Euna August presents poster at international conference
Euna M. August, MPH, doctoral candidate in the Department of Community & Family Health presented a poster at this year's Global Health Education Consortium (GHEC) Conference and the 1st Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Global Health. The conference was hosted by the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP) in Cuernavaca, Mexico, April 9-11, 2010. The poster presentation was entitled Multimedia approaches to HIV education for adolescent females in Trinidad & Tobago and was co-authored by Dr. Ayanna Sebro of the Medical Research Foundation of Trinidad & Tobago, Maisha Kambon, a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology, and Kamilah Thomas, who will be graduating with her doctoral degree from the Department of Community & Family Health this May. Euna’s participation in the GHEC was supported through funding from the Department of Community & Family Health and the Graduate & Professional Student Council.
Dr. Robert McDermott Recognized for Contributions to Health Education
Dr. Robert J. McDermott has been recognized again for his contributions to health education. With the most recent in a long line of national and international awards, he was the recipient of a Presidential Citation from the American Association for Health Education for career contributions to the organization, particularly noting his service since 2005 as Editor of the American Journal of Health Education, the Association’s flagship publication. During his tenure as Editor, the Journal has gained in both reputation and rigor, attracting sponsorship from both the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Recent CFH Graduates
Heather Clayton, Ph.D. (CFH 2010)
Heather is now a member of the incoming class of 2010 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer, and has been matched with the International Micronutrient Malnutrition Prevention and Control Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heather’s role on the micronutrient team will be to participate on an ongoing collaboration between the CDC, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Specifically, she plans to monitor a micronutrient program in the Kyrgyz Republic and will work on developing an approach to prevent and reduce childhood anemia in Niger.
Kamilah B. Thomas, Ph.D. (CFH 2010)
Kamilah has been appointed as a member of the faculty of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at St. George's University Grenada, West Indies. She will primarily work on community based research and social marketing throughout the region.
Cheryl Vamos, Ph.D. (CFH 2009)
Cheryl is presently the Program Evaluation Manager for the Brant County Health Unit in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Cheryl has day to day management of the epidemiology, research and evaluation activities and collaborates with all of the health unit's program areas to improve health and well-being within the community.
Charles Mahan, MD and Amina Alio, PhD speak out on Prematurity and Paternal Involvement in Birth Outcomes
Two USF College of Public Health faculty members were in the national public policy spotlight in May -- speaking out on the consequences of prematurity, poor pregnancy outcomes and health disparities.
Dr. Stephanie Marhefka and Colleagues Receive NIMH Grant
Dr. Stephanie Marhefka, along with Drs. Julie Baldwin, Eric Buhi, and Getachew Dagne, received a $665,000 R34 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to pilot and feasibility test video-conferencing dissemination of a group-based CDC-designated Effective Behavioral Intervention for women living with HIV. The long-term goal of the project is to expand access to group-based Effective Behavioral Interventions among women living with HIV in rural areas. This study builds on previous work Dr. Marhefka and colleagues conducted with funding from the USF Division of Sponsored Research New Investigator Award and the USF COPH Early Career Investigator Award.
Dr. Amina Alio has been invited to serve as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Paternal Involvement and Pregnancy Outcomes (CPIPO).
Dr. Amina Alio has been invited to serve as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Paternal Involvement and Pregnancy Outcomes (CPIPO). The CPIPO is an interdisciplinary working-group of scholars from the social sciences and public health community with a goal of building awareness for paternal involvement in pregnancy and family health by reframing debates, informing research, policies and practices to focus more on the involvement of fathers in pregnancy outcomes. Dr. Alio's requested membership in the CPIPO comes as a result of her extensive contribution to the research on the impact of fathers' involvement on feto-infant health.
Report on Dr. Rita DeBate's Work in Costa Rica
Rita DeBate, Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Family Health, traveled to Costa Rica to work with Drs. Himmelgreen and Romero-Daza (Department of Anthropology) on the development of a plan of research regarding food insecurity and obesity. The visit was hosted by the Monteverde Research Institute. During her stay she also participated in a health fair in the town of San Luis implemented by USF students participating in the 6-week field school sponsored by the Department of Anthropology. In collaboration with Drs. Himmelgreen and Romero-Daza, she plans to submit research grants to the National Science Foundation and NIH to build upon preliminary data regarding food insecurity and obesity.
