First published on February 10, 2020 in observance of the COPH’s 35^th anniversary celebration.

The USF College of Public Health become one of the first public health programs in the nation to transform the core curriculum to meet 21^st century public health needs and to meet changing Council for Education in Public Health (CEPH) competency requirements in 2014.

“This curriculum was designed to reflect the true, interdisciplinary nature of public health. While, historically, schools and colleges of public health have introduced students to the core curriculum of public health in the first year of the master of public health (MPH) program from independent perspectives, this approach lacked an interdisciplinary and integrated approach required to address public health problems,” said Dr. Jaime Corvin, associate professor and director of the MPH program.

Faculty at the COPH were charged with addressing this problem, rethinking our curriculum and developing a program to prepare the next generation of public health professionals. 

Today, more than 700 students have successfully completed the new core at USF and have earned the Certified in Public Health (CPH) designation, a requirement of the new program. 

“People often ask, why change the core?” Corvin said. “Simply put, our MPH program was a strong program. But it was no longer addressing the realities of 21^st century public health problems. We deal with complex problems, we come together as multidisciplinary teams to address these issues, and we don’t act in silos. There was a need to teach traditional content but in an integrated fashion and to ensure that our students were receiving practical, hands-on-training.” 

The COPH’s MPH program now integrates rigorous public health training with broad exposure to the breadth and depth of the field, according to Corvin.

Students learn the traditional public health content but are required to apply those skills through case studies, communications assignments, and the analysis of public health data in History and Systems, Population Assessment I and Population Assessment II, as well as the development of public health promotion campaigns in Translation to Practice. 

“Students work in groups, they debate, they write – a lot – and they synthesize public health problems, coming together to develop innovative strategies to address the problems poised,” Corvin said.  

The MPH core courses are taught by a team of faculty and leaders within the college, including Dean Donna Petersen and Drs. Anna Armstrong, Jason Beckstead, Tom Bernard, Joe Bohn, Jaime Corvin, Rita Debate, Zac Pruitt, Troy Quast, Tom Unnasch, Kate Wolfe-Quintero, Ronee Wilson and Janice Zgibor.

In addition, each cohort is supported by a team of doctoral and masters level teaching assistants. Together, this team strives to provide the best experience for students as they learn and practice the foundational public health concepts. 

Corvin also shared how, as the student body changed and as CEPH competencies were revised, revisions were required to ensure students were graduating with the tools and skills needed to be successful in the workforce. 

Such revisions included a renewed focus on communication and leadership, the importance of writing and the need for enhanced professional development skills.

“In fact, Dr. Anna Armstrong, who leads the USF BullPEN initiative, recently conducted a study to assess professional development needs of our students as perceived by our students and the local workforce,” Corvin said.

Armstrong found that students felt they needed job readiness skills and employers believed students needed help with communication and professional development.

As a result, the USF BullPEN was launched and elements of professional development were incorporated in the Core curriculum. 

Corvin and Armstrong believe that the focus on professional development will help our students to be better prepared as they enter the workforce. They also hope that this will instill a culture of continuing education, lifelong learning, and professional development, all important tenants of the field.

“It’s a lot of work and it takes a commitment. A commitment to your studies and to the field. But we hear back from our graduates about how prepared they feel in their new careers. To me, there is nothing more rewarding,” Corvin said when asked how students receive the program.

The faculty often receive feedback that the strength of USF’s MPH program is its focus on integration of core subject areas and real-world application.

Hari Venkatachalam, a recent graduate of the program, shared “when I joined the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Health Science Research Specialist, I found myself initially overwhelmed with the diversity among the research staff: There were nurses, anthropologists, physical therapists, and biostatisticians. They each brought such unique skills. But that’s what the USF’s MPH program prepares its students for. It prepares us for real world public health work, whether it’s by giving us the analytical skills to perform data management, honing the investigative skills to perform reviews of literature, or the fine-tuning of our writing and oratory skills to defend a program’s implementation. The program is built in a manner that when a student joins the workforce, they find themselves jumping into the position like riding a bike; The skills have become second-nature.” 

Other students have gone on to continue their education, USF’s MPH serving as a strong foundation for the next step in their career path.

“I found that I entered the program vastly more prepared and comfortable than my peers, and have bragged about my integrated MPH on more than one occasion,” said Amina Zeidan who is now a doctoral student in a translational science program at the University of Texas. “These courses were more realistic and relate-able to real life work experiences.”

Corvin said the MPH committee will continue to evaluate and revise the core, striving for a more rigorous foundation for the next generation of public health professionals. 

“Our graduates are the future – public health professionals poised to bring people together and to be the change!” Corvin said.

