Leslie Ruffalo

Biographic Data

ID5525206
NAMELeslie Ruffalo
GIVEN NAMESLeslie
FAMILY NAMERuffalo
SIGNATURERUFFALO L
AFFILIATIONSMedical College of Wisconsin
ORCID0000-0002-6318-3583
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS8
TOTAL CITATIONS12
AUTHOR COUNT8
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2016
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2025
H-INDEX3

  • Defining factors promoting successful virtual elementary school nutrition education

    Open AccessMarie Balfour, Joseph Benbow et al.ARTICLEHumanities and Social Sciences…2025

    As obesity rates continue to rise, comprehensive nutrition education for children needs to be further expanded and optimized. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more virtual nutrition programs emerged to bridge the gap of social distancing and continue health education endeavors remotely, but there is conflicting data on preferred formats and elements that make these innovative programs most impactful. To identify community and pedagogical factors tha…

  • Wellness in Motion

    Christopher Simenz, Leslie Ruffalo et al.ARTICLEJournal of Physical Education…2025

    Health and physical educators (HPE) regularly face burnout, isolation, and stress. Post-pandemic changes exacerbated these issues, necessitating additional support for prevention and management. To help address these issues, the System of Wellness Instruction for Teachers & Teens (SWIFTT) platform was co-created with HPE professionals to provide relevant, contextual connections, resources, and supports for use by HPE professionals to enhance thei…

  • Foreword to the Second Volume of the Special Issue on Veteran Community Engagement

    Open AccessZeno Franco, Katinka Hooyer et al.ARTICLEJournal of Humanistic Psychology2023References: 12

    Veteran community engagement is an evolving discipline informed by traditional community-based participatory research, veteran studies, and veterans themselves. This Special Issue suggests that research collaborations including military veterans, soldiers, and their families as co-researchers is a critical next step toward a design thinking perspective in social and healthcare systems for this population. This Special Issue was conceptualized thr…

  • An Educational Theater- Based Activity to Challenge Cultural Stereotypes about Veterans’ and their Lived Experiences

    Open AccessKatinka Hooyer, Leslie RuffaloARTICLEJournal of Veterans Studies2021

    The media stereotypes military veterans as damaged beings or indestructible heroes, often forming implicit and explicit biases that impact medical and health providers’ capability to connect emotionally with veterans. This educational tool uses interactive theater to challenge veteran stigma, enhance empathy, and increase learners’ ability to talk to veterans about their service. This 90-minute session includes an interactive theater performance …

  • Veterans Health and Well-Being—Collaborative Research Approaches

    Open AccessZeno Franco, Katinka Hooyer et al.ARTICLEJournal of Humanistic Psychology2021Cited by: 3References: 36

    Veteran community engagement is an evolving discipline informed by traditional community-based participatory research, veteran studies, and veterans themselves. This Special Issue suggests that research collaborations including military veterans, soldiers, and their families as co-researchers is a critical next step toward a designing thinking perspective in social and healthcare systems for this population. This Special Issue was conceptualized …

  • Empirically Derived Lessons Learned about What Makes Peer-Led Exercise Groups Flourish

    Kathlyn E Fletcher, Kristyn Ertl et al.ARTICLEProgress in community health…2017Cited by: 4References: 2

    Both social and programmatic issues influence implementation of group exercise programs for older, predominantly male, veterans. These results should be confirmed in other settings

  • Community Veterans’ Decision to Use VA Services

    Zeno Franco, Clinton Logan et al.ARTICLEProgress in community health…2016

    Community Veterans’ Decision to Use VA Services:A Multimethod Veteran Health Partnership Study Zeno E. Franco, Clinton Logan, Mark Flower, Bob Curry, Leslie Ruffalo, Ruta Brazauskas, and Jeff Whittle What Is the Purpose of This Study/Review? • To develop a more nuanced understanding of why some veterans choose not to use Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical care. • To demonstrate the potential utility of a community partnered approach to …

  • Community Veterans’ Decision to Use VA Services

    Zeno Franco, Clinton Logan et al.ARTICLEProgress in community health…2016Cited by: 5References: 3

    Persistent actual and perceived barriers prevent some veterans from using VA services. The VA can better understand and address these issues through community-academic partnerships with veterans' organizations