MCH leaders at the UIC Maternal & Child Health Leadership Retreat:
Through generous funding from the MCH Training Grant, graduate students Jennifer Marshall and Jordana Frost were able to join Dr. Russ Kirby and other established and upcoming MCH leaders at the UIC Maternal & Child Health Leadership Retreat in Oakbrook, IL July 19-21. The event allowed participants to reflect upon their shared goal of improving MCH outcomes while defying health inequities, through the application of the Life Course Model to MCH research, policy, and practice. Retreat activities included presentations from leaders in the field, group collaboration and teambuilding activities, and opportunities for personal reflection and coaching.
Presentations included:
* "Paradigm Shifts in Public Health and MCH: An Historical Perspective on Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities" Maxine Hayes, MD, MPH, Washington State Health Officer, Dept. of Health.
* "Life Course, Health Equity, Social Determinants of Health: New Approaches for a New Decade" Deborah Allen, ScD, Director, Bureau of Child, Adolescent & Family Health, Boston Public Health Commission.
* "Facts on the Ground: Making New Paradigms Real in Our Communities" Cheri Pies, MSW, DrPH, Director, Family, MCH Programs, Martinez, CA; Paula Eurek, Administrator, Lifespan Health Services Unit, NE Dept. of Health and Human Services: Lorraine Lathen, MA, President, Jump at the Sun Consultants; Amy Zimmerman, Director, Chicago Medical Legal Partnership for Children, Health & Disability Advocates.
CFH Department Members Haves Abstract Accepted for Presentation at Meeting .
Our abstract entitled: "Effectiveness of the Federal Healthy Start project in reducing primary and repeat teen pregnancies: Our experience over the decade" has been accepted for oral presentation at the 16th Annual Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology (MCH EPI) Conference, "Using Epidemiology to Improve Maternal and Child Health," December 15-17, 2010, at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas. The following are the authors: Hamisu Salihu, Euna August, Alfred Mbah, Amina Alio, Delores Jeffers, Lo Berry E.
Dr. Amina Alio and colleagues publish article
Alio AP, Merrell L, Roxburgh K, Clayton HB, Marty PJ, Bomboka L, Traoré S, Salihu HM. The psychosocial impact of vesico-vaginal fistula in Niger. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2010 Aug 29. [Epub ahead of print].
The paper is based on qualitative research conducted by Dr. Alio and COPH students Laura Merrell, Kimberlee Roxburgh, Heather Clayton, and Linda Bomboka. The students traveled to Niger in the summer of 2009, as part of the International Maternal and Child Health course trip.
Dr. Russell Kirby and Colleagues Publish Paper
Charnigo, Richard, Lorie Wayne Chesnut, Tony LoBianco, Russell S. Kirby, "Thinking Outside the Curve, Part II: Modeling Fetal-Infant Mortality", BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 10 (August 12, 2010), 44; doi:10.1186/1471-2393-10-44.
Dr. Karen Liller Presents at Safety 2010 World Conference
Dr. Karen Liller presented the second year of findings for the SMART Injury Registry for high school athlete's at the Safety 2010 World Conference in London, England, on September 22, 2010. The co-authors on the presentation include Dr. Barbara Morris and Dr. Jeff Konin from the SMART program at USF Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, public health doctoral student Siwon-Jang, MPH graduate Siew Wong, and Stephen Thorson of Premiere, Inc.
Drs. Ellen Daley and Rita DeBate Convene Meeting
On Thursday September 23, 2010, Drs. Daley and DeBate from the Department of Community and Family Health, convened a first investigators meeting centered on the project "Transforming Women's Health: Exploring the Oral/systemic Connection as a New Paradigm to Improve Women's Health."
Twenty-two participants met at the USF Marshall Center to officially launch the project, which is funded by the Interdisciplinary Research Development Grant in the College of Public Health. Through a creative and interactive process, the dynamic transdisciplinary group contributed expertise that cut across three institutions, three colleges, and ten disciplines. This is the first in a series of investigator meetings that will enrich and fuel the development of this exciting project, which will culminate in a larger public interdisciplinary meeting in late 2011.
Article:
Five Degrees Offered in CFH Behavioral Health Concentration
USF's Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) at the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences (CBCS) together with CFH jointly offer the Behavioral Health Concentration/Focus (BHC/F) as part of the CFH Master and Doctoral programs. Students in the BHC/F examine community and family issues in policy, evaluation, systems performance, and outcomes of alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services. "The Behavioral Health Concentration has blossomed over the last five years and proves to be one of our more popular degree programs in the department," said Dr. Julie Baldwin, Chair of CFH. "I am truly thankful to the BCS faculty, under the aegis of Dr. Bruce Lubotsky Levin. They have done a remarkable job of providing leadership in emphasizing, to both faculty and students in CFH and COPH, the importance of examining behavioral health problems within a public health perspective."...... Read More
Alumni Update
Danice K. Eaton, MPH, PhD
Danice K. Eaton, MPH, PhD is a 2002 PhD graduate of the Department of Community and Family Health. She holds the rank of Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service and is based in the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. Among her duties, she is responsible for the implementation of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), as well as the analysis and dissemination of pertinent data from its principal element, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a nationwide survey of health behavior among youth in grades 9-12. In a podcast of June 17, 2010, Dr. Eaton discusses key findings from the recently released 2009 YRBS data set. The link to this 4-1/2 minute podcast is http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=2008134.
