Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices

The Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices (PPOP) was established in 2002 to advance research and education on current patterns of health care, the process of behavior change, evaluation of prevention strategies, and designing interventions to facilitate evidence-based practice.  Prevention includes activities by individuals and health care providers seeking to reduce future adverse events prior to the development of disease or the worsening of existing disease. The PPOP is an innovative research and training program within the Stanford Prevention Research Center. 

The mission of the PPOP is to improve population health outcomes through research that both informs the development and fosters the dissemination of effective, efficient, innovative, and evidence-based prevention interventions.  In addition, we seek to train future leaders in prevention research and to communicate broadly the critical value of a population health perspective.

  We seek to:      

* Investigate the variety of forces influencing physician practice by analyzing patterns of practice and quality of care for prevention services.

* Examine the influences on the prevention behavior of individuals, particularly the barriers faced in putting known lifestyle recommendations into action.

* Develop and evaluate specific interventions seeking to improve health outcomes, including strategies focusing on individuals, physicians, and healthcare systems.

* Understand and facilitate the wide adoption of effective and evidence-based prevention strategies to improve health outcomes at a national level.

* Train students and clinicians to be leaders in prevention research

* Communicate the importance of maximizing the health of populations through both health policy and reengineering of our current health care system.