Program Spotlights & News
News
Announcements
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Awarded PHI KAPPA PHI Dissertation Fellowship
“Jessica Hoyle, a doctoral candidate in public health sciences in the College of Health and Human Services, recently received a $10,000 dissertation fellowship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
This award supports active Phi Kappa Phi members in the dissertation writing stage of their doctoral study; it is given to 15 students annually to support 12 months of dissertation writing. Hoyle is the second UNC Charlotte recipient of this award.” -Office of University Communications
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Won 3rd Place at the Graduate Research Symposium
Last Friday, March 24th, Kevin Benson, a Ph.D. student in Public Health Sciences, participated in the 22nd Annual Graduate Research Symposium. The Graduate & Professional Student Government of UNC Charlotte awarded Kevin with third place for their oral presentation in the health and human services category.
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Interviewed by WBTV
Ebony Rao is a Ph.D. student in Public Health Sciences and works as a Program Manager for Mecklenburg County Public Health. Her work involves managing the Crisis Intervention Team Program, which works to create, maintain, and advocate for best practices in the mental health crisis continuum for the community. WBTV interviewed Ebony on Thursday, February 9th, about mental health emergencies in the community and the work of first responders helping during a crisis. She discussed how the COVID-19 Pandemic exacerbated mental health needs across the country. Those needing help for themselves or loved ones can call 988 the Crisis Hotline, or if they need immediate help, call 911 and ask for a CIT Officer.
Health Services Research PhD Student Published
Ph.D. Candidate Kristin M Lenoir published an article on patient perspectives on a targeted text messaging campaign to encourage screening for diabetes. A sizeable proportion of prediabetes and diabetes cases among adults in the United States remain undiagnosed, which puts them at risk for additional health complications. While prediction models can identify patients with a higher risk of prediabetes and diabetes, time pressures and an overwhelming number of alerts in the electronic health record can cause clinicians to ignore many of these tools. Since many healthcare organizations now contact patients directly via text for the standard of care, we sought help from patients in crafting text messages that would alert them to a possible health risk and walk them through getting a screening test on their own without any contact with their primary care provider. Using plain and positive language, integrating elements of personalization, and defining new processes clearly were identified by participants as content elements that could help overcome barriers to receptiveness and engagement with these messages.
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Published
Ph.D. Candidate Cayla McAvoy and Dean Catrine Tudor-Locke comment on a recent publication about step metrics and mortality in older adults, encouraging physical activity researchers to use metrics that easily translate from research findings into public health use.
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Published
Ph.D. Candidate Shanika Jerger Butts published an article with Dr. Larissa Huber on Pre-pregnancy Diabetes, Pre-pregnancy Hypertension and Prenatal Care Timing among Women in the United States, 2018. Women who begin pregnancy with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes are at an increased risk for pregnancy complications. Receiving early prenatal care will help to stay on top of these conditions, which would improve maternal and birth outcomes. This article discusses when women with these chronic illnesses receive prenatal care. The findings from this study reveal that women who begin pregnancy with hypertension and diabetes seek prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Awarded the Instructor of Record Award by the Graduate School
Andrea Kaniuka was awarded the Instructor of Record award. The award recognizes graduate-level teaching assistants nominated by their faculty supervisors for their work as teaching assistants. The Instructor of Record award requires students a minimum of teaching one semester prior and recognizes graduate students performing all of the responsibilities of a stand-alone instructor in charge of the entire course. This year she taught HLTH 3103 Behavior Change Theories and Practice in the fall and HLTH 4000/5000 Special Topics in Public Health: Interprofessional Approaches to Suicide Prevention in the spring. “Working with my students to prepare for internships, graduate school, and job opportunities is, without question, my favorite part of teaching. A close second is hearing my students share stories of how they have used our course in their real lives; knowing that they have retained and applied what we learn in class is the greatest feeling as an instructor.”
Andrea would also like to thank Dr. Ergun of the UNC Charlotte Global Studies and Women and Gender Studies program, Dr. Huber, Dr. Dahl, Dr. Cramer, and Dr. Hopper of the Public Health Sciences program.
Public Health Sciences PhD Student Awarded Best Student Abstract by American Public Health Association
Public Health Sciences PhD student Chloe Vercruysse has been granted the Best Student Abstract Award from the American Public Health Association (APHA) in relation to an oral presentation she gave at APHA’s 2021 scientific meeting through their caucus on homelessness. APHA publishes the American Journal of Public Health and The Nation’s Health newspaper. Awards granted as part of APHA’s 2021 scientific meeting will be published in the January 2022 edition of The Nation’s Health.
2021 UNC Charlotte Graduate Research Symposium
The annual Graduate Research Symposium (GRS) is an interdisciplinary graduate student-run conference that showcases astounding research of graduate and professional students. The PHS PhD students (current and soon-to-be) had an excellent showing at the 2021 Graduate Research Symposium. In fact, the students swept the awards for the Health and Human Services category! Congratulations Chelse, Jessica, and Shanika!
1st place: Chelse Spinner, first-year PHS Ph.D. student
Title of Presentation: “Maternal Characteristics Associated with Low-Risk, Primary Cesarean Sections among Women in the United States” (research completed under the supervision of Dr. Larissa Huber).
Press Paragraph: In the U.S., cesarean sections (i.e., c-section) are continually on the