Dr. Buhi and Colleagues Awarded Grant
Today, (9/30/10) the U.S. Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) awarded 75 competitive grants to a broad range of organizations and agencies to replicate teen pregnancy prevention programs that have shown to be effective through rigorous evaluation. Out of 300 applications, the Florida Department of Health (FLDOH) was one of four applicants awarded at the highest funding level. A team from the Department of Community and Family Health helped to write the FLDOH proposal (Drs. Eric Buhi, Rita DeBate, Kay Perrin, Ellen Daley, and Stephanie Marhefka), with help from Dr. Wei Wang (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics). We will be working with the FLDOH to conduct a randomized control trial of their program, which will involve almost 100 schools in 26 non-metropolitan counties throughout Florida. The share for the College of Public Health equates to $500,000 per year for five years ($2.5 million). Here is the official HHS news release:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/09/20100930a.html.
Drs. Kay Perrin and Alan Kent Receive Bringing Science Home Grant
The Bringing Science Home program recently announced that Drs. Kay Perrin and Alan Kent will be their first research partner. They will collaborate on the project "Creating Connections Between Adolescent Health and Adult Medicine: Transitions for Undergraduate Students with Health Challenges". The grant is for $500,000 for 12 months and will fund five undergraduate students to conduct research and have their tuition at the college of public health paid. Congratulations!
Dr. Robert McDermott Was Invited Speaker
Dr. Robert J. McDermott (Department of Community and Family Health and the Florida Prevention Research Center) was the invited speaker for the College of Education and Human Services Dean's sponsored fall lecture at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, October 6, 2010. His talk was entitled "Co-creating Health Behavior Change Interventions with and for Communities: An Example of the Engaged University Research Center." More than 120 faculty members, administrators, and students participated in a follow-up dialogue.
Stephanie Marhefka and Colleagues Present Poster at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria:
Marhefka, S.L., Fuhrmann, H., Ealey, J., Tilley, D., Benton, A., Lopez, B., Gilliam, P., Kurtyka, D., & Baldwin, J. (2010, July). Is videoconferencing an acceptable strategy for disseminating a group-based behavioral interventions to women with HIV in the United States?
Drs. Amina Alio and Hamisu Salihu's publishes new article
Drs. Amina Alio and Hamisu Salihu's newly published article featured on the cover of the October 2010 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health: "To breastfeed or not to breastfeed: A review of the impact of lactational exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on infants." Muktar Aliyu, Amina Alio, Hamisu Salihu. J Environmental Health, 2010; 73(3):8-14).
Dr. Amina Alio receives USF Outstanding Research Achievement Award:
Dr. Alio was one of 10 USF faculty members recognized by the USF Office of Research & Innovation for excellence in research and innovation. Dr. Alio was recognized for outstanding publications including a seminal paper published in the Lancet.
The Outstanding Research Achievement Award rewards faculty who have received truly exceptional recognition of their research with preeminent awards, grants or publications in top journals during the 2009 calendar year. The awards were presented on Monday Oct. 11, during the Research Exhibition & Faculty Awards Reception in the Interdisciplinary Research Building (IDRB) Galleria.
Dr. Robert McDermott Chosen as Ann E. Nolte Scholar in Health Education
Education Dr. Robert J. McDermott (Department of Community and Family Health and the Florida Prevention Research Center) was the Ann E. Nolte Scholar in Health Education at Illinois State University October 3-5, 2010. The Scholar in Health Education was instituted in 2001 by the late Dr. Nolte (1929-2009), Distinguished Professor Emerita of Health Education from Illinois State University's Department of Health Sciences, with the intention of hosting a noted health education scholar on campus each year for a presentation and interaction with faculty and students. Dr. McDermott's scholar talk was entitled "University-Community Partnerships to Reduce the Distance between Town and Gown: An Example from the University of South Florida Prevention Research Center." As part of the honor bestowed upon him, through the endowment created by Dr. Nolte, Illinois State University made a $2000 contribution in Dr. McDermott's name to the USF Foundation. Notable previous recipients of the honor include Dr. Audrey Gotsch, Dr. Lloyd Kolbe, Dr. John Allegrante, Dr. John Seffrin, Dr. Stephen Thomas, and Dr. Kathleen Minor.
