Department of Community and Family Health (CFH)

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Welcome to the Department of Community and Family Health!

We’d like to welcome you to our website and to share some important information about our department.

The Department's mission includes education, research, and service to enhance the health promotion and disease prevention status of individuals, families, and communities. Our programs assist individuals in developing leadership in the health science disciplines that meet the needs of diverse populations.

The faculty members in our department are dedicated to excellence in teaching and mentorship of students, innovation in research, and a commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration. We have four research centers housed in the department, including our new Center for Transdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health, and several other federally funded research programs.

The concentrations offered in our department for the MPH and MSPH degrees are behavioral health, maternal and child health, maternal and child health epidemiology, public health education, as well as socio-health sciences. We also offer both the Ph.D. and the Dr.PH. degrees as well as several graduate certificate programs and dual degree programs. We even let you combine these studies with a Peace Corp experience.

Please explore our site and discover the many opportunities that await you in the Department of Community and Family Health. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

William M. Sappenfield, MD, MPH
Professor and Chair
Department of Community and Family Health
News and Headlines
Doctoral student Jennifer Bleck and Dr Rita DeBate publish article on eating disorders
Exploring the Co-morbidity of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating Behaviors in a Nationally Representative Community-based Sample Accepted:  Journal of Eating Behaviors Authors: Jennifer Bleck, MPHa, b Rita D. DeBate, PhD, MPH, FAEDa a University of South Florida Department of Community and Family Health College of Public Health 13201 Brice B. Downs Blvd, MDC 56 Tampa, FL 33612-3805 b Jennifer Bleck is the corresponding author and she can be contacted at: 13201 Brice B. Downs Blvd, MDC 56 Tampa, FL 33612-3805 Phone: 813-974-4867 Fax: 813-974-5172 Email: jbleck@health.usf.edu Abstract [...]
Inaugural Girls on the Run Tampa Bay 5K a huge success
More than 600 runners, volunteers, and spectators attended the 2013 Girls on the Run Tampa Bay 5k held on May 4th at the HCC-Dale Mabry campus.  Over $5000 in proceeds will support scholarships for Girls on the Run Tampa Bay. A special thank you goes out to the following COPH faculty, staff, students, and alumni who helped make the event a success: Faculty: Rita DeBate, Eric Buhi, Cheryl Vamos, Julie Baldwin; Staff: Lisa Sleek, Kristy James; Students: Trista Krone, Amanda Ellis, Lara Marsh, Katy Rosini, Maggie Walsh and all students [...]
Karen Lukaszewicz, SSgt, USAF presents MPH special project to members of toxicology program
On Wednesday, April 24, Karen Lukaszewicz, SSgt, USAF presented her MPH Special Project “Substance Abuse and Brain Injury” to Bruce Levin, PhD, Raymond Harbison, PhD and members of the Toxicology program. A community and family health student, Ms. Lukaszewicz completed her project while deployed.  She discussed the mechanism of injury, effects of substances of abuse and appropriate interventions for patients with comorbid substance abuse and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Additionally, she highlighted the similarities and differences in civilian and military populations. The most notable difference is the time course.  In [...]
Cedric Harville earns doctoral fellowship from University of Florida
“The most interesting part of public health is the ability to develop intervention programs that focus on preventing disease and using the results from these programs to inform the public and influence policy,” said Cedric Harville, II.     Thanks to a placement with the Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network , Harville was able to do just that on behalf of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. During his last year of studies, Harville partnered with investigators and honed his professional skills as an outreach core intern and [...]
Dr. Natalie Hernandez earns Health Policy Leadership Fellowship
Natalie D. Hernandez, MPH, PhD, is the recipient of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute’s Health Policy Leadership Fellowship. Named after former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, the fellowship provides postdoctoral professionals with knowledge, experiences, and skills needed to prepare them for leadership roles in promoting and implementing policies and practices to reduce and ultimately eliminate disparities in health. The Institute and Fellowship are housed at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.   Before arriving at USF, Hernandez earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Stony Brook University and a master [...]