Story by USF COPH Staff Writer

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Students, staff and faculty from across the various University of South Florida and USF Health colleges gathered at the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) for the USF Health 6th Annual Interprofessional Education Day. 

In the wake of a global pandemic, burnout and a variety of other mental health problems are contributing factors to hospitals being understaffed. This year’s theme “Caring for Caregivers: Fostering Mental Health and Wellness in Interprofessional Teams” focused on solutions to help combat those issues and improve the quality of patient care across the profession.   

“Our USF IPE Day working group felt it was critical to focus on this topic given the current challenges that our health care system is facing with health care professionals leaving their professions, increased provider burnout and high rates of mental health issues, including depression and suicide,” said Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, executive director of CAMLS and associate vice president of the USF Health Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice.

Approximately 700 people (500 virtually, 200 in person) attended the morning presentations by industry experts.  Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN, FAHS, chief wellness officer at Moffitt Cancer Center and professor of oncologic sciences in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was the first featured speaker of the morning. Her presentation “Organizational Wellness: Expanding the Horizon of Well-being” highlighted key statistical data on the volume of patients seen by a provider experiencing burnout and steps the National Academy of Medicine is taking to increase wellness across the workforce.  

Richard Westphal, PhD, RN, FAAN, PMHCNS/NP-BC, followed Dr. Bickel.  Dr. Westphal is a professor at the University of Virginia School of Nursing and co-director of the Wisdom and Wellbeing Program at UVA Health.  His presentation “Stress First Aid: Nurturing Resilience in Health Care Professionals” focused on sources of mental stress, how the mind reacts to the stress and team-based solutions centered around well-being. 

Judy Davidson, DNP, RN, MCCM, a nurse scientist at the University of California-San Diego, was the final featured speaker of the morning. Her presentation “Saving Lives: Suicide Prevention and Health Care Interventions” focused on the suicide rates of health care professionals, re-imagining some of the available interventional tools and changing the mental health-related questions on licensing boards. 
 
The morning sessions ended after Donna Petersen, ScD, MHS, CPH, dean of the USF Health College of Public Health, senior associate vice president of USF Health and chief health officer of USF, led an interprofessional panel discussion themed “Unlocking Wellness: Exploring a Toolkit for Inner Balance and Resilience.”  Panelists gave their perspectives on the importance of health care professionals working with a healthy work-life balance and how a better work-life balance will lead to better work environments and more positive patient outcomes. 
 
Panelists: 
–        Kelly Allegro, PT, DPT, board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy, co-director of clinical education at the USF Health School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences
–        Kristin Kosyluk, PhD, assistant professor of Mental Health Law and Policy in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, director of the STigma Action Research (STAR) Lab
–        Abraham A. Salinas-Miranda, MD, PhD, MACE, CDVS, assistant professor, director of the Harrell Center for the Study of Family Violence, associate director of the USF Health College of Public Health Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Education Science and Practice
–        Chris Simmons, PhD, LCSW, associate director and associate professor, USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences School of Social Work

Anthony Masys, CD, PhD, associate professor at the USF Health College of Public Health.

Kicking off the afternoon was Anthony Masys, CD, PhD, associate professor at the USF Health College of Public Health and an international expert in applied systems thinking, design thinking and futures thinking. He gave his presentation titled “Strength-Based Approach: Appreciative Inquiry.” Appreciative inquiry is more commonly known as a strength-based approach to systems change as it emphasizes generating positive ideas instead of identifying negative problems.  

Part of the appreciative inquiry model is using rich pictures to help diagram a way of relating personal experiences and perceptions to situations by linking a series of concepts.  
 
Dr. Masys’ presentation provided the foundation of the group activity and team competition for the event. 

Students split into interprofessional teams of nine to put the concept of appreciative inquiry into practice. Students shared good and bad examples of well-being in their workspaces and colleges and offered solutions on how to enhance the good examples and improve the bad examples.  
 
With the guidance of their faculty preceptors, teams used rich pictures to generate mind maps that illustrated how they plan to improve the overall provider well-being of an organization. Using a “Shark Tank” format, the teams presented their concepts to the sharks in hopes they will buy their concept. 

Sharks (judges):
–        Karen Aul, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, USF Health College of Nursing
–        Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN, FAHS, Moffitt Cancer Center
–        Somer Burke, EdD, MPH, CPH, USF Health College of Public Health
–        Joe Ford, JD, USF Health Shared Student Services
–        Vickie Lynn, PhD, MSW, MPH, USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences
 
The IPE Day group activity was designed to encourage interprofessional collaboration among learners through hands-on activity. Teams worked together to conceptualize a strategic vision for how wellness can be operationalized to support organizational and personal wellness. The goals of the activity were to:
–        Understand the application of appreciative inquiry as a strength-based approach to navigating various solutions in the health care domain.
–        Apply a system-thinking approach via rich pictures to support ideation in exploring the problem space from an interdisciplinary perspective.
–        Translate insights from the rich pictures into a mind map to develop a strategic implementation strategy supporting wellness. 
 
