November is International Education Month

How does health care differ in industrial versus nonindustrial countries? In socialist versus capitalist societies? In rural versus urban settings? What health inequities do different populations in different parts of the world face?

USF College of Public Health (COPH) students can get answers to those questions by participating in a study abroad program.

In 2024, the COPH will be offering international study programs to Panama, Canada, London and Japan. These for-credit programs are open to both undergraduate and master’s students and generally last about a week. They give students the opportunity to study public health with a cultural context, examining how different countries handle things such as disaster preparedness, preventative health measures and public health policy. Students are also given time to tour and engage in community service projects and research.

Students who have been on the programs say the experience has been eye-opening.

“Personally, I plan to pursue a career in global health and program management, so gaining experience traveling with a public health mindset and learning about different sites that are conducting public health work, such as the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), was super important for me,” said Nupur Kothari, a BSPH student who traveled to Panama. “Being able to participate in research and data collection in Panama helped translate the education I have gained in the COPH to actual practice.”

Hannah Harburg, an MPH student concentrating in epidemiology, said her experience in Japan was “transformative.”

“Exploring Japan for the first time altered my outlook on life,” Harburg said. “Gujo Hachiman is an area I found so beautiful, I cried. As I explored the quiet river town, I knew this was going to be a moment I would cherish for the rest of my life. The storm drain water was so clean you could feed the carp that swam in it. This trip reaffirmed my commitment to researching public health. I gathered ideas and learned problem-solving skills through active information synthesis, diversified group work and insightful debates.”

Erin Millsapps, a Coverdell Fellow who served in the Peace Corps in South Africa as a community HIV/AIDS outreach coordinator, recently returned from a summer international field experience (IFE) in Gqueberha, South Africa.

The Peace Corps Coverdell Fellowship program at the COPH is a graduate fellowship program awarding financial assistance to selected returning Peace Corps volunteers who are pursuing an MPH or MSPH.

“During my IFE, my peers and I focused on addressing health disparities in ENT [ear, nose and throat] health through community engagement,” said Millsapps, who is an MPH student concentrating in epidemiology and global health. “These endeavors, emphasizing interdisciplinary teams and cultural competency, not only achieved project goals but also strengthened my ability to meet COPH competencies. Grateful for the opportunities provided by the Coverdell Fellowship and USF/COPH, I am empowered to make a meaningful impact in the field of public health.”

For more information about COPH international study programs and Peace Corps requirements, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the USF College of Public Health (COPH), delivered the college’s annual State of the College address in person to a packed Samuel P. Bell, III auditorium on Sept. 22.

This year’s presentation highlighted the college’s people, passion and potential. “Our people are the foundation of everything we do,” Petersen said, as she introduced the numerous new hires, promotions, new doctoral scholars and faculty, staff, student and alumni award winners.

“We recognize and thank all of these folks who not only enrich the college but also what we do collectively as USF Health to improve lives and create opportunities for our students and teams to learn and grow professionally,” Petersen said.

One who received special recognition was Dr. Karen Liller, a Distinguished University Health Professor, who was presented with the Cliff Blair Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, named for the late COPH professor Cliff Blair who famously made difficult subjects easy to understand and who received the student’s teaching award seven times, is given to instructors who, according to the award’s website, “reach deep within and far beyond to provide extraordinary learning moments for students.”

“This award is so meaningful to me,” Liller said as she accepted the award. “I knew Cliff for many years. He always had time for you and was so approachable and funny. He was an amazing individual and I can’t thank you enough.”

Petersen then moved into highlighting the college’s passion—which is educating students and serving the community. Some statistics of note:

• The fall 2023 incoming class is comprised of 466 undergraduate students, 220 master’s students ​and 30 doctoral students​.
• Since May 2022, the college graduated 1,492 bachelor students,​ 314 master’s students​ and 36 doctoral students​.
• During the 2022-2023 academic year, the college’s faculty taught 83,254 student contact hours, up 2.5% over the prior year.
• A team, which included two COPH MHA students, took home second place in the CLARION Case Competition, a national competition that promotes the development of interprofessional relationships among health professional students.
• Two health sciences majors were recently elected USF Student Government president and vice president.
• One student who recently graduated summa cum laude was named a UG Golden Bull and was a Phi Beta Kappa inductee.

