease prevention and health promotion areas of relevance to mid-life and older adults; studying influences of the built and social environments on health behaviors and outcomes; expanding the reach and translation of evidence-based interventions through the use of state-of-the-art communication technologies; applying community-based participatory research perspectives to address health disparities among disadvantaged populations; and evaluating policy-level approaches to health promotion/disease prevention.
In the physical activity and aging field, I am interested in the study of physical activity as a link to other health-promoting behaviors; and the relationship of physical activity and other health-related behaviors to day-to-day functioning, stress and coping, and sleep quality, particularly in chronically stressed populations.
In pursuing the development of behavioral interventions for chronic disease prevention with broad applicability to the population at large, I have investigated channels of delivery (e.g., mediated approaches and interactive technologies) that do not require ongoing face-to-face contact. We have found that mediated interventions can provide a useful alternative to more intensive face-to-face approaches to health behavior change and, in some cases, such as in the physical activity field, may actually produce better long term (i.e., up to two years) adherence than class- or group-based approaches.
Clinical Trials
- Not Recruiting Promoting Healthy Weight With 'Stability Skills First'
- Not Recruiting The LIFE Study - Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders
- Not Recruiting Computer-Based Physical Activity Advice for Ethnic Minority Aging Adults
- Recruiting Promoting Healthy Lifestyles Using Mobile Phones
Publications
- Behavioral Impacts of Sequentially versus Simultaneously Delivered Dietary Plus Physical Activity Interventions: the CALM Trial. Ann Behav Med. 2013
- Harnessing Different Motivational Frames via Mobile Phones to Promote Daily Physical Activity and Reduce Sedentary Behavior in Aging Adults. PLoS One. 2013; (4): e62613
- The stanford healthy neighborhood discovery tool: a computerized tool to assess active living environments. Am J Prev Med. 2013; (4): e41-7
- Are daily fluctuations in perceived environment associated with walking? Psychol Health. 2012; (9): 1009-20
- Cohort Profile: The Resilience for Eating and Activity Despite Inequality (READI) study. Int J Epidemiol. 2012
- Food marketing to children through toys: response of restaurants to the first U.S. toy ordinance. Am J Prev Med. 2012; (1): 56-60
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