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Interdisciplinary Research
Spotlight on Courtney Luecking, PhD, MPH, RDN, LDN 
Assistant Professor, Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky
Research Focus 
Early Care and Education, Family, Implementation, Mixed Methods, Nutrition, Physical Activity
 
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Featured Research: Barriers and Facilitators of Parent Engagement With Health Promotion in Child Care: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation 
Luecking, C. T., Dobson, P., & Ward, D. S. (2020). Barriers and Facilitators of Parent Engagement With Health Promotion in Child Care: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 47(6), 914–926. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198120952040
How the Research Links to the DEC Recommended Practices 
This article is a comparative case study of a health promotion program aimed to engage early care and education providers and parents to support nutrition and physical activity across the child care center and home. Results offer insights into organizational characteristics and individual practices that can facilitate or imped parent engagement with health promotion efforts, thus offering particularly relevant information for the family and teaming and collaboration practices.
Researcher Biography
Courtney Luecking is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with previous work experiences spanning clinical, community, and research settings. In her role as an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist for Health and Nutrition, she collaborates with undergraduate and graduate students, Cooperative Extension agents, community partners across Kentucky, and faculty within the University and other institutions across the country to translate research-based information and healthy lifestyle interventions for communities in Kentucky. Her Cooperative Extension programming and research activities aim to improve population health and health equity in Kentucky through facilitating cross-sector partnerships with Cooperative Extension and development, implementation, and evaluation of multi-level interventions that elevate the quality of nutrition and feeding environments during the early childhood period.
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