“Our faculty amazes me every year,” Petersen said. “Every year you teach more and more and more. And we can’t thank you enough. You help ensure the future of our field.”

Petersen went on to make note of the college’s main initiatives in 2022, including new curriculum collaborations with other areas of USF Health, such as the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Taneja College of Pharmacy; instituting one-credit graduate courses; new graduate student boot camps that focus on things like writing and professionalism; the start of the Disease Intervention Specialist Training Academy (DISTA) and the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice and its inaugural PHEARLESS cohort, devoted to workforce development.

She also elaborated on the strides of the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, which now has 100% participation for all the maternity hospitals in the state; the achievements of the Center for Global Health and Inter-Disciplinary Research, which has active grants totaling $49.9 million;  the genomics program, which recently enrolled its largest MSPH class; and other programs like the COPH Lifelong Learning Academy, which awarded approximately 2,046 CPH and CHES credits in 2022-2023.

Finally, Petersen talked about the college’s potential, “where we are, where we’re going and what we want to do,” she said. And because potential takes funding, she also gave an overview of the college’s budget and grants and outlined some of the important work students and faculty are doing in the research realm.

“We are doing incredible work that is increasingly recognized by different groups locally and around the country,” Petersen commented. “We had 120 research proposals submitted last year. That’s an enormous increase over the prior year. And our active awards are up to an all-time high, from $19.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $34.98 million in 2023.”

Petersen ended her address looking to the future, making mention of a variety of events to take place and acknowledging and thanking everyone involved in the college for their support and work.

She recounted a story she heard about a man living in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. His dream, Petersen said, was to open a grocery store, because every time he saw someone carrying groceries on a bus, he knew it was likely the third bus they’d been carrying the groceries on as there were no nearby food marts.

“He said, ‘You know, they say you only live once. But that’s not the truth. You only die once, but you live every day. And every day that you live, you have to do something impactful. Have a few kids, get a job, pay your bills, grow old and die—that’s not why you’re here. My purpose is easy. It’s to serve.’ So, every day,” Petersen added, “do something that matters. Be kind. Be helpful. Because that’s what we’re about.”

To view the entire address, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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USF Health’s international and interprofessional collaborations continue through a recent trip to Gifu University in Japan and Seoul National University in Korea.

USF has active collaborations with students visiting both universities, and USF faculty and a graduate student recently visited the universities as part of long-standing collaborative affiliations.

The affiliation with Gifu University, which is based in the USF Health College of Public Health, is an example of several connections USF and USF Health have around the world that offer research, education and study-abroad opportunities. In addition, it is an example of the cross-college collaboration and interprofessional education and practice taking place at USF.

Included on this recent trip was Dr. Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, professor in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, associate vice president of USF Health Interprofessional Education Program and executive director and CEO of the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS); Atsuko Sakai, professor in USF Judy Genshaft Honors College; and Emma Underwood, a PhD student in the USF Health College of Public Health, who is spending a summer conducting research at Gifu University.

The visit to Gifu University included lectures given by the USF team, tours of the university and hospital, meetings with faculty, clinical staff and leadership, including the president of Gifu University, and cultural immersive events.

The Gifu collaboration has extended to an additional USF partner in Thailand, with Gifu now sending a medical student next year for research with USF affiliate faculty at Mahidol University.

Story reposted from USF Health

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From Australia to Asia and places in between, both graduate and undergraduate students had the opportunity this summer to experience public health around the globe with the USF College of Public Health (COPH).

Students traveled to London, Sydney, Panama and Japan—including Tokyo, Hiroshima and Gifu. Some of the programs were study abroad, others experiential learning. But each gave students a unique perspective and insight into the inner workings of other countries’ public health systems.

