Food insecurity affects up to 50% of college students, with African American and Hispanic/Latino students experiencing it 1.5 times more often than their non-Hispanic White and Asian counterparts. That puts them at greater risk for not just health problems, but also depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, stress and poorer academic performance.

Researchers from the USF College of Public Health (COPH) along with colleagues from USF’s College of Education, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, Department of Anthropology and other universities and organizations, studied food insecurity among racially and ethnically diverse college students and were surprised to find differences in the factors that limit their access to food.

Their research, “Multi-Level Determinants of Food Insecurity among Racially and Ethnically Diverse College Students,” was published in the journal Nutrients in September.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the predictors of food insecurity among a racially and ethnically diverse population of college students using a multi-dimensional model,” said Rashida Jones, PharmD, a COPH doctoral student concentrating in epidemiology and one of the coauthors of the study.

While the researchers expected to find the same predictors of food insecurity among all students of color, they instead discovered differences, particularly between non-Hispanic Black students and their Hispanic and non-Hispanic White peers. Pharm

For example, the single greatest predictor of food insecurity among non-Hispanic Black students was experiencing major discrimination (for instance, being fired from a job unfairly or being stopped by law enforcement unjustly).

“The mechanism through which discrimination impacts food insecurity is intricate and closely linked to social and economic disadvantages, which are established drivers of food insecurity,” Jones said.

Conversely, things such as savings, body mass index (BMI) and food intake were the biggest predictors of food insecurity among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students.

“Students who employ multiple saving strategies or make many attempts to cut down on their food expenses might have higher BMIs because they are consuming less healthy, cost-effective foods,” Jones explained. “Additionally, these students are more likely to experience food insecurity, as they lack access to an adequate quantity or quality of food to meet their basic nutritional needs.”

Jones said that because discrimination was the sole predictor of food insecurity among non-Hispanic Black students, a qualitative follow-up study examining more precisely the types of discrimination these students face should be conducted.

“Our findings can be used to inform the development of multi-component interventions aimed at reducing disparities in food insecurity,” Jones noted.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The number of Americans 65 and older will more than double by 2060—and not everyone has a shot at living out their golden years with good health and well-being.

Recognizing that public health professionals are poised to promote longer and healthier lives for all Americans, Drs. Marissa Levine, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) professor of public health practice, and Kathy Black, a COPH affiliate professor and professor in USF’s School of Aging Studies, developed the Equitable Healthy Aging Toolkit. They were supported in their efforts by the Trust for America’s Health and the National Association of City and County Health Officials.

The toolkit was funded by a grant from AARP.

The Equitable Healthy Aging Toolkit aims to increase the capacity of public health departments to enhance equitable health and well-being of older adults and promote healthy aging across the life course in community health improvement practice.

“Kathy and I have been talking to public health leaders not only about the systems in our communities that perpetuate health disparities, particularly in the aging community, but also how to change or evolve those systems so they produce better, more equitable health outcomes,” said Levine, explaining the impetus behind the toolkit.

“People don’t just end up at age 65 with health conditions,” Black added. “Everything that came before it affects health later in life. And some people are disadvantaged from an early age. Maybe they had a low birth weight, or they were hungry during school, or they didn’t finish high school or they worked in manual labor. All these midstream factors affect where you end up, health-wise, later in life.”

The toolkit includes sections on equitable healthy aging principles (for example, that healthy aging is a basic human right), developing an age-friendly public health system framework (e.g., conducting needs assessments on older adults) and identifying and leveraging strategies and resources that advance equitable healthy aging.

“Interestingly, older Americans are less engaged with public health systems [than their younger counterparts],” Levine said. “We thought the toolkit would be helpful for public health departments as they perform their community needs assessments and community improvement plans. We wanted to bring attention to the systems that public health professionals can influence.”

So far, says Black, health departments are reacting favorably to the toolkit.

“In five of our counties in Florida, a third of the population is over 65,” said Black. “The toolkit gives them guidance and resources on how they can integrate healthy aging concepts and principles into their services. I hope this toolkit helps every person in public health recognize the entire lifespan, using an age lens and not just a health lens, across all the work they do.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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Dawn Hunter’s first exposure to public health came when she worked as a research assistant in the Advanced Biosensors Laboratory at USF’s Center for Biological Defense.