One by one, teams presented their concept to the sharks. Teams had three minutes to make compelling arguments about why their concept is the best. 

The sharks narrowed down the field to three teams who then had to prepare a one-minute elevator pitch of their concept to give to the audience. Audience members voted for the winner electronically at the end of the pitches. When the votes were counted, Team Five emerged as the winner. The team’s approach focused on a solution that centered around employees finding balance within their work environment. 

Winning team:
Erini Serag-Bolos, PharmD, associate professor at the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy (Preceptor)
Camilla Cardona, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program
Hayden Euper, USF Health School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences
Christopher Guskie, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
Rebekah Minter, USF Health Athletic Training Program
Madison Moua, USF Health College of Public Health
Paul Munoz, School of Social Work, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences
Amiah Price, USF Health College of Nursing
Jenna Sabbagh, USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy

The names of the winning team will the engraved on the IPE Day trophy.  As the team preceptor, Dr. Serag-Bolos will keep the trophy in her office until the USF Health 7th Annual IPE Day. 

Story reposted from USF Health

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COVID-19 and the lockdown orders it ushered in prevented many people—including pregnant women, who rely on regularly scheduled medical checkups for safe deliveries and healthy babies—from accessing health care. 

To fill a need, USF Health initiated telemedicine appointments for obstetric patients at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Because the obstetric population is a highly at-risk group, immediate alternative ways to safely access and continue care needed to be provided,” Chinyere Reid, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) PhD candidate focusing on perinatal health issues, said. “Telemedicine was not a service offered at USF Health obstetric clinics prior to the pandemic, so it was important to evaluate the rollout of this telemedicine model of care as it was occurring, from the in-depth lens of providers and patients involved.” 

Reid’s analysis, “Evaluation of a Rapid Implementation of Telemedicine for Delivery of Obstetric Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” was published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health in April. Co-authors of the article were the COPH’s Associate Professor Dr. Jennifer Marshall and USF Health Assistant Professor of obstetrics and gynecology Dr. Kimberly Fryer.

Reid and her colleagues found that despite the limited training doctors had in transitioning to telemedicine, most felt adequately prepared. And, perhaps more importantly, their patients were confident participating in telehealth appointments and appreciated the convenience and safety it afforded during a worldwide pandemic.

“Although most providers had never been exposed to telemedicine prior to the pandemic, I think most felt comfortable [using it]. They were receptive to its implementation given there were very limited options to deliver care safely during the pandemic,” Reid explained. “Also, the evaluation revealed that the implementation was streamlined very well and adequate training, resources and technical support were provided.”

Of course, there are limitations to telemedicine in obstetric care when things like weight, blood pressure and fetal heart rates have to be regularly monitored. 

Reid noted that if patients didn’t have at-home equipment to monitor such vitals, or they weren’t covered by insurance, the equipment could be provided by the hospital. And patients deemed high-risk—for example, because they had preeclampsia (high blood pressure that occurs during pregnancy that can have serious health risks for mother and baby)—were required to have in-person as well as telemedicine visits.  

Reid said both doctors and patients looked favorably upon telemedicine—and not just for its convenience and safety.

“Telehealth appointments provided shorter wait times and longer uninterrupted visit times, allowing for increased counseling and personal connections with patients, and it reduced the need for travel and childcare services,” she said. “Also, amid job losses during the pandemic, many obstetric providers expressed that telemedicine enabled them to remain employed.”

So, is telehealth here to stay? Reid thinks so.

“Given that telemedicine was rapidly implemented over a short period and most obstetric providers had no prior telemedicine experience, I was surprised by the perceived ease of implementation and providers’ desire to continue to use telemedicine even after the pandemic ends,” Reid noted. “Telemedicine may be an ideal care option for remote monitoring of low-risk obstetric patients despite the fact that some patients may always prefer in-person care.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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A team led by USF College of Public Health’s (COPH) Dr. Christine McGuire-Wolfe, assistant professor and COPH PhD alumna, has been awarded a seed research grant from the USF Women’s Health Collaborative (WHC).

The goal of the WHC is to support interdisciplinary research projects aimed at advancing women’s health.

McGuire-Wolfe has been awarded $10,000 to use toward her research titled, “Intentions, Barriers, and Supports for Women at All Stages of Childbearing in High Demand Professions.”

Funding was granted in September 2021 and efforts are currently underway, according to McGuire-Wolfe.