USF Public Health in Japan

Students got to witness first-hand why Japanese citizens enjoy some of the best health outcomes of any nation across the globe.

They collaborated with faculty and students from the University of Tokyo and Gifu University, the latter of which has an ongoing collaborative relationship with the COPH (MPH student Natalie Nagib was the lead author on a recently published paper looking at the mental health of Gifu University students during the pandemic).

Some highlights for students:

• Visiting an elementary school to learn how lunch is a time for teaching important skills about food portioning, table etiquette, recycling and cleaning up.
• Playing the role of patient so Gifu nursing students could practice their English.
• Learning about the immediate and long-term health consequences of nuclear weapons and disaster management practices integrated within the design of Japanese cities.

“This experience helped me understand the differences in societies and how the collective thinking of a population can determine a public health outcome. For example, at Gifu University we learned a lot about how they dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was surprising that when mask mandates were in place, the people did not complain and just followed the instructions because from a young age, they are taught that their actions can affect others. We have a very individualistic mindset in the U.S. and I think that is important for public health professionals to understand because it can determine what kind of public health approach would be best,” said Isabella Abbondanza, a senior BSPH student.

International Field Experience at Western Sydney University, Australia

An international field experience (IFE) is a practicum open to all COPH students (but mandatory for students in the global health practice concentration) and is considered an important part of the academic curriculum, serving as a structured and significant educational experience. The IFE takes place in an agency, institution or community in a developing country.

Caroline Boone, an MPH student in the global health practice concentration, said she decided to perform her IFE at Western Sydney University because the programs and projects the school was helping to lead would allow her to get hands-on experience not only working with diverse communities but also with program recruitment and implementation.

One of the projects she worked on was the Pasifika Preventing Diabetes Program (PPDP), a church-based program focusing on addressing diabetes within Pasifika communities.

“While diabetes is a burden on health worldwide, Pasifika individuals have a seven times higher risk of developing diabetes compared to those of European descent. Diabetes is also a leading cause of death in the Pasifika community. Most of our time working with the PPDP team was spent in the field assisting with data collection and participant recruitment sessions, assisting them with the surveys and obtaining their blood pressure, blood glucose, Hba1c, height, weight, percent body fat and waist circumference,” Boone said. “From the first day at this site, I felt that my opinion and input were valued and the suggestions I had were used. I never felt like I was just doing busy work for them and every task we worked on was helpful to their projects. I would recommend this experience to anyone.”

Panama Study Abroad Experience for the International Perspectives in Women’s Health Issues

This semester-long class culminated with a trip to Panama, where students examined health issues central to Panamanian women, such as access to health care, nutrition, intimate partner violence, unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, maternal mortality, and political justice and rights.

“This trip allowed me to travel and explore the cultural significance of women’s health in a case-study-like setting. Since public health is so interconnected, this trip gave me a new perspective on health issues that I can apply to my day-to-day work in clinical practice and research regarding infectious diseases. There is no better way to apply and grow your perspective than to seek out opportunities that help you experience another culture, hear the stories of another community and apply the lessons learned in your own community to improve health and social wellness,” said Shriya Bhatnagar, who earned her MPH from the COPH in summer 2023.

Public Health in Panama

This undergraduate course took students to various cities in Panama where they compared health systems in the U.S. to those in Panama and got an up-close look at how these systems affect health outcomes for Panamanians. Topics explored included:

• Infectious diseases
• Environmental health
• Emergency management

In addition to exploring an indigenous village and the Panama Canal, students visited the Panama Clinic, touted as the most modern hospital in Latin America, the Red Cross and a school in the rural town of Chica.

“The experience in Panama will stay with me for my whole life. As my first experience outside of the United States, it not only had a large academic impact, but a personal one, too,” commented Emma Gabinski, a senior BSPH student. “The people we interacted with and the things we were able to learn about their situations were incredibly eye-opening and will keep my love for this field alive.”