“We developed and tested rapid-detection methods for food and waterborne pathogens,” said Hunter, who holds two bachelor’s degrees—one in English literature from Princeton and the other in microbiology from USF. “It was my first introduction into the intersection of law and science.”

Hunter decided to explore that intersection further, enrolling in a new-at-the-time JD/MPH dual program the USF College of Public Health (COPH) had with Stetson University College of Law. Hunter graduated the COPH in 2011 with an MPH in global communicable disease and Stetson in 2012 with a JD.

“Today, I’m most interested in how law shapes our physical, social and economic well-being,” Hunter said. “The public’s health depends on a legal infrastructure that ensures people have access to the resources and opportunities to thrive. Law is behind every single public health achievement in the 20^th century.”

Getting another two degrees under her belt wasn’t easy for Hunter. She worked nights and went to school by day while also doing volunteer work.

“I don’t know how I ran on such little sleep,” she recounted. “I remember sometimes taking naps in my car in the parking lot, and I think many of my classmates remember me for always having a Red Bull in my hand. I remember my time at the COPH fondly and any struggles were far outweighed by how proud I was when I completed my degree.”

When Hunter thinks of her career, she thinks of it in three distinct phases—her time working in child protective services (Hunter was a foster care case manager), her time at the Advanced Biosensors Lab and her time working as a public health law fellow at the New Mexico Department of Health and the years since.

“I consider all my experience public health career experience,” Hunter said. “The needs that families and children have in the foster care system are what we now talk about as the social determinants of health. I appreciate that I had first-hand experience with the challenges families and children face as well as their strength and resilience. It has really informed how I think about my role as a lawyer and how to best serve my community. And my time as a research assistant was directly related to public health, being affiliated with the College of Public Health and doing work in partnership with agencies like the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough.”

Hunter is currently the director of the Network for Public Health Law, Southeastern Region. She and her team provide nonpartisan legal assistance and resources, collaborating with a broad set of partners, to expand and advance legal and policy solutions to advance public health.

“I really love and appreciate that I am in a position where all of my previous experiences in life come into play,” Hunter commented. “Every day, my work reflects experiences I have had, people I have met and things I have learned. I suppose that what I love most is that I am constantly learning and growing and I appreciate that I’m in a job that gives me the space to do that.”

Hunter credits her COPH training with teaching her the value of partnerships.

“Everyone hates group projects, but some of my greatest successes have come through collaborative work,” Hunter said. “I have taken with me the experience of working together in teams to address a public health issue. This is and has been a core part of my work. I hope that I can model for people who work for me everything that I have admired about people I have worked for. I think part of building and sustaining the public health workforce is recognizing where we can do better, as leaders and managers, and build positive workplace experiences for our teams.”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A neurosurgeon.

Where can we find you on the weekend?

Taking a long walk in a city or county park. My favorite spots are Crescent and Sawgrass Lakes.

What is the last book you read?

“Finding Me,” by Viola Davis.

What superpower would you like to have?

To heal people from physical and emotional pain.

What is your all-time favorite movie?

“Braveheart.”

To view the awards ceremony, click here.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post Dawn M. Hunter is given Outstanding Alumni Award appeared first on College of Public Health News.

The USF College of Public Health (COPH) Activist Lab held its fifth annual boot camp virtually on Jan. 27. Over 200 students, faculty and interested parties took part in the event, which focused on teaching advocacy strategies to promote global health and health equity.

The Activist Lab provides interdisciplinary advocacy, education, research and service opportunities for students to develop the skills that will promote their success as effective public health advocates and leaders. The boot camp is a one-day advocacy education and practice program highlighting successful public health advocacy, policymaking and communication strategies.

“This is technically my last year in the MPH program and I knew I could not let myself graduate without attending an activist lab boot camp,” said Delaenam Akahoho, who’s concentrating in epidemiology and maternal and child health. “The focus of health equity is what caught my eye with this year’s theme. An equity-centered approach to health is important because it ensures that those who have been historically overlooked are no longer cheated out of a safe and quality health experience across the life course.” 

After a welcome from Dr. Karen Liller, a Distinguished University Health Professor and director of the Activist Lab, Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the COPH, gave the opening remarks, noting that it’s the duty of all public health professionals to work together to encourage and promote health for all.

