A small group of teenagers sit in the grass as they hang out talking and enjoying a few laughs together.

Assessing Vaping Exposure Risk for Teens (AVERT): A Resource Linkage Tool

Connecting professionals to risk based assessment and resources for vaping prevention and cessation for teens.

About the tool

With this resource, medical and education professionals, along with parents, will be able to assess teens' levels of risk for vaping use and addiction. The assessment will connect them with evidence-based resources for teen vaping prevention and intervention based on level of risk.

This tool was developed with input from local experts and community members from in and around the Eastern Virginia region.

Colourful overlapping silhouettes of Children using e-cigarettes or vapes.

Supportive female teacher sitting at desk with teenage schoolgirl

Our history

At EVMS, our team of researchers in the Pediatrics' Division of Community Health and Research (CHR) conducts research addressing the harms associated with teen vaping and nicotine use.

Our team has been providing teens, parents, and health professionals with the most current information and resources about vaping since 2015.

Visit our Rethink Vape website

Meet the faculty and staff

Paul Harrell, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Paul Harrell, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, leads research at the Division of Community Health and Research at EVMS Pediatrics. He has experience in experimental psychological research, drug dependence epidemiology, and has published extensively with over 50 publications. Presently, he serves as a Principal Investigator on National Cancer Institute and Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth grants.

Kelli England, Ph.D.

Kelli England, Ph.D. is a Professor and Director of the Pediatrics Division of Community Health and Research. As a clinical health psychologist, she blends behavioral theory, psychological principals, and best practices in public health and risk communication to devise novel program approaches that motivate behavior change.

Amy Paulson, MPH

In addition to serving as an instructor at EVMS Pediatrics since 2008, Amy Paulson, MPH, has served as Director of CINCH, the Consortium for Infant and Child Health, a community coalition since 2006. Her career has primarily focused on implementation science for community application of evidence-based best practices. She has lead or co-lead on multiple projects and initiatives focusing in youth tobacco and marijuana use and tobacco/smoke-free housing.

Ann Lassiter Edwards, M.S., CPST

Ann Lassiter Edwards, M.S., CPST, is a research assistant with the Department of Pediatrics, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Division of Community Health & Research. She has a Master’s Degree in Applied Experimental Psychology from Old Dominion University. Her research background and training are in Community Psychology, health promotion, risk communication, and cultural decision making.

Hannah Savage

Hannah Savage is a research assistant at Department of Pediatrics, Division of Community Health & Research. She is currently working on a MPH degree at Old Dominion University. Her prior work includes administrative work at NIAMS and then at NICHD at the National Institutes of Health as well as serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Zambia.

Natasha K. Sriraman, MD

Natasha K. Sriraman, MD, MPH, FAAP, FABM, VA-AAP Chapter Vice-President, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Center for Maternal & Child Health Equity and Advocacy, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as an is a practicing pediatric physician. She is a published author, has spoken on several health topics, and regularly collaborates with multiple partners to address maternal-child health outcomes.