“One of the most interesting visits was touring the Red Cross in Panama. I have taken some classes in emergency management, and being able to see a Red Cross office in Panama felt especially full circle. I enjoyed hearing about the different programs that the office conducts, and we were even able to participate in one of their nationwide emergency drills while there. Being able to see and talk to an organization creating real change in the country was a big highlight,” said Nupur Kothari, a senior BSPH student.

   Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Nicholas Cropper, a USF College of Public Health MPH student, recently returned from the Netherlands after completing a six-month internship with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), housed in the Hague.

OPCW is the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an agreement signed by 193 state parties to end the development, production, stockpiling, exchange and use of chemical weapons of mass destruction.

Cropper, who’s concentrating in global disaster management, humanitarian relief and homeland security, interned in the OPCW’s Office of Strategy and Policy, supporting the work of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and their report for the upcoming review conference of the CWC.

Cropper said he performed a variety of functions, from writing small sections of the report to providing literature and resource support to editing.

“In addition to my responsibilities for the SAB,” he added, “I was also in charge of organizing public-facing events that my office put on, such as an educational activity for OPCW’s Open Day where we invited the public into OPCW’s headquarters to learn what we do, or our Science for Diplomats event that was held at the most recent Conference of States Parties where we provided a basic hands-on chemistry lesson for attending diplomats.”

Learning to collaborate with such a culturally and professionally diverse group of individuals was the internship’s biggest benefit—and challenge—according to Cropper.

“I worked on projects with people from all over the world, and it was really transformative to see the incredible diversity of thinking, even within geographic regions,” Cropper noted. “I also worked with people whose professional backgrounds were wildly different from my own, from public relations professionals to PhD chemists to digital artists and just about everyone in between.”

Another added benefit of the internship, said Cropper, was how it broadened his conception of what constitutes a public health professional.

“For example, the public affairs professionals I collaborated with made information about why and how OPCW’s work contributes to a safer and healthier world more accessible to the public,” Cropper said. “And the diplomats I met were increasingly looking to include diverse and underrepresented viewpoints as they crafted and negotiated stronger governance structures that influence public health policy from the top down. I could go on, but the key point is that this experience has made me a better public health professional by widening my idea of what public health is, who plays a role in improving public health and how I can include an even broader diversity of backgrounds when putting together coalitions to advance public health initiatives in the future.”

Cropper said working at the Hague was “the privilege of a lifetime.”

“I frequently tell friends and family that I couldn’t have found a friendlier place for an American in Europe,” commented Cropper, who’s not sure about his post-graduation plans but is exploring opportunities with the U.S. State, Defense and even Energy Departments. “The city is absolutely gorgeous, the people are some of the friendliest I’ve ever met and it’s no more expensive than any other major European city! The internship at OPCW has been a transformative experience in so many ways. I highly recommend it to other scientifically or internationally-minded students at USF!”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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From Asia to Australia to Africa and places in between, USF College of Public Health students practiced their passion last summer across all areas of the globe.

Some traveled as part of research grants. Others took part in international field experiences.

International Field Experience (IFE) is a practicum open to all COPH students and is mandatory for students in the global health practice concentration. It is considered an important part of the academic curriculum, serving as a structured and significant educational experience. The IFE takes place in an agency, institution or community in a developing country.

The students immersed themselves in local cultures and communities. They learned firsthand about the country’s health care system, its infrastructure and its health challenges. They worked collaboratively with other students, researchers and community leaders on a variety of public health initiatives, from how to curb rabies in a local dog population to how to make drinking water safe. Here, their stories.

Making drinking water safe in Madagascar

It was a USF flyer picturing a lemur and asking, “Would you like to help provide safe drinking water to the people of Madagascar?” that first caught MPH student Romina Beltran’s attention. After emailing one of the principal investigators of the project and getting more information, Beltran decided to apply. Out of 60 applicants, she was chosen. She worked alongside BSPH student Madison Champalou.

The project is a joint venture between the COPH and the College of Engineering, explained Dr. Mahmooda Khaliq Pasha, a COPH associate professor and one of its co-principal investigators. “It engages social marketing students with engineers to solve a public health problem [safe drinking water in Madagascar].”