“We do it because we want to see change in the world so everyone can be healthy, happy and thriving,” Petersen said. “And we know that being able to effectively communicate, build coalitions and work in the policy arena to make these changes is so important.”

U.S. Rep. Cathy Castor echoed those sentiments. While acknowledging that the U.S. has played an important role in tackling worldwide problems like HIV, malaria, Ebola and COVID, she called on students to not ignore the issues facing our own country.

“We have a lot of work to do when it comes to protecting reproductive rights and ensuring that people from disadvantaged communities have access to contraceptives, reproductive care and needed medical services,” Castor said.

Attendees listened to presentations about advocacy 101, policy development and communication from COPH faculty, including Liller and Drs. Zachary Pruitt and Claudia Parvanta.

Dr. Jill Roberts, COPH associate professor, gave the keynote address that focused on vaccine-preventable diseases and global health equity. She used the disease mpox (monkeypox) to highlight the health inequities between high- and low-income countries.

“Despite the fact that there was widespread knowledge of an mpox outbreak going on [in  Nigeria] in 2017, there was no surveillance, no epidemiological investigation and no use of the vaccine that we had sitting in the States, getting stockpiled and going nowhere. There were vaccine dosages that went in the trash because they expired. We never sent them to Nigeria. Had we been at the forefront of this when it was starting, we could have saved. I’m sorry to tell you that the very first vaccines that went to Nigeria to combat this [virus] went out last month. So clearly, we have an equity problem going on here.”

After a Q&A session with a diverse group of COPH faculty and a former Activist Lab Student Advisory Board member, attendees took part in breakout sessions, each one focusing on a different global health topic, including nutrition, violence-related issues, maternal child health and vaccine-preventable diseases. Each breakout session produced a position paper that was later presented and reviewed.

Akahoho said the breakout sessions were her favorite part of the event.

“As a team, we were tasked with advocating for a global maternal and child health issue,” she said. “We all had our own level of expertise and bringing all that to the table allowed for us to create a strong ask. Passion takes us far, yes, but the facts are just as important in getting people on your side. I walked away a lot more confident with the new advocacy skillsets I gained through the boot camp.”

“The biggest takeaway for me was the critical importance of teamwork and the composition of the team itself,” added Catherine Oakes, an MPH student concentrating in public health practice. “There must be diversity in experience and perspectives and disciplines as well as diversity in backgrounds, cultures, lived experiences and education. Without having the ability to see from all angles, it is not possible to properly frame the issue or problem. I loved the learning and engagement opportunity that attending this boot camp gave me, and I would highly recommend it to my fellow students and colleagues.”

Liller expressed thanks for all those who contributed to the success of the boot camp, including the students, faculty, staff, speakers, Dr. Ann Joyce and Silvia Moreno from the Lifelong Learning Academy and Carlos Montoya, who provided technical support. She also thanked the Florida Public Health Association, who paid for members’ boot camp registrations. 

The Activist Lab looks forward to planning boot camp number six, to be held in 2024.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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A new herd of Bulls entered the USF College of Public Health (COPH) on Monday, Aug. 22. Whether you’re a student, faculty member or employee on campus, we are ready to be together for a year planned with more in-person events and celebrations.

New faces at the COPH

The COPH is welcomed 810 new students enrolled for the fall 2022 semester, with 492 undergraduate, 292 master’s and 26 doctoral students.

Students also saw some new faces among the college staff.

Cassandra Garza

Cassandra Garza supports the COPH’s Florida Covering Kids and Families team initiatives as a program planner analyst.

Garza’s journey at USF began through earning her BS in biomedical sciences. She has worked at USF since 2015, contributing to varying departments. Determined to advance her skills in serving diverse populations, she started the MPH program concentrating in maternal and child health. She is thrilled for the opportunity to continue to contribute to USF and the surrounding Tampa Bay community.

Sirly Castro, MBA

Sirly Castro is a fiscal and business specialist for the COPH Office of Research. As a detail and solution-oriented accountant with a strong work ethic, she provides technical assistance and financial management strategies.

Castro had been working at the USF College of Behavioral and Community Science for the past 10 years, assisting with fiscal responsibilities while supporting and guiding clients to achieve their goals and teaching them skills to be successful.