Dr. Russ Kirby Appointed to Editorial Board
Dr. Russell Kirby was recently appointed to the editorial board of the Disability and Health Journal.
Dr. Russ Kirby and Colleagues Publish Article
Walker, Lorraine O., Russell S. Kirby, "Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Early Parenting Practices Research: An Epidemiologic Perspective", Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14, 6 (November 2010), 958-970.
Natalie Hernandez Selected to Represent COPH at the 2010 National Delta Omega Poster Competition
Natalie Hernandez was recently selected to represent the College of Public Health at the 2010 National Delta Omega Poster competition for her poster "Ethnic Differences in HPV Knowledge and Intentions Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Males". The Delta Omega Poster competition was held at the annual APHA meeting in Denver, CO on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 10:30. Congratulations Natalie!
NCI Internship Interview with Diana Lima
Ms. Diana Lima (Socio-Health) earned a health communications internship with the National Cancer Institute shortly after graduation. What follows is an interview about her experience. For other students who may be interested in this opportunity, visit
https://hcip.nci.nih.gov/hcip/. The current application cycle closes in March for placements next fall.
Click
here to see the interview.
Article: COPH to Assess Long-Term Outcome of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
The USF College of Public Health is a key player in one of 75 competitive federal grants recently awarded across the country to replicate programs proven to lower the pregnancy rate of participants — including programs that focus on more than sex education or abstinence to combat teen pregnancy.
The College will work with the Florida Department of Health, which received the $3.56-million grant in September from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health. A USF public health team will conduct a five-year, $2.5 million evaluation of a randomized, controlled trial of the Teen Outreach Program (TOP). The project will involve ninth-graders in almost 100 high schools across 26 non-metropolitan Florida counties."......
Read More
MCHSO to Host Poster Session
To showcase graduate student and faculty work and encourage student research, the MCHSO is hosting a poster session in conjunction with the Symposium
Great Expectations: Improving Perinatal Mental Health, to be held on March 3-4, 2011 in the Marshall Center at USF. The poster sessions will take place on Thursday March 3rd (times TBA). Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words and be consistent with the theme of the Symposium: Great Expectations: Improving Perinatal Mental Health. Abstracts are due to Erica Anstey at
eanstey@health.usf.edu by Friday, January 28. Please title your email "MCHSO ABSTRACT."
Dr. Rita DeBate and Colleagues Publish Article
Racine EF, DEBATE RD, Gabriel KP, High RR. Media use is associated with lower levels of self-esteem and commitment to physical activity among 3rd-5th grade girls: A cross sectional study. Journal of School Health.
Mary Martinasek and Leila Martini, Doctoral Students in Community and Family Health and Dr. Robert McDermott, Professor in Community and Family Health Publish Article
Mary P. Martinasek, MPH, CHES, Robert J. McDermott, PhD, FAAHB, and Leila Martini, MPH, MLS
Waterpipe (Hookah) Tobacco Smoking Among Youth. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care Volume 41, Issue 2, Pages 33-58 (February 2011).
Drs. Ellen Daley and Eric Buhi receive grant from the Ford Foundation
Dr. Ellen Daley, Associate Professor, and Dr. Eric Buhi, Assistant Professor, in the Department of Community and Family Health have been awarded a grant from the Ford Foundation. The two-year grant, "An in-depth situational analysis of Florida county-level decisions in sexuality education programming," will focus on understanding the process of how sexuality education programming is adopted, how course content is decided, and why certain programmatic/curricular efforts are implemented (e.g., comprehensive sexuality education, abstinence only until marriage education, youth development programs) at local levels.
Dr. Robert McDermott and Colleagues Publish Paper
Martinasek, MP, McDermott, Martini, L: Waterpipe (Hookah) Tobacco Smoking Among Youth. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care, pgs 34-57, February 2011.
Dr. Sarah Desmarais is Teaching Course in London
Dr. Desmarais is teaching a course in Feb 2011 offered by the West London Mental Health Program at the London School of Economics for physicians, nurses, social workers and other health professionals working with patients with severe mental illness. The course will provide training in the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START), a manualized, evidence-based practice for assessing and managing risks associated with mental, personality, and substance use disorders, including violence, suicide/self-harm, and victimization. Dr. Desmarais was involved in the development and validation of the START as a graduate student and has been training health and legal professionals worldwide for the past 6 years. Since the original publication of the manual in 2004, the START has been implemented in 10 countries and translated into 8 languages.