Beltran’s role was to learn about the community’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviors about how to disinfect and store their drinking water.

“We wanted to know why they engage in current behavior, what steps they take to improve their water quality and what are possible interventions or suggestions for behavior change,” Beltran, who’s concentrating in public health practice, said. “With the help of our in-country partners, we were able to meet local health authorities to introduce the project, select participants, conduct a demographic survey and do participant observation. I’d say these methods were quite successful. We gained the community’s trust to open their homes to us and have us join in their activities. I can say I learned so much from my participants.”

And not all of it was academic.

“I can say that this was the most beautiful experience I’ve ever had. I fell in love with Madagascar and its people,” Beltran said. “I learned how to perform everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning and doing laundry with limited resources. Knowing firsthand how these are performed can help us propose feasible solutions to the community. I also learned that there are so many things that connect us as humans, despite differences in culture and language. I think [interdisciplinary projects like this one] will get more people to realize that public health alone cannot address health disparities. Complex problems focusing on societal needs require multiple disciplines.”

Reducing the risk of rabies and other zoonotic diseases in Kenya

MPH student Miranda Jones spent 10 weeks last summer working with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Machakos County, Kenya.

She collaborated with a PhD student who was working with a variety of agencies on a vaccination program for dogs. Jones went door-to-door, interacting with some 800 households, collecting and analyzing data about the prevalence of zoonotic helminths (parasitic worms) in the local dog population. She also attended local stakeholder meetings, helped conduct interviews with local health officials for a rabies documentary, visited local vaccination sites and helped organize a community health volunteer training workshop.

“The central idea of these projects was protecting human health by eliminating rabies with a One Health approach,” Jones said. “This transdisciplinary approach can mitigate zoonotic disease outbreaks, improve food safety and security, reduce antibiotic resistance and improve global security in an effective, collaborative manner. The improvement of one sector is contingent upon the interdependence and collaboration of the human, animal and environmental sectors.”

Jones said the experience gave her more than knowledge about parasites. It also gave her new perspectives.

“This field experience has thought me to be adaptable to last-minute changes, new environments and people,” Jones commented. “By working with a team of veterinarians, I was able to gain new perspectives and an understanding of disease control and prevention. Working in a developing country that has different challenges, diseases and infrastructure than the United States has allowed me to better understand the challenges people face day to day and when building a sustainable program.”

Performing data analysis in Ghana

Tracy Gates, an MPH student concentrating in global health practice, spent two months working with faculty and students from the University of Ghana’s School of Public Health developing skills in biostatistics analyses and spatial visualization, contributing to multiple manuscripts and otherwise learning the ins and outs of the health care system in Ghana.

“We performed important research advancing the understanding of predictive factors for the utilization of health facilities for deliveries in Ghana and the prevalence and distribution of hypertension across the country,” Gates explained. “We also developed multilevel predictive models that can be utilized and replicated in future predictive work.”

Gates says her IFE gave her added experience—and subsequent confidence—in assessing, analyzing, understanding and reporting quantitative data. But there were more intangible benefits as well.

“I loved being in Ghana, learning about different ways of life and perspectives along with gaining insight about the Ghanaian culture, history, food, healthcare systems and health-related challenges and resources,” Gates said. “I was able to practice adapting to an international environment with unique challenges and systems to navigate. Overall, this was an incredible experience.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health’s Dr. Arlene Calvo, associate professor, and Erik Ruiz, PhD student, are recipients of the 2021 USF Hispanic Heritage Awards.

The USF Status of Latinos (SOL) Committee presents the awards each year to “outstanding Latinx members of the USF community making a profound difference” and recognizes scholarship recipients.

Their COPH colleagues Drs. Abraham Salinas Miranda, assistant professor and director of the Harrell Center, and Dina Martinez-Tyson, associate professor, nominated them.

Calvo is program coordinator of the Salud Latina USF initiative at the COPH, directs the public health practice and the public health generalist certificate programs, and also leads the COPH’s Panama Program in the City of Knowledge in addition to serving as an associate investigator for the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies of Panama.

