Ghaffar Ali Hurtado Choque
Dr. Hurtado Choque is an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health and Extension Specialist at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland, focusing on family and community health. Mr. Hurtado focuses his research, scholarship and outreach in the development, implementation and evaluation of health promotion interventions at the family and community levels.
Prior to joining UMD, Ali Hurtado was a research associate at the University of Minnesota Extension and the Medical School Program in Health Disparities Research. He is actively engaged in health disparities research, scholarship and outreach.
Departments/Units
Areas of Interest
Core FacultyStrengthening family skills in order to promote positive youth development.
Research translation processes into practice.
Community-based Participatory Action Research
Dr. Hurtado is leading a research project titled "Addressing Youth Mental Health of Latinx Families by Strengthening Family-Skills and Engaging in Sports" (Familias Activas for short). The overarching goal of this project is to improve youth's mental health of Latinx families by strengthening healthy parenting practices, fostering positive youth development, and engaging youth in organized sports (soccer).
Dr. Hurtado is the co-investigator for a community-based participatory research Latinx parent education program called Padres Preparados, Jóvenes Saludables (Prepared Parents, Healthy Youth). The goals of this program are to 1) increase the frequency of fathers' positive parenting practices regarding healthy eating and physical activity and 2) improve the eating and physical activity behaviors among youth (10-14 year-olds).
In addition, he is a co-investigator for the Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA). MarylandROTA (Rural Opioid Technical Assistance) is part of an initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and was established by the University of Maryland (UMD) in partnership with local and state organizations.
Dr. Hurtado is an investigator for the Well Connected Communities, which is a national well-being initiative by America’s Cooperative Extension System in partnership with National 4-H Council. This initiative is focused on supporting health equity by developing and supporting policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change in communities and throughout the Cooperative Extension System.
Dr. Hurtado is an Extension Specialist at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on family and community health.
Ph.D. Work Community, and Family Education - University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
M.Ed. Human Resource Development - University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
FMSC383 Delivery of Human Services to Families
USDA NIFA CYFAR, PI, "Addressing Youth Mental Health of Latinx Families by Strengthening Family-Skills and Engaging in Sports" 2021 - 2026
USDA NIFA AFRI, co-PI "Strengthening the Capacity in Rural Maryland to Address Opioid Misuse During the Pandemic", 2021-2023
SAMHSA, co-PI, "Strengthening the Capacity of Rural Maryland to Prevent Opioid Misuse," 2019-22
RWJF-National 4H Council. PI, "Working Collaboratively to Foster a Culture of Health in Maryland" 2019 - 2021
USDA NIFA, co-PI, "Latino Fathers Promoting Healthy Youth Behaviors," 2016-21
Zhang, Y., Baltaci, A., Overcash, F., Druziako, S., Peralta, A., Hurtado, G. A., & Reicks, M. (2020). Latino adolescent-father discrepancies in reporting activity parenting practices and associations with adolescents’ physical activity and screen time. BMC public health, 20(1), 92.
Conway, C. A., Roy, K., Hurtado Choque, G. A., & Lewin, A. (2020). Family separation and parent–child relationships among Latinx immigrant youth. Journal of Latinx Psychology, No Pagination Specified-No Pagination Specified. doi:10.1037/lat0000153
Zhang, Y., Reyes Peralta, A., Arellano Roldan Brazys, P., Hurtado, G. A., Larson, N., & Reicks, M. (2020). Development of a Survey to Assess Latino Fathers' Parenting Practices Regarding Energy Balance-Related Behaviors of Early Adolescents. Health education & behavior: the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 47(1), 123–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119878769.
Zhang, Y., Hurtado, G. A., Reyes, A. P., Brazys, P. A., Perdue, L., de Davila, S. A., ... & Reicks, M. (2019). Padres Preparados, Jóvenes Saludables, A Family-Based Program to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Early Adolescents: Pilot Test Findings. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 7(3), 68-91.
Hurtado, G. A., Fife, J. M., Svetaz, M. V., & Allen, M. L. (2018). Assessing Multicultural Parenting Values and Practices in Prevention Programs for Latino Youth. Journal of Youth Development, 13(3), 61-75.
Zhang, Y., Hurtado, G. A., Flores, R., Alba-Meraz, A., & Reicks, M. (2018). Latino Fathers’ Perspectives and Parenting Practices Regarding Eating, Physical Activity, and Screen Time Behaviors of Early Adolescent Children: Focus Group Findings. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 118(11), 2070-2080.