“High-demand professions, such as obstetrics, surgery, emergency medicine, firefighting and law enforcement entail safety risks, long hours, high-stakes decision-making, physical demands and emotional impact,” she said.

She and her research team aim to document the experiences of women working in high-demand professions and examine the organizational, cultural and structural “drivers of maternal stressors” in these environments.

They will examine work-life balance during pregnancy and the post-partum period; impact of maternal discrimination; and policies contributing to work-family conflicts for mothers in the workplace.

The interdisciplinary research team includes:

• Christine McGuire-Wolfe, PhD, Principal Investigator – COPH Global and Planetary Health
• Jennifer Marshall, PhD, Co-Investigator – COPH Interdisciplinary Research, Sunshine ERC
• Amber Mehmood, PhD, Co-Investigator – COPH Global and Planetary Health
• Sarah Običan, MD, Co-Investigator – MCOM Maternal and Fetal Medicine, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Tammy Allen, PhD, Co-Investigator – CAS Organizational Psychology
• Russell Kirby, PhD – COPH Population Health Science
• Nancy Romero-Daza, PhD – CAS Anthropology
• Bryanna Fox, PhD – CAS Criminology
• Elizabeth Dunn, MPH – COPH

“Receipt of this grant supports development of an interdisciplinary team to explore issues encountered by mothers (or future mothers) in high demand professions. High rates of worker burn-out, decreases in new professionals entering these occupations and specialties, and low retention rates have led to work force shortages. An understanding of the challenges and supports that exist in these work environments helps to inform efforts to implement a Total Worker Health^® approach and bolster the number of professionals employed in these occupations,” McGuire-Wolfe said. 

She also said the findings will inform organizational policy and practice recommendations, with dissemination via webinar, conference presentation and publication.

“Funding from the Women’s Health Collaborative Seed Grant allows the team to build on information obtained from a needs assessment conducted with supervisors, administrators and policy stakeholders,” she said.

This initial phase is currently underway and is funded by a Pilot Project Research Training (PPRT) award through the Sunshine Education and Research Center (SERC), according to McGuire-Wolfe.

“The funding has increased research opportunities for students, as three MPH students (Pelumi Olaore, Shari-Jade Pitter and Isabel Montes) and one undergraduate student (Neha Dantuluri) are currently collaborating with the team,” she said.

To support women’s health research through the USF Women’s Health Collaborative, visit usf.to/whc.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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USF College of Public Health (COPH) student Narayan Kulkarni was one of four USF Health students—and the first MHA student—to represent the university at the 2021 National CLARION Case Competition. The annual competition was held virtually this year from April 9-10.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to apply skills that one has learned in the classroom to a new problem and develop a deeper understanding of health care through a shared experience with an interprofessional team,” said Kulkarni, who will earn his MHA in May before embarking on an administrative fellowship with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in July.

CLARION (CLinician Administrator Relationship Improvement OrganizatioN) is a University of Minnesota student organization dedicated to improving health care through interprofessional collaboration. What started out as a local competition in 2002 became a national event in 2005. 

According to its website, “CLARION focuses on the professional development of health professional students and includes lessons in leadership, teamwork, communication, analytical reasoning, conflict-resolution, and business practices. Participation in CLARION leads students to a more sophisticated understanding of the healthcare system in which they will practice.”

Both graduate and undergraduate students are eligible to participate. Teams consist of four students comprising at least two disciplines. They are given a case and are charged with creating a root cause analysis. The team presents their analysis to a panel of interprofessional judges that evaluates their analysis in the context of real-world standards of practice.

In addition to Kulkarni, the USF team consisted of:

• Prisca Alilio, Morsani College of Medicine
• Alana White, physical therapy student from Morsani College of Medicine
• Kennedy Mohs, Taneja College of Pharmacy

The team was advised by lead faculty mentor Dr. Zachary Pruitt, a COPH assistant professor. They also drew on the expertise of other COPH faculty, including emergency-management expert Elizabeth Dunn and Director of Community Engagement Dr. Joe Bohn.

This year’s case, titled “Weathering the Storm,” featured the fictional Rivera Family, a family from Puerto Rico who relocated to Orange County, Fla., after Hurricane Maria. While in Puerto Rico, the family had difficulty finding steady employment. In the U.S. they had trouble finding a Spanish-speaking health care provider.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with three amazing teammates in three other USF Health programs to solve an important and timely problem,” said Kulkarni. “Despite big differences in our program schedules and the scope of our training, our team quickly united around a shared vision of improved health and well-being for those displaced following natural disasters.”