“She has more than 20 years of research experience in the United States, Panama, and other countries in the Latin American region, leading research at the population and community level focusing on the health of vulnerable groups in Latin America and the U.S.,” Salinas Miranda said in his nomination for Calvo. “Dr. Calvo is currently leading an extremely important effort for our Hispanic community, the Salud Latina initiative, which is a transdisciplinary enterprise that originated at the USF’s College of Public Health as a response to the unequal burden of COVID-19 on Spanish- speaking populations in the U.S. and globally.”   

Calvo established Salud Latina USF in January 2021. The group consists of Spanish-speaking faculty at the USF COPH who aim to inform the Spanish-speaking community about public health issues, combat misinformation and provide credible public health messages alongside training of Latinx students, community outreach and education, and research endeavors dedicated to the growing U.S. Latinx and Latin American populations.

“It was quite an honor to be nominated for the SOL awards by my peers. Through the COPH initiative Salud Latina, we are working at delivering appropriate messages in Spanish language that are easy to understand. We are also conducting research that is culturally appropriate, understanding the messages that are being delivered to and engaging Latinx students and communities in the U.S. and globally,” Calvo said. “As a Latina myself, I recognize the plight of international people living in other countries and what they have to go through to have access to health care and appropriate health information in their own language that is science-based.”

Calvo, who earned her PhD from the COPH in 2005 specializing in health education and her MPH in 1998, is based in Panama and is one of seven faculty awarded a seed grant and an internal award this year from the college to expand Salud Latina USF efforts.

Ruiz is a PhD student concentrating in community and family health and graduate research assistant currently working to support multiple research projects focused on the supportive care and health literacy needs of Latinx people in the U.S and in Latin America.

He previously served as a commercial specialist for an environmental health organization and a pharmaceutical research organization. He also has experience in supporting diverse LGBTQ+ youth groups and providing sexual behavioral health outreach to underserved communities.

“I have been Erik’s advisor since he started the doctoral program,” Martinez Tyson said in her nomination of Ruiz. “He is in the top 1 percent of students I have had the pleasure to work with. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA this past academic year while taking 28 credit hours. Erik is highly motivated and action oriented. He wants to do research that will enact social change to address Latin health disparities and create equity through community engaged public health initiatives that are inclusive of diverse populations.”

Ruiz has also actively been involved with the Salud Latina USF initiative, working collaboratively with faculty, participating in monthly webinars and conducting content analysis of Spanish-language social media to examine disinformation.

“He has taken a leadership role and coordinates the work of six other Latino students who are also working on the project,” Martinez Tyson said. “Through these efforts he has become a peer mentor to other graduate Latino students at the COPH and is currently working to start a chapter of the Latino Caucus for Public Health at USF. He is motivated, brings people together and takes ownership of the tasks he is assigned or leads with purpose and humility.”

“I felt honored to even have been nominated!” Ruiz said.  “To me, this award was the recognition of the collective efforts of my family, mentors, peers and colleagues who have allowed me to work in the academic and community spaces. Furthermore, I felt as if this award was a formal recognition by USF of the importance of conducting public health research and praxis with Latinx communities that will hopefully inspire other students at USF to engage in these activities as well.”

Ruiz said addressing public health issues in the Latino community is important for many reasons.

“We are the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S., and we experience health burdens disproportionately to other racial and ethnic groups,” he said. “I also think that culture, including Latinx cultures, shapes how we make health decisions, perceive risk and promote health within our own communities. Capturing these perspectives from culturally diverse Latinx communities is an important step in understanding how we can work together to overcome adverse health outcomes.”

He said he is very thankful for earning the award and for his experiences so far at the COPH.

“I am so grateful to have come to the College of Public Health at USF because I have been able to learn from the most amazing and dedicated educators and mentors, including Drs. Dina Martinez Tyson,  Cheryl Vamos, Jerome Galea, and all the faculty working through the new Salud Latina Initiative at USF,” he said.

Learn more about the Salud Latina USF initiative here.

 Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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“At the height of the pandemic last year, in the midst of lockdowns and school closures, I would hear news about college students in general and how they were being affected, but nothing about international students, who usually experience more stressors than local college students,” Chinyere Reid, a doctoral candidate at the USF College of Public Health (COPH) said. “I was interested to know how they were being psychologically impacted by COVID-19, what their specific stressors were and how they were coping during the pandemic.”

To find out, Reid—who is an international student from Jamaica— surveyed 223 international undergraduate and graduate students at USF and presented her research at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual meeting. The research, titled “The influence of COVID-19 stress on anxiety and depression in international students during the COVID-19 pandemic,” was conducted with the help of the COPH’s Dr. Abraham Salinas-Miranda, an assistant professor, and associate professor Dr. Jason Beckstead.

Reid, who is concentrating in community and family health, looked at COVID-19 stress (for example, stress over acquiring the virus and experiencing food and supply shortages) and global stress (stress about jobs, finances, relationships, etc.).

The students Reid surveyed were both undergraduate and graduate international students who were mostly 18-24 years old, female and single. 

Surprisingly, Reid found that anxiety scores were higher in undergraduates versus graduate international students.

“Generally, we assume graduate students are more likely to experience more stressful situations than undergraduate students,” Reid noted. “This is because they may be more likely to have jobs and families and are more knowledgeable about resources. However, in our study, we found that undergraduate international students reported greater stress and anxiety during the pandemic.”

What wasn’t so surprising? That as COVID-19 stress mounted in the students, so did depression and anxiety. 

“Findings of this research highlight that overall, international students have suffered from COVID-19 stress, which is associated with increased anxiety and depression,” Reid commented. “I hope that this study will benefit international students and those who provide them services here at USF and in other colleges/universities across the United States. The APHA presentation evoked many questions and discussions about meeting the needs of international college students affected by COVID-19 stress and the role of universities and other communities at-large in addressing this issue and supporting students.”

Reid said the results of the study have been shared with the USF Office of International Services (OIS), whom she partnered with to recruit students. 

“They were very eager to hear the study results (which also showed that OIS was the most utilized campus resource by international students during the pandemic) and will use study findings to evaluate and provide additional support and mental health resources for international students,” she said. “The next steps will be to focus on identifying and understanding coping mechanisms international college students use to manage COVID-19-related stress and the role of social support with their mental health. Ideally, it would be great to do a longitudinal study on these students to examine the effects of COVID-19 stress on their mental health beyond the pandemic.”

Story by Donna Campisano for USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health’s Dr. Arlene Calvo, associate professor, has participated in a series of focus groups talking with inner city youth in Panama to develop more appropriate public health messages in the context of COVID-19.

This initiative, convened by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO-WHO) PAHO-WHO, is led by the Ministry of Health Panama (MINSA) Department of Health Promotion San Miguelito Health Region and Calvo will support data analysis to help generate the health messages on behalf of the COPH’s Panama Program and Salud Latina USF.

As part of the initiative for the implementation of the “Guide for the adoption of non-pharmacological Public Health measures in population groups in vulnerable situations in the context of Covid-19,” MINSA held a series of focus groups in the San Miguelito inner city health region.

“The objectives of this initiative include identifying knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the intended audience in relation to the adaptation of non-pharmacological public health measures and vaccination in the context of COVID-19,” Calvo said. “We also aim to establish effective communication interventions that allow a constructive dialogue with young people between 12 and 18 years of age, in relation to the adaptation of measures in the context of COVID.”

The ongoing initiative also aims to develop messages intended for young audiences between the ages of 12 and 18 years in high-density urban areas on public health measures in the context of COVID-19 in a friendly and suitable environment for young people.

Related media:

Conversatorio con jóvenes sobre medidas preventivas de Covid-19

Story by Dr. Arlene Calvo, USF College of Public Health

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Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 – Oct. 15

USF College of Public Health (COPH) faculty members have come together to provide credible public health messages and combat misinformation in Spanish.  

