Education

Ph.D.  Community Health Education, Southern Illinois University, 1988

M.S.  Rehabilitation Counseling, Southern Illinois University, 1981

B.S.  Education, Southern Illinois University, 1977

Courses Taught

HEE 330: Health Issues of Children and Adolescents

CHTH 355: Theory and Practice of Community Health Education

CHTH 485: Theories of Health Behavior and Counseling

HHP 540: Community Health Promotion Strategies

Research Interests

For over 15 years my community-based research agenda has focused on preventing the spread of HIV in Montana by enhancing understanding of the individual level factors that influence HIV risk behaviors. The common wisdom in the world of HIV prevention was that if individuals were exposed to interventions that promoted personal responsibility (i.e. using condoms during sexual intercourse and using clean needles to inject drugs) then the incidence of HIV infection would decline. Increasingly, I came to realize that placing the burden of disease prevention solely on the individual is short-sighted.

What became clear to me in my work with diverse groups of people in Montana is that both disease and health are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources. The majority of individuals that participated in my research were individuals whose lives were disadvantaged in myriad ways. Many of my study participants have faced poverty, social stigma, rejection from their families, substance abuse and mental health issues such as depression. Furthermore, their access to health care is limited or non-existent. Interventions requiring disadvantaged individuals to take personal responsibility for their health seemed not only ineffective, but also unethical.

My research has reinforced the belief that before we can truly reduce the incidence and prevalence of HIV, as well as other types of infectious and chronic diseases, we must first address the social determinants of health.

Projects

My interest in the social determinants of health, has led me to examine the health needs of individuals from a socio-ecological perspective. In other words, my research focuses on attempting to understand the multi-faceted and interactive effects of personal, social, organizational and political factors that determine behaviors and ultimately influence the health and well-being of individuals and groups of people.

GRANT/CONTRACT PROJECTS:

United States Forest Service 2016-2019 (912,214). Principle Investigator Charles Palmer, Co-Investigator/Evaluator, Annie Sondag and others.  Project Title: Development of a Physical Training Program for Wildland Firefighters. 

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (MT DPHHS) HIV/STD Section 2016-2017 ($100,000). Principle Investigator: Annie Sondag. Project Title: Sex Education in Public Schools in Montana: Does it Meet the Needs of Sexual and Gender Minority Students?

MTDPHHS HIV/STD Section 2010-2015 ($290,000). Principle Investigator: Annie Sondag. Project Titles:  1) An Evaluation of and HIV/HCV Prevention Intervention for Family Treatment Court Clients. 2) An Assessment of the HIV/STD Prevention Needs People Living with HIV in Montana.  3) Examining the Impact of HCV in Montana: A Descriptive Study.  4) An Exploration of the Health Related Needs of Transgender People Living in Montana.

USFS. United States Forest Service 2014 ($25,000). Principle Investigator: Annie Sondag. Project Title:  The Physical Training of Wildland Firefighters: A Needs Assessment.

MTDPHHS HIV/STD Section 2005-2009  ($250,000). Principle Investigator: Annie Sondag. Project Titles:  1) Process Evaluation of HIV Prevention Community Planning.  2) An Assessment of the Needs of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Montana.  3) An Evaluation of an HIV/HCV Prevention Intervention for Injection Drug Users.  4) An Evaluation of HIV Prevention Support Groups for Gay Men.  5) A Description of the HIV Counseling and Testing Behaviors of Native Americans living in Montana.

MTDPHHS HIV/STD Section 2000-2004 ($195,000). Principle Investigator: Annie Sondag. Project Titles:  1) Process Evaluation of HIV Prevention Community Planning.  2) An Outcome Evaluation of an HIV Prevention Intervention for Injecting Drug Users.  3) A Statewide Assessment of Counseling, Testing and Referral Services in Montana.  4) An Assessment of the HIV Prevention Needs of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Montana.  5) An Assessment of the Needs of HIV Positive People in Montana

Selected Publications

TECHNICAL REPORTS:

My major area of research has been in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention. In the past ten years, my graduate research assistants and I have completed eleven major reports for the state public health department related to assessing the health needs of populations at high risk for HIV infection, as well as implementing several program evaluation projects. These reports have been used extensively by HIV prevention service providers throughout the state and by the public health department to improve planning and implementation of HIV prevention programs in Montana.

Sondag, K.A. & Redinger, B. (2017) Professional Report:  Sex Education in Montana Public High Schools: Is It Meeting the Needs of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth? Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV/HCV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Chainani, K. (2016)  Professional Report:  Trans* Under the Big Sky. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV/HCVSection.

Sondag, K.A. & von Gohren, A. (2015) Professional Report: An Assessment of the Health Needs of the Transgender Community in Montana. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV/HCV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & von Gohren, A. (2014) Professional Report: An Examination of the Education and Training Needs of Individuals who are Certified to Conduct HIV Counseling, Testing and Referral in Montana. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV/HCV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Synder, B. (2013) Professional Report: Examining the Impact of Hepatitis C in Montana: A Descriptive Case Study. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV/HCV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Epperson, E. (2012) Professional Report: An Assessment of the HIV Prevention Needs of People Living in Montana with HIV. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV/HCV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Hart, K. (2011) Professional Report: An Assessment of the HIV Prevention Needs of Men who have Sex with Men. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Speaker, L. (2010). Professional Report: An Evaluation of Taking it to Treatment Court: An HIV/HCV Prevention Intervention. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Strike C. (2009). Professional Report: An Assessment of the HIV Prevention Needs of American Indians in Montana. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV Section.

Sondag, K.A., Cunningham, N. & Strike C. (2008) - Professional Report: Coalition Feasibility Project: An Environmental Approach to the Prevention of HIV. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV Section.

Sondag, K.A. & Cunningham, N. (2007) - Professional Report: An Assessment of the HIV Prevention needs of Injection Drug Users in Montana. Prepared for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, STD/HIV Section.

Publications

SELECTED PEER REVIEW PUBLICATIONS:

Sondag, K.A., Johnson, A.G., & Parrish, M.E. (2020). School sex Education: Teachers and students perceptions of relevance for LGBT youth. Journal of LGBT Youth. doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2020.1789530.

Sondag, K.A., Moody. V. & Mangan, A. (2019).  Examining barriers, motivators and injury related to physical training in wildland firefighters.  International Journal of Wildland Fire, 28, 678-686. doi.org/10.1071/WF181134.

Sondag, K.A. & Schwitters. A. (2016). A gliimpse into the lives and sexual risk behaviours of rural, closeted gay men living in Montana. Journal of Culture, Health and Sexuality. 19(1), 212-134. doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2016.121173.

Perline, A., Heuscher, A., Sondag, K.A. and Brown, B. (2015). Perceptions of local hospitals food producers on opportunities for and b arriers to implementing farm-to-hospital programs. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.  ISSN: 2152-0801. Retrive at www.AgDevJournal.com

Sondag, K.A. & Strike, C. (2011). HIV/AIDS among American Indians/Alaska Natives Living in Montana: A Descriptive Study, American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center, 18(1), 1-22. doi:10.5820/aian.1801.2011.1
 

Specialized Skills

Community Health Needs Assessment

Program Planning

Health Promotion Program Evaluation

Social Determinants and Causal Links to Health

Hobbies

Motorcycling, Hiking, Running, Reading