Holding an MBA in accounting, Castro has an exceptional breadth of community outreach experience and is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Rory Noonan, MPH

Rory Noonan is one of the newest members of the Florida Covering Kids and Families team, joining as a program planner analyst.

Noonan recently graduated from the COPH, earning an MPH with a concentration in health policies and programs. After earning his BS in both economics and finance, he realized that he wanted to go in a different direction with his career and chose public health. He’s happy to be making the transition to a field where he can make a positive impact as a public health professional. 

Miriam Esocabar, MA, MSPH

Miriam Escobar joined the college as a consultant for USF SafetyFlorida.

Escobar is an Air Force veteran who grew up in Chicago. She holds a BA in geography and economics from Northeastern Illinois University. After 10 years of active-duty service in the Air Force, she completed an MA in Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies and an MSPH in occupational exposure science from USF. She has worked in COVID-19 response for the Florida Department of Health and as an industrial hygienist and military contractor.

Ciarrah Silva

Ciarrah Silva joined the Florida Covering Kids & Families team as a program planner analyst.

Silva began her USF journey in 2016 as an undergraduate in the BSHS program, graduating in December 2019. During her time as a student, she began her career at USF at the RightPath Research and Innovation Center working on a research project.  She’s excited to use the skills she’s developed in her new position.

Natalie Erasme, MPH, CPH

Natalie Erasme is continuing to practice her passion as a program planner analyst for the Florida Prevention Research Center.

Erasme began her public health career as a consultant for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after graduating from Fordham University in 2018. She then went on to obtain an MPH from the COPH in 2021.

She currently coordinates and evaluates culturally appropriate research studies that help underrepresented communities reach improved health outcomes. Erasme will be working on projects with the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network and Morehouse School of Medicine and is serving as the chair of the Southwest Florida Cancer Control Collaborative.

Silvia Moreno

Silvia Moreno is looking forward to working as the project manager for the COPH Lifelong Learning Academy. In this role, she will expand public health professional and workforce development.

In 2007, Moreno obtained her bachelor’s degree from USF in elementary education. She has served as an educator and facilitator for Hillsborough County Public Schools for the last 15 years.

Moreno is looking forward to graduating with her master’s degree in learning design and technology and with a graduate certificate in e-learning design and development from USF this fall. She is eager to coalesce her teaching and instructional design skills to develop and deliver programs of outstanding value to the community.

Ashley Tower

Ashley Tower joined the COPH as a fiscal and business specialist.

Originally from Bristol, R.I., Tower moved to Tampa in 2014 with her partner, Jesse, where they later adopted two dogs, a Siberian husky and a German shepherd. Previously working at the USF College of Arts and Sciences and the USF Operations and Facilities Management, Tower has a background in banking as well as administrative support and is excited to use her skills in this new role.

James Kakoullis, MS

James Kakoullis is happy to be joining the COPH team as a teaching laboratory manager.

Kakoullis earned his MS in chemistry from the University of California, Riverside, and has worked in private industry at an environmental testing lab in the Tampa Bay Area. He also has experience in education, teaching chemistry at St. Petersburg and Hillsborough Community Colleges.

Benjamin Gessner, MPH

Benjamin Gessner is excited to continue practicing his passion at the COPH as a statistical data analyst for the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative within the Chiles Center.

After graduating with his BS in health sciences, Gessner went on to pursue an MPH with a concentration in epidemiology from the COPH. During his time earning his MPH, he served as a teaching assistant for a population assessment course while also interning at the Dry Eye and Cornea Treatment Center as a data analyst.

Earlette Thompkins

Earlette Thompkins is looking forward to working with her new team within the COPH’s OSHA Training Institute Education Center. She will be a training support specialist.

Thompkins is joining the COPH from a career in the court system. She has also been employed at various school districts, working within the classroom and administration. She most recently worked within the state’s Guardian Ad Litem Office, where she held a senior administrative assistant position. She hopes that her knowledge and skill set will be an asset to the team.

Social justice + public health = a more diverse workforce

The COPH also introduces a new undergraduate-to-graduate pathway program, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Scholar for Social Justice.