The USF students developed a community-led intervention called mBarrio. The plan involved:

• The fortification of a Puerto Rican school for shelter
• Outreach and community education led by “promotoras,” members of the community trained to deliver basic health information
• A mobile app and web-based directory (with offline capabilities and Spanish-language support) to connect individuals to key resources after a natural disaster. 

Kulkarni said that in developing the plan, each student applied strengths relevant to their individual disciplines.

“For example, I did the budget and financial analysis for this case, which required skills that I learned during my time as a USF MBA student and developed further as an MHA student,” he said. “I also worked on the implementation plan for our intervention, which is something that I learned how to do in MHA program coursework.”

In the end, the USF Health team didn’t place. But the experience, said Kulkarni, was worthwhile nonetheless.

“I broadened my understanding of how doctors, pharmacists and physical therapists can help communities affected by natural disasters,” Kulkarni commented. “Since public health leaders are increasingly expected to partner with various stakeholders inside and outside of the health system, this experience helped me understand how public health leaders might team up with communities, medical professionals and non-healthcare leaders to address natural disasters. It gave me some appreciation of how difficult, yet how possible, it is to align disparate stakeholders toward initiatives that improve health outcomes.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

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An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of South Florida has pooled its expertise and resources in order to help influence the effectiveness of public health messaging related to COVID-19.

Researchers are collaborating with public health agencies and businesses to combine neuromarketing and biometric tools from the Muma College of Business Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation neuromarketing lab with expertise in social marketing and health communications from the College of Public Health and Zimmerman School of Advertising. Funded by a $25,000 USF COVID-19 Rapid Response grant, the neuro-social marketing research team is analyzing local print ads, television commercials and other marketing materials published online. The goal is to improve the effectiveness of messages crafted to motivate patients to resume routine appointments and seek emergency care during the pandemic. The research entails combining eye tracking, facial expression analysis and survey data to provide new insights on how people react to public health messages.

“This research is both impactful and groundbreaking,” said Rob Hammond, instructor and director of the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation. “By adding objective biometric data to opinion surveys, we can improve message assessments based on opinion surveys to produce more effective public health messages that can in turn save lives.”

“It is important, especially for populations with pre-existing medical conditions, to return for routine health care services to maintain their health, yet, there is fear about doing so,” said principal investigator Kim Walker, associate professor of mass communications. “We have learned that people do not always report their feelings accurately on pen and paper and incorporating a neuromarketing approach can validate subjective measures to inform emotive health care advertising.”

Baycare Health System has been a key partner, providing unaired video and print materials, as well as inviting some of its patient populations to participate in the study. 

“BayCare is excited to collaborate with USF to help understand the effectiveness of public health messaging in the midst of a pandemic,” said Ed Rafalski, senior vice president and chief strategy and marketing officer for BayCare. “Through this research collaboration, our goal is to get better insight into consumers in the Tampa Bay area and how the ongoing pandemic affects their overall health care decisions.”

This project is one of several important public health research collaborations. Earlier this year, the team was awarded a three-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health to address the impact of COVID-19 among racial and ethnic populations. Through the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network, USF faculty and students are working with the Morehouse School of Medicine and organizations across the nation to develop and test culturally and linguistically appropriate information on resources for COVID-19 testing, health care, social services and vaccines.

“Our COVID communications begin with community input, which will make them more authentic and tailored than if we start with generic materials,” said principal investigator Claudia Parvanta, professor of social marketing and director of the Florida Prevention Research Center. “The ability to then use distance-based neuromarketing tools to see if the intended audiences respond as we hope is completely new in the social marketing and health communications field.”

The first organization to recognize the potential of USF’s neuro-social marketing research team was the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida. It awarded the group $250,000 in early March 2020 to create a protocol for testing anti-smoking advertisements. The researchers studied how participants reacted to tobacco public service announcements and the association of these responses to intentions to quit smoking, desire to share particular videos on social media or visit the Tobacco Free Florida website to assess smoking cessation resources.

The researchers had originally planned to conduct the study in the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation lab, which in addition to eye tracking and facial expression analysis, offers electroencephalograms (EEGs), used to study brain activity, and sensors that measure galvanic skin response, which reflects the intensity of emotion. But like many aspects of research, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the USF team to pivot its approach to evaluating the impact of these public health messages. They expedited the project by working with the lab’s technology partner, iMotions, to develop computer software that allowed researchers to continue the study remotely, using participants’ web cameras. While inconsistent lighting and positioning added complications, researchers say the process better predicted how individuals were impacted by the public service announcements rather than relying strictly on opinion scores. The team is now working to publish its findings in academic journals.

In addition to health-based projects, the Center for Marketing and Sales Innovation has partnerships with several businesses and organizations. It signed its first corporate research agreement in 2019 with Revenue Management Solutions, an international company that provides data-driven solutions and services to the restaurant industry, such as providing recommendations on menu design and navigation. The center has also conducted research that gauged public perception of political figures, such as candidate performance during the February 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate.

