Natalie Riva Smith

Contributions to Public Health

• Policy implementation science is the study of how public policies are put into practice and sustained by governments. I have discussed the theory underlying policy implementation, which stresses that policies take dedicated attention and resources to implement. I have also set out guidance for measuring policy implementation. In my current work, I am focused on understanding compliance with nutrition and tobacco regulations.
  • Smith NR, Levy DE, Falbe J, Purtle J, Chriqui JF. Design considerations for developing measures of policy implementation in quantitative evaluations of public health policy. Front Health Serv. 2024;4:1322702. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11285065.
  • Chriqui JF, Asada Y, Smith NR, Kroll-Desrosiers A, Lemon SC. Advancing the science of policy implementation: a call to action for the implementation science field. Transl Behav Med. 2023 Nov 5;13(11):820-825. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10631873.
• Disseminating public health research to decision makers requires understanding what decision makers prioritize. I have worked to understand the heterogenous preferences of decision makers in terms of what kind of information they seek and use in decisions. My current K99/R00 aims to combine decision science theory and stated preference methods to develop a decision support tool to communicate research on tobacco prevention and control more effectively.
  • Smith NR, Park ER, Levy DE. Development and usability testing of a tool to estimate the budget impact of implementing a smoking cessation intervention for cancer patients. Cancer Causes Control. 2025 Mar 4; PubMed PMID: 40038171; NIHMSID: NIHMS2067728.
  • Smith NR, Mazzucca S, Hall MG, Hassmiller Lich K, Brownson RC, Frerichs L. Opportunities to improve policy dissemination by tailoring communication materials to the research priorities of legislators. Implement Sci Commun. 2022 Mar 4;3(1):24. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8895761.
• Managing sugary drink consumption is a complex public health issue. My work has shown that the ways policies are implemented makes a difference in their final effects on health, and has also assessed the costs to implementing various sugary drink policies. I have also reviewed existing simulation models of sugary drink policies, uncovering important limitations in how they consider policy implementation. My current work seeks to address this gap.
  • Smith NR, Hassmiller Lich K, Ng SW, Hall MG, Trogdon JG, Frerichs L. Implementation costs of sugary drink policies in the United States. J Public Health Policy. 2023 Dec;44(4):566-587. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10841536.
  • Smith NR, Grummon AH, Ng SW, Wright ST, Frerichs L. Simulation models of sugary drink policies: A scoping review. PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275270. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9529101.
  • Smith NR, Grummon AH, Frerichs LM. Demographic Groups Likely Affected by Regulating Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Portion Sizes. Am J Prev Med. 2020 Sep;59(3):e135-e139. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7483901.