Hurtado, G. A., Olson, K., Alvarez Davila, S. & Campoverde, V. (2018). The Development and Evaluation of a Parent Engagement Program to Connect Latino Families and Schools: Education Our Legacy (Educación Nuestra Mejor Herencia). Journal of Extension, 56(1), n1.
Allen, M. L., Hurtado, G. A., Garcia-Huidobro, D., Linares, R. & Svetaz, V. M. (2017). Cultural Contributors to Smoking Susceptibility Outcomes Among Latino Youth: The Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados Participatory Randomized Controlled Trial. Family & Community Health. DOI: 10.1097/FCH
Allen, M. L., Garcia-Huidobro, D., Bastian, T., Hurtado, G. A., Linares, R. & Svetaz, V. M. (2017). Reconciling research and community priorities in participatory trials: application to Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados. Family Practice. DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmw143
Svetaz, M. V., Garcia-Huidobro, D., Hurtado, G. A., Trebs, L., Hernandez, S., Bartels, A., ... Allen, M. (2016). Can a healthy youth development clinic serving Latino families be youth friendly and family oriented? A mixed-methods evaluation. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 28(1), 61-68. DOI: 10.1515/ijamh-2014-0073
Schroeder, M., Dybsetter, A., Perdue, L., Kim, H., Blue, M. and Hurtado G. A. (2015). Cooking With Whole Grains: A Skills-Based Training for Child Care Providers. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 48(3), 229-230.
Arroyo-Johnson, C., Allen, M. L, Colditz, G. A, Hurtado, Davey, C. S, Thompson, V. L Sanders, . . . Goodman, M. S. (2015). A tale of two Community Networks Program Centers: Operationalizing and assessing CBPR principles and evaluating partnership outcomes. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 9(2), 61-69.
Svetaz, M. V., Garcia-Huidobro, D., Hurtado, G. A., Trebs, L., Hernandez, S., Bartels, A., . . . Allen, M. (2015). Can a healthy youth development clinic serving Latino families be youth friendly and family oriented? A mixed-methods evaluation. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health.
Porta, C., Allen, M. L., Hurtado, G. A., Padilla, M., Arboleda, M., Svetaz, M. V., . . . Sieving, R. E. (2015). Honoring Roots in Multiple Worlds Professionals’ Perspectives on Healthy Development of Latino Youth. Health Promotion Practice.
Lovet, K., Johnson, B., Caskey, M., Pleasants, C., & Hurtado, G. A. (2014). The Use of Energizers to Reinforce Nutrition Concepts and Encourage Physical Activity. Journal of Extension, 52(4).
Kunkel, K., Hurtado, G. A., Conrad, Stephanie, Routh, Brianna, Joeng, Ju Ri, & Harrison, Megan. (2013). Lessons in a Box Make a Difference for Head Start Youth. Journal of Extension, 51(3), 3RIB4.
Allen, M. L., Hurtado, G. A., Yon, K. J., Okuyemi, K. S., Davey, C. S., Marczak, M. S., . . . Svetaz, V. M. (2013). Feasibility of a parenting program to prevent substance use among Latino youth: a community-based participatory research study. American Journal of Health Promotion, 27(4), 240-244.
Gold, A., Barno, T. A., Sherman, S., Lovett, K. & Hurtado, G. A. (2013). Creating a Minnesota Statewide SNAP-Ed Program Evaluation. Journal of Extension, 51(2), 2RIB3.
Allen, M. L., Svetaz, M. V., Hurtado, G. A., Linares, R., Garcia-Huidobro, D., & Hurtado, Monica. (2013). The Developmental Stages of a Community–University Partnership: The Experience of Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 7(3), 271-279.
Allen, M. L., Garcia-Huidobro, D., Hurtado, G. A., Allen, R., Davey, C. S., Forster, J. L., . . . Reynoso, U. (2012). Immigrant family skills-building to prevent tobacco use in Latino youth: study protocol for a community-based participatory randomized controlled trial. Trials, 13(1), 242.
Allen, R., Allen, M. & Hurtado, G. A. (2009). Voices of Latino immigrant parents: Lessons learned through the collaborative development of a parent education program to prevent substance use by Latino teens. National Council on Family Relations - Report, Family Focus on Immigration/Migration 54(3):29-31.