Reposted from USF Newsroom

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March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

The USF College of Public Health’s (COPH) Florida Prevention Research Center (FPRC) in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center finished the second year of their FluFIT program to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates specifically using the fecal immunochemical test (FIT).

CRC is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. Most of these deaths could be prevented with routine screening. FIT is the least invasive, least expensive form of screening involving a take-home kit with instructions on collecting a stool sample. During analysis, if blood is found there may be colon polyps or early stage CRC and a follow-up colonoscopy is scheduled.

In the FluFIT program, it has been shown that distributing the take-home FIT kits during the annual flu vaccine process increases CRC screening rates, thus the name FluFIT.

“When you opt for the FIT instead of the more invasive colonoscopy, you will have to do the FIT annually. Typically the flu vaccine is also done annually, so the FluFIT program is a way of pairing them up so that you can get them done at the same time,” said Dr. Dinorah Martinez Tyson, alumna and assistant professor of community and family health at the COPH.

In 2016, the FPRC’s Community Advisory Board selected working with employers as one of the ways to reach individuals over the age of 50 who are at a higher risk for developing colorectal cancer.

As a collaborator with Moffitt in the past years, the FPRC team reached out to Debra Cheek, Moffitt wellness coordinator, to talk about the FluFIT program. Moffitt team members are required to get the flu vaccine annually so they do not expose patients with compromised immune systems to the virus.

“The first time we met with Debra, we discussed ideas about promoting CRC screening and with the support of Linda Muñoz, director of benefits & wellness, they were ready to offer this new program,” said Tali Schneider, alumna and deputy director at the FPRC. An interdisciplinary team then formed a committee to design and develop the process, promotions and educational tools. Along with FPRC and Moffitt Wellness Program, the committee included the expertise of the following departments at Moffitt: health outcomes and behavior program, enterprise Imaging, GI tumor MMG, human resources, microbiology, occupational health, public relations, strategic marketing and the team member medical clinic.

Drs. Clement Gwede and Cathy Meade, health outcomes faculty members, were also very supportive of this initiative and played a critical role in the development of eligibility forms, educational materials, in-services, and recruitment of volunteer interns who assisted with the distribution process. 

“We worked almost a year on a monthly basis, but as we got closer to the start date, we met every other week,” Martinez Tyson said, “It was a true interdisciplinary effort that connected all the dots and put all the pieces into one puzzle.”

“While the FluFIT program has mainly been implemented in health care systems, such as community clinics, as far as we know, this is one of the first times the FluFIT has been implemented in the worksite setting,” Schneider said.

The FIT kits along with the flu vaccine were distributed through the months of September and October in both 2017 and 2018. FIT kits were only distributed to individuals who met eligibility, meaning they were at average risk to develop CRC, had not had a colonoscopy within the past 10 years and had not had a FIT screening within the last year. A more detailed questionnaire, including family history, was also provided during the flu vaccine process to further determine eligibility.

“The FluFIT program has been very successful – the process was very easy to understand and offered our team members an option to complete a cancer screening in the comfort of their own home.  Participants were also able to earn the wellness reward incentive, a medical premium discount for completing this cancer screening,” Cheek said. “For the last two years approximately 250 kits per year were distributed and there were 11 abnormal results overall. One of our team members who had been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer was our ‘poster child for poop’. She is very popular and well respected, so her testimonial encouraged others to get the screening done. Many of our executive team members also participated and helped to promote the program.”

Those who tested positive were then able to schedule colonoscopies and arrange for further testing.

Both Schneider and Cheek said that during a follow-up evaluation satisfaction survey, most team members were very pleased and stated that “If it weren’t for the FluFIT program, they wouldn’t have gotten screened for colorectal cancer.”  

Through their efforts, the interdisciplinary team won a Spirit of Moffitt Team Award and based on the results, the program is being institutionalized and will be offered annually.

“The FluFIT program has set the stage for other cancer screenings and outcome-based programs that benefit our team members at Moffitt. Thanks to the committee members who made this possible and to the participants who took advantage of this new program!” Cheek said.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

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The University of South Florida Women’s Health Collaborative recognized four USF College of Public Health faculty at its fifth annual Leading the Way Awards Luncheon on May 8.

More than 260 community leaders and health researchers attended the luncheon, making it the largest event since the program’s inception.

Dr. Rays Jiang, center, accepts a $15,000 grant from Drs. Catherine Lynch and Charles Lockwood.