Originally known as the Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program or MCH Train-A-Bull, the newly redesigned program aims to ensure a competent and diverse workforce passionate about improving health and reducing health disparities. The program provides students with a foundation in anti-racism and social justice through an exploration of systemic racism as a precursor to the social determinants of health disparities and outcomes.

Thirty undergraduate students were selected into this competitive program. They will complete a specially designed, intensive one-year curriculum that includes a community-engaged service project and two virtual, five-week summer trainings with online meetings that provide an MCH career and research foundation and guide students in applying for graduate school.

Students will work closely with MCH graduate student mentors, faculty mentors and community leaders during the program.

“I am excited to engage with students about social justice and MCH. Social justice is something I have worked in and have had a passion for since a very young age, even prior to my work in public health. It allows me to tie my interests together! I love workforce development, mentoring students and watching them grow into their own paths,” said Dr. Anna Armstrong, program director and associate professor. “We are laying the foundation for real social change at an MCH system level by empowering students with this knowledge and these skills. They will be reflective and intentional in their work, their decisions and their careers.”

Read more here.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

The post COPH welcomes a new year full of new faces appeared first on College of Public Health News.

Among these impressive discoveries and advancements, one researcher in USF Health has created a nationally acclaimed interactive dashboard to track COVID-19 and another is developing novel COVID-19 therapeutics. Another faculty member has received NASA funding to improve human spaceflight conditions, while her colleague is creating new defenses for wireless network security systems. And in USF Health Morsani College of Medicine a professor has made outstanding contributions relevant to Alzheimer’s disease.

These are just a few of the faculty research achievements newly recognized with USF’s Outstanding Research Achievement Awards. This year’s awards recognize 26 faculty members—the largest group to date—for their important achievements.

“The University of South Florida’s reputation as a top research university is powered by the discoveries and innovations of our faculty members,” said USF President Rhea Law. “I congratulate each of the outstanding awardees on all they have accomplished in their work of advancing knowledge, finding solutions and transforming lives.”

The largest internal recognition of its kind at USF, the annual nominations are submitted by deans, department chairs, center and institute directors, and associate deans of research. The nominations are reviewed by members of the USF Research Council. Each faculty member receives $2,000 with the award and recognition at an event later in the fall.

Here are this year’s COPH awardees:

Dinorah Martinez Tyson, PhD, MPH, MA
Associate Professor, Interdisciplinary Science and Practice
College of Public Health

Recognized for exceptional contributions to the field of public health through efforts to address and reduce health disparities among ethnic minorities and underserved populations in the U.S. and Latin America.

Dr. Martinez Tyson is noted for her outstanding contributions in cross-cultural perspectives to the study of cancer health disparities. Her research focuses on identifying the best models and methods for adapting instrumentation and proven interventions to address health disparities across the cancer continuum. She led an exploratory sequential mixed method study, which employed a series of iterative and group consensus-building approaches, to translate and culturally adapt the previously validated CaSUN measure into Spanish, for Latino cancer survivors. In 2021, she was awarded a highly competitive PCORI grant to develop a culturally adapted online couples’ communication program for Latina breast cancer patients, and brought together a diverse and highly skilled academic and community-based research team to undertake this challenging project.

Jason Salemi, PhD, MPH, FACE
Associate Professor, Concentration Lead for the PhD Program in Epidemiology
College of Public Health

Recognized for seminal work in translational science related to COVID-19 transmission and mitigation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Salemi is a nationally recognized epidemiologist with expertise in birth defects, surveillance methodology, evaluation, and research. He built a comprehensive, interactive dashboard to track COVID-19, which received national attention and has been an invaluable resource for researchers, advocacy groups, county commissioners, and citizens. In 2021, Dr. Salemi conducted approximately 350 interviews to local, regional, national and international media outlets regarding COVID-19 transmission and mitigation. His presence was also evident in eleven presentations he made regarding COVID-19 at regional and state-level venues including the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners and the Emergency Medical Planning Council. He also engaged with Publix Super Markets, Inc. to lead various townhall discussions with employees regarding COVID vaccination. Dr. Salemi had 14 publications in 2021, received the 2021 Griot Drum Community Hero award from the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists, the Above and Beyond Coronavirus Distinction (ABCD) award from the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and was selected as a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology.

