Stephanie Frost, Ph.D.

Dr. Stephanie Frost has over 15 years of experience working in public health research and evaluation, in areas including program evaluation, communications formative research, and evaluation technical assistance. Dr. Frost specializes in chronic disease prevention and management but has also leveraged her technical skillset to lead projects focused on adolescent health, the opioid epidemic, and Veteran-related disability. Having worked at the federal, state, and local levels and having produced research products for a range of audiences, she brings a strong understanding of the different informational needs across stakeholder groups and the importance of translating research to build capacity and facilitate program improvement. With a background in the social determinants of health and assessing the contextual factors influencing public health and public health programs, Dr. Frost also applies an implementation science lens to her work and has led multiple implementation-focused studies.  Her work has helped clients identify and address research and practice gaps, implement workflows, assess program impacts, and reach key audiences with critical public health-focused information and resources. Through her work she has also developed numerous reports, briefs, informational materials, presentations, and peer-reviewed publications.

In her current role at Abt, Dr. Frost serves as the client solutions architect for noninfectious diseases. She supports client development, demand generation, capture, and proposal activities for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  She serves as a project director and evaluation subject matter expert for projects in these and adjacent accounts, including work with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Frost came to Abt from ICF International where she served as a Technical Specialist supporting the CDC account. She led evaluation training activities for state and local awardees, program evaluations, and communications-focused formative research and evaluation. This included leading a team to assess the contextual factors influencing policy, systems, and environmental change interventions targeted at improving nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease. Following graduate school and prior to working at ICF, Dr. Frost served as a research instructor at West Virginia University’s (WVU) School of Public Health and co-led WVU’s Health Research Center.

Expertise

• Program Evaluation 
• Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance 
• Formative Research 
• Dissemination and Implementation 
• Built Environments and Health

Key Projects

• Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Healthcare Provider Engagement (MIS-C)
• Diabetes Health Card 
• Evaluation of Behaviorally-Based Interventions to Increase Enrollment in the CDC-Recognized Lifestyle Change Program
• Creating an Evidence-Based Process for Dissemination & Support for the Division of Diabetes Translation 
• Wise Guys Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Evaluation

Publications

• Robles, B., Frost S. S., Kuo, T., Moore, L., Harris, C. V., Bradlyn, A. (2014). A comparative analysis of obesity and dietary behaviors among low-Income women in rural West Virginia and Urban Los Angeles County. Preventive Medicine, 67, Suppl 1(S34-9).
• Kristjansson A. L., Sigfusdottir I. D., Frost S. S., & James J. E. (2013). Caffeine use and aggressive behavior: An exploratory study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(7): 1053–1062.
• Frost, S. S., Goins, R. T., Hunter, R. H., Hooker, S. P, Bryant, L. L., Kruger, J., et al. (2010). Effects of the Built Environment on Physical Activity of Adults Living in Rural Settings. American Journal of Health Promotion, 24(4), 26–83.