The USF Women’s Health Collaborative program provides annual seed grants for interdisciplinary, collaborative research focused on women’s health. Many of the past seed grant projects have resulted in prestigious publications and presentations, as well as additional grants and research awards.

The review committee considers criteria including new study collaborations across colleges, strong interdisciplinary teams, junior faculty with strong senior faculty mentoring, articulated plans for further research and publishing in basic science and/or psycho-social behavioral studies.

“The research projects supported by this luncheon have created meaningful mentoring and coaching opportunities that have advanced our faculty, especially women, in their careers as academic leaders,” said Dr. Catherine Lynch, associate vice president for women’s health and faculty development for USF Health and chair of the USF Women’s Health Collaborative.

Through the seed grants, the USF Women’s Health Collaborative hopes that they will help junior faculty as they aspire toward their research goals.

“Every year faculty look forward to seeing the research awards announcement come out because of the huge impact and difference these awards have made for our junior faculty members,” said Dr. Ellen Daley, associate dean of research and practice and professor of community and family health. “It gives these faculty collaboration opportunities with senior faculty and other colleges that they otherwise wouldn’t have. I think it has been successful.”

USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy lifetime member Dr. Valerie Riddle presented Dr. Cheryl Vamos with its first USF Health Faculty Research Award.

Since the program began five years ago, more than $325,000 in seed grants have been awarded to 88 researchers on 29 seed grant projects.

USF presented five research awards to USF Health faculty at the luncheon. The COPH had faculty members on four of those research awards.

• Rays Jiang, assistant professor of global health
  • “Single-cell genomics and erythropoiesis: Their first high-resolution red blood cell developmental map to address iron-deficiency anemia” received a $15,000 seed grant. Rays H.Y. Jiang, Gloria Ferreira and Elizabeth Sagatys compose the research team.
• Cheryl Vamos, assistant professor of community and family health
  • USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy lifetime member Valerie Riddle announced her commitment to endow a new WLP Health Research Award, and she presented COPH alumna Cheryl Vamos with $5,000 as its first-ever recipient.
• Russell Kirby, USF Distinguished Professor, Marrell Endowed Chair and professor of community and family health
  • PNC Bank, the presenting sponsor of the event, awarded a $15,000 seed grant for “Behavioral training for mothers and pediatric residents: Does it improve managing stressful childhood behaviors?” The research team included Rebecca Plant, Emily Shaffer, Alison Solloum, Russell Kirby and Sharon Dabrow, who will examine ways to improve the use of evidence-based strategies for handling difficult developmental behaviors in young patients.
• Jason Beckstead, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics
  • “Balance-based torso weighting and core exercise to improve balance and gait in women with Multiple Sclerosis” received a $15,000 seed grant. The research team consisted of Jeannie Stephenson, Derrick Robertson, Stephanie Carey, Doug Haladay and Jason Beckstead.

From left, Dr. Lynch, Dianne Jacob of PNC Bank, Dr. Sharon Dabrow, Dr. Rebecca Plant and Dr. Russell Kirby.

“We were blown away to have a faculty member on almost every grant awarded,” Daley said. “We are proud of that! I think that it’s a real step forward in terms of our research enterprise that we have faculty in all these critical areas of women’s health.”

Past award recipients include:

• 2017
  • Amy Alman, “The Impact of Enteral Iron Availability on Intestinal Microbiome and Inflammation in Premature Infants”
  • Russell Kirby, “Video Training to Enhance the Implementation of Evidence-Based Strategies among Mothers and Their Toddlers within the Early Steps Program”
• 2016
  • Alicia Best, “Supportive Care Needs of African American Women Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer”
  • Roneé Wilson, “Emerging Risk Factors for High Risk Pregnancy: Prediabetes”
• 2015
  • Rita Debate, “An Intervention to Improve Feeding Success in Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome”

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health. Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications and Marketing. Excerpts from USF Health

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USF College of Public Health’s Dr. Amy Alman completed the trial portion and is now in the data analysis phase of an app that she and fellow USF researchers have developed as a tool for teens with asthma.

Dr. Amy Alman and her Asthma App Team. (Front row, from left): Tali Schneider, Amy Alman, and Bria Thomas. (Back row, from left): Laura Baum, Paul Rosen, Wei Wang, James Lindenberger, Nafila Shaikh, and Sanjari Sanghani.

Alman, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, said the app is a way for adolescents and teens who are transitioning from their parents being primarily responsible for their asthma management to being responsible themselves.

“It is intended to provide a way for the teens to be more aware of their symptoms and triggers so that they use their medicine more appropriately and increase awareness of their condition, improve their management and ultimately have better outcomes in terms of fewer emergency room visits and situations where they require immediate medical attention,” Alman said.