Monica Uddin, PhD
Professor, Global and Planetary Health
College of Public Health

Recognized for distinguished contributions to the field of public health for genomics research to identify predictors for stress-related mental disorders related to depression and PTSD.

Dr. Uddin’s innovative research seeks to identify genetic and epigenetic predictors of stress-related mental disorders, with a particular focus on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. A central theme of this work is the recognition that lived experience has a substantial impact on risk for mental disorders, and that this risk is likely mediated in part by changes to genomic biology. In 2021, Dr. Uddin was awarded duration of grant funding for two important projects for which she serves as MPI and that all address genomic factors in traumatic stress and mental health: Epigenomic Predictors of PTSD and Traumatic Stress in an African American Cohort; The impact of traumatic stress on the methylome: implications for PTSD; and Transgenerational Epigenomics of Trauma and PTSD in Rwanda. In addition, she and her colleagues published four articles in 2021 with two additional manuscripts in press.

Thomas Unnasch, PhD
Distinguished University Professor, Global and Planetary Health
College of Public Health

Recognized for distinguished contributions in translational science related to COVID‐19, modeling, projections and mitigation during the pandemic.

Dr. Unnasch’s long‐term research has focused on vector‐borne diseases; his laboratory is involved with developing new tools to enhance the efficiency of the surveillance activities and development of molecular based methods for the detection of the black fly vector in Africa and Latin America. In 2021, Dr. Unnasch’s work with USF colleagues on the development of mathematical algorithms to use data collected from screening pools of vectors—such as COVID‐19 pools—to quantify the intensity of exposure in affected human populations resulted in his being one of the experts at USF and in Florida identified early in the pandemic to assist in explaining the status of transmission and mitigation.

Excerpt reposted from USF Newsroom

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Economic hardship and lower socioeconomic status are known barriers to HIV testing and retention in care. But what if you could incentivize people to seek testing and remain in treatment?

It’s a question Dr. Miguel Reina Ortiz, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) associate professor, and Neielle Saint-Cyr, a COPH MPH student and graduate research assistant working with Reina, have set out to answer using a scoping review of the literature on the use of behavioral and traditional economic interventions to improve HIV-related care. 

They were joined in the research by others from the COPH, including Drs. Henian Chen, Alida Gertz, Dinorah Martinez Tyson and Stephanie Marhefka-Day (now with the College of Nursing).

Their review was recently presented at the American College of Academic International Medicine’s annual conference held in June. Saint-Cyr, who’s concentrating in epidemiology and global communicable disease, was awarded Best Original Research Presentation for her poster presentation highlighting the research.

“Looking at the effects of behavioral and traditional economics on people living with HIV is important because it will help identify another form of effective intervention to either prevent HIV infections or improve the behaviors of those living with HIV,” Saint-Cyr said.

Some of the incentives Saint-Cyr and her colleagues looked at were:

• Conditional cash transfers, in which participants were given money if an action—like completing HIV testing or treatment—was completed.
• Unconditional cash transfers (money was given regardless if an action was completed)
• Microfinance loans (small loans given if an action was completed)
• Gamification (participants were able to download online or iPhone video games as a reward for completing an action).

The majority of the studies Saint-Cyr and her group looked at showed positive results—meaning the incentives showed an uptake in HIV care. Incentives, she said, caused people to be more consistent with HIV testing, taking their medication if diagnosed with HIV and meeting with their health care providers. 

“I believe incentives work because they help motivate people and may help provide access to care for some individuals,” Saint-Cyr noted. “For people who are unable to travel to providers to receive care, incentives (which can sometimes be cash, gift cards and bus passes) may help them pay for travel expenses. Incentives may also help those who are unable to purchase food.”

Saint-Cyr said next steps are to continue exploring the effectiveness of using financial incentives to promote HIV testing and care, particularly among Latinos living with HIV in the South. 

“There is a research gap in Latino and Hispanic communities due to a lack of focus on minority health,” she said. “Minority health tends to not be prioritized. Additionally, there is research lacking on low-income populations in high-income countries because of a lack of health equity, and minorities tend to be part of these low-income communities. Our findings will help fill in gaps and ultimately contribute to the growing body of evidence that will support effective programs for diagnosing HIV, treating it and achieving viral suppression.” 

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post How incentive-based interventions can promote HIV testing and care appeared first on College of Public Health News.

USF College of Public Health’s Dr. Alicia Best, an assistant professor specializing in health equity and social justice, has been featured in a new Hastings Center special report calling on the field of bioethics to take on a more active role in remedying racial injustice and health inequities in the United States.

The Hastings Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and was “critical to establishing the field of bioethics,” according to its website. It’s “the oldest independent, nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research institute of its kind in the world.”

Scholars of the center produce publications on ethical issues on topics ranging from health to technology, all with the intent to inform the practice of bioethics.

Best’s article, “Anti-Black Racism and Power: Centering Black Scholars to Achieve Health Equity,” has been included in Hastings Center’s special report, “A Critical Moment in Bioethics: Reckoning with Anti-Black Racism Through Intergenerational Dialogue.”

“This special issue in Hastings is an important step on the road toward health equity as it centers and elevates the voices of recognized scholars of color, junior scholars, and other scholars actively working toward health equity,” Best said.

The special report represents a collaboration between an independent antiracism task force of bioethicists from across the United States and The Hastings Center, as part of the Center’s health equity initiative.

“I believe health equity is achieved when everyone can attain optimal health; and I believe health equity can only be achieved by addressing key social determinants of health—primarily, structural racism,” Best said.

Highlighting the intergenerational work of mostly Black scholars, the Hastings report examines structural racism—particularly anti-Black racism—in health care settings, in health equity research and practice, and in bioethics.

The report was supported by a grant from The Greenwall Foundation.

“It’s well established that Black scholars are underrepresented in positions that influence research priorities and funding decisions,” Best said. “Since many Black scholars experience structural racism, discrimination and marginalization similar to the populations that are of interest in health equity research, it is important that our perspectives are represented in all aspects of health equity research.  For example, without these critical perspectives early on when research and funding priorities are set, we run the risk of overlooking key determinants of health inequity, such as anti-Black racism and power imbalance.”

Best says that we must not ignore centuries of anti-Black racism and the effect that is has on health equity.

“The pervasive health inequities we see today were not created overnight nor in a vacuum,” she said. “They exist due to centuries of social, economic, environmental and political injustice that is embedded in American society. As such, these injustices must me understood and addressed if we are to make any meaningful progress toward health equity.”

Her article discusses how the field of scientific research is not immune to structural racism. 

“Some of the most important ways that structural racism can manifest in scientific research is underrepresentation of Black scholars in positions of power, impacting who and what gets funded, how health equity research is conducted, as well as solutions implemented to address health inequity.”

Best said that institutions play an important role in addressing this type of structural racism, specifically by actively working to identify and address power imbalances between researchers and communities, as well as within the institutions themselves, such as among researchers, staff and students.

“For example, we can look for ways to appropriately share power within research teams and provide meaningful opportunities for Black and other minoritized scholars to assume leadership roles,” she said.

Best said that the lived experiences of Black and minority researchers can be “invaluable in shaping health equity research.”

“As the priority populations in health equity research often experience marginalization and discrimination that impacts their health outcomes, understanding these experiences is critical to addressing health inequity. Given that many Black scholars experience similar (and different) forms of discrimination, our perspectives can provide valuable insight to health equity work,” she said.

Best urges that the primary goal of health equity research should be the creation of an antiracist society and awareness of how anti-Black racism manifests at each phase of the research process. But, how do we get there?

“That is a ‘big’ question that involves multiple levels. At the individual level, health equity researchers and practitioners should include antiracism as an overarching goal within our own research. Additionally, institutions and systems should actively work to identify opportunities and implement policies and practices to center the voices of and empower Black scholars and communities in health equity research,” she said.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health (COPH) doctoral candidate Marlene Joannie Bewa was recently recognized for her many accomplishments and skills in the second-annual women’s edition of Tampa Magazines “Women to Watch 2022.”

Bewa is a medical doctor and winner of both a USF Outstanding Young Alumni Award and Golden Bull Award. She also is a United Nations Young Leader, among many other accomplishments.

Tampa Magazines feature article “Charging Forward” concentrated on USF alumnae and highlighted such prestigious Bulls as USF President Rhea Law, Melissa Seixas, state president of Duke Energy and Elizabeth Krystyn, co-founder of Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners & Baldwin Risk Partners.