Salud Latina USF, as the group calls itself, includes the following Spanish-speaking faculty from the COPH:

• Arlene Calvo, PhD, associate professor of community and family health based in Panama City, Panama, at the City of Knowledge. 
• Ricardo Izurieta, MD, DrPH, MPH, professor of tropical and infectious diseases, expert in vaccinology. 
• Dinorah Martinez Tyson, PhD, MPH, MA, associate professor of community and family health, with a focus on sociocultural aspects of public health. 
• Miguel Reina Ortiz, MD, PhD, CPH, assistant professor of global communicable diseases, global health practice and global health diplomacy. 
• Ismael Hoare, PhD, assistant professor of health education in community and family health.  
• Abraham Salinas-Miranda, MD, MPH, PhD, assistant professor and director of the Harrell Center for the Study of Family Violence. 

The group also includes collaborative support from graduate students, research assistants and volunteer students. COPH staff Anna Mayor, Carlos Montoya and James Taylor also assist with communication outreach, messaging and logistical support.

Calvo, the coordinator of the initiative, said that credible information in Spanish is an area that is greatly lacking, especially at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May 2020, the World Health Organization declared Latin America as the epicenter of the pandemic. An important gap in research and appropriate Spanish-language information existed among Latinx communities worldwide. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was evident that public health interventions were lacking appropriate science-based information in a language that the communities understand; this applies to many health issues and social outcomes,” Calvo said. “The Latinx population has been one of the most affected due to the COVID pandemic, both in the U.S. and abroad. The Salud Latina USF initiative is an appropriate forum to understand the reasons for the disparities.”

Salud Latina USF conducts research and educational activities. It has currently held five monthly virtual public discussions allowing Spanish-speaking participants to engage in a live conversation with the public health experts in their language. The conversations are also livestreamed to the USF COPH’s Facebook page and uploaded to the YouTube Salud Latina USF channel.

The first discussion focused on the COVID-19 vaccine, followed by COVID-19 treatment myths, COVID-19 variants, the social impact of COVID on the Latino community, and variants and vaccines.

“The Salud Latina initiative provides a platform to engage the broader Spanish-speaking community about public health topics. While we started with COVID-19, we will expand to other topics,” Martinez-Tyson said. “This initiative has provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with other Hispanic faculty, connect with and mentor Latino students and provide opportunities for collaboration. This is worthwhile and I look forward to seeing how we can grow the initiative and connect with others across campus interested in Hispanic health.”

“It has been such an honor to work with the USF COPH faculty in the Salud Latina Initiative because not only have I been able to engage in work relevant to my own research interests, but I have also been able to learn from experienced academicians who are truly committed to improving the health and well-being of the Latino community here in Tampa, in the U.S. and in Latin America,” Erik Ruiz, a graduate research assistant, said.

In addition to live monthly community webinars, the group also regularly produces science-based social media content in Spanish, including videos on health topics such as proper mask wearing and ways to prevent the spread of COVID. They also actively pursue funding opportunities to support their efforts to help conduct research on social media content analysis, behavioral online surveys, qualitative studies, and to incorporate experiences and mentoring for Latinx students.

“We’re aiming to have a more informed Latin population,” Izurieta said. “Health messages are better accepted if they are in the native tongue.”

“Ethnic minorities have less access to health care. By providing information in their native language, we are helping to close the gap of information, we are helping people to be informed to make the best decisions for themselves,”

“Ethnic minorities have less access to health care. By providing information in their native language, we are helping to close the gap of information, we are helping people to be informed to make the best decisions for themselves,” Reina said. “I hope that we are able to stem and counteract the wave of COVID-19-related misinformation. In the long-term, I hope we are able to address the needs of our communities and to address other health issues beyond COVID-19.”

So far, the Salud Latina USF Initiative has been accepted to present at several academic and education venues, including the annual American Public Health Association’s meeting (APHA 2021), Project ECHO Latin America from the University of New Mexico and others. They are also developing scientific publications and have been awarded COPH support, including being recipients of an internal research award.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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