Alman received pilot funding through the COPH’s Interdisciplinary Team Award to develop and complete a pilot trial for the app.

Building on formative studies by the team from 2012, a USF Health IS team led by Matthew Warner and Ivan Vasquez coded and developed the app. After the app was created, Alman and her team recruited 20 participants, ages 12-17 years old, for a three-month trial of the app.  At the end of the trial, the team was able to combine many data points per participant, including clinical data, app usage statistics, and baseline and follow-up survey and interview responses.

During the trial, participants would input their peak flows and any symptoms they were having into the app. The app would then provide information, including any medicine they needed to take, based on their individualized asthma action plan.  The app would also send reminders for when they should log their information into the app.

“It basically takes the paper form of the asthma action plan and puts it into an app so that they have it on their phone and can use it at any time,” Alman said.

Screen shots from the asthma app (Photos courtesy of Matthew Warner).

Alman doesn’t believe that they will see much difference in the patients’ clinical outcomes in this short trial period, but they will be seeking funding to further the development of the app and to perform a larger trial with a longer follow-up period.

“The focus of the next phase of development is to make the app more fun to use so that the teens would want to use it for longer periods of time,” said Alman. “We then would follow-up for longer periods of time so that we can try to detect any difference in the clinical outcomes compared to patients not using the app.”

Long-term goals for researchers would be to eventually see this app broadly available.

“What I would really like to see is that is goes beyond USF, so that it’s not just an USF product that only works inside our system, but something that a teenager can download anywhere,” Alman said.

Alman said that this project was different than what she usually works on because it involved so many different disciplines.

“It is very interdisciplinary; it is not just across health but into engineering and computer science as well. We are bringing on new team members to work with us in the next phase and are working hard to develop a product that will have lasting impact!” she said.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

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“Public health is unique; there is the practice world and then there is the research world,” said Dr. Ellen Daley, professor in the Department of Community and Family Health. “We want to put those worlds closer together.”

Daley was appointed as associate dean of translational research and practice at the USF College of Public Health in July. She is associate director for women’s health in the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies and also serves as chair of the COPH’s Research Committee. She specializes in women and adolescent health, sexual education, STD prevention and contraceptive use.

Ellen Daley, PhD (Photo courtesy of USF Health Communications)

In her role, Daley will focus on getting students better acquainted with both sides of public health—research and practice.

She said she wants students to walk away from their respective programs feeling equipped with the skills and ability to do their future jobs well.

“What we really need to do is have this synergy between the two where practice informs what research we do, and the research that we do informs practice in the same way,” she said.

Daley said the first cohort of students being exposed to this type of training are doctoral students from across all departments.

The students have started meeting for a weekly seminar to discuss the public health threat of the Zika virus with a goal of gaining cross disciplinary training on ways to address it.

“Even though someone may be getting their doctorate in epidemiology or in the community and family health focus area, they will understand the big picture of what public health does,” she said. “The idea of the cohort is to gain some understanding and greater respect for what other areas do to see the range of what public health does.”

Public health professionals will address the students at the seminar, exposing them to the ways they are focusing on Zika, and students will work on group projects to address an issue from all disciplines.

Daley said she plans to follow the cohorts for the entirely of their degree, four to five years, and evaluate what additional training may be needed to boost student success and preparedness for working in the field.

Aedes aegypti mosquito, the mosquito commonly known to spread the Zika virus. (Photo courtesy of Istock)

“It’s going to stretch everyone’s comfort level and help them develop respect for what their colleagues are doing, giving them a broader view of what public health does instead of just the one area they are going in to,” she said.

Daley said she wants the program to soon expand to other students in the college and plans to use a mentoring-down model approach, where doctoral students will mentor master’s students and master’s students eventually mentoring undergraduates.

“The idea is to create more opportunities for success, more research opportunities in interdisciplinary groups,” she said. “I want all students in the college to feel like they are welcome to join.”

Daley said details are being worked out on how students in the online programs will also be exposed to the translational research and practice approach.

She said that despite what concentration area a student is going into, one constant notion she commonly hears are the students’ desire to make a difference.

“I really do believe it’s meaningful if you feel like the work you’re doing is making a difference and people who are drawn to public health are definitely those type of people,” she said. “We are there in terms where our hearts and minds our, we just need a little structure to put them both together.”

While she is still early on in her new role, Daley said she looks forward to seeing how each student progresses during the course of four years.

“It’s a huge honor to me, because I see USF really as one of the emerging leadership schools in the country,” she said. “To be part of that leadership team is an amazing opportunity and Dean Petersen has a vision we can be proud of. I’m really proud to be a faculty member in the college and now to be able to give students even more opportunities so when they leave they are even more prepared, I consider it an enormous honor to be chosen.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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