“It’s a great honor to be included in this list alongside other women leaders such as Rhea Law and other prominent women in the Tampa Bay region,” Bewa said. “It’s a sign that our university and city value excellence, service, diversity, equity and inclusion, and they are keen to ensure gender equality including in academia and leadership roles.”

Bewa said she was encouraged to participate in the article by USF Foundation’s India Witte, who is also the former executive director of USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy (WLP). 

“I am a WLP-endowed scholar, and I was actively involved in WLP’s Women Who Ignite Student Engagement (WISE) Advisory Council,” Bewa noted. “The magazine’s team were following me and were familiar with my research and global engagement work.”

Not one to rest on her (many!) laurels, Bewa is currently hard at work defending her PhD proposal, which focuses on understanding adolescents’ experiences and factors affecting access and utilization of modern contraception methods in Benin Republic (West Africa), where she is from.

She’s being supervised in her research by the COPH’s Drs. Claudia Parvanta, Russell Kirby, Cheryl Vamos and UC Berkeley’s Dr. Ndola Prata. She’s supported by the Schlumberger Foundation, a nonprofit that encourages science and technology education.

Bewa was also selected to receive an emerging scholar award by the Society of Family Planning to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to contraception nationwide in the United States, research she is conducting with the COPH’s Harrell Center Director Abraham Salinas-Miranda. 

And as if that hasn’t been enough, Bewa has also co-authored a paper selected as a top-cited article of 2020-2021. The article was published by Wiley in the American Journal of Community Psychology and is titled “Youth participatory approaches and health equity: conceptualization and integrative review.”

“I would like to give a special shout-out to the Tampa Magazines team, USF Alumni Association, WLP and the USF Foundation for their endless commitment to uplift women,” Bewa said.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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The USF College of Public Health (COPH) is introducing a new undergraduate pathway program, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Scholar for Social Justice, starting July 11.

Each year, 30 undergraduate students will be selected into this competitive program. They will complete a specially designed, intensive one-year curriculum that includes a community-engaged service project and two virtual, five-week summer trainings with online meetings that provide an MCH career and research foundation and guide students in applying for graduate school.

Originally known as “MCH Train-A-Bull,” the newly redesigned program aims to ensure a competent and diverse MCH workforce passionate about improving health and reducing health disparities, ultimately combating the pervasive MCH challenges encountered in Florida and across the United States.

Many of the changes made from the former program were in response to what is happening in the media, communities and world today.

“Disparities in MCH are certainly not new, but the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and unfortunately the many more lives that have been lost unnecessarily, the resounding protests for the end of violence against Black people in our country, the disparities highlighted through COVID and the ongoing disparities in outcomes for Black mothers and babies made this an obvious move for this program,” said Dr. Anna Armstrong, program director and associate professor. “There is one thing we know—our students are passionate about social justice. The MCH field needs more people who will take these lessons forward to make change and improve the lives of all historically disadvantaged populations who are served through those in the field.”

This program will provide students with a foundation in anti-racism and social justice through an exploration of systemic racism as a precursor to the social determinants of health and MCH health disparities and outcomes. The scholars are guided in developing skills for reflection, dialogue and awareness to prepare them for graduate school and the future MCH workforce where they can further employ social justice principles and anti-racist practices.

Training program components include one formal course, virtual and classroom seminars, experiential learning and mentoring. Students will work closely with MCH graduate student mentors, faculty mentors and community leaders during the program.

“I am excited to engage with students about social justice and MCH because social justice is something I have worked in and had a passion for since a very young age, even prior to my work in public health. It allows me to tie my interests together! I love workforce development, mentoring students and watching them grow into their own paths,” Armstrong said. “We are laying the foundation for real social change at an MCH system level by empowering students with this knowledge and these skills. They will be reflective and intentional in their work, their decisions and their careers.”

The program is open to undergraduate students from all majors who are interested in health-related graduate programs. Students must complete the online application, including the submission of supplemental materials no later than 11:59 pm EST on May 27.

Contact the program coordinator, Dr. Parandoosh Boger-Sadeghinia, at 813-974-8561 or parandooshsa@usf.edu with questions regarding the application process, eligibility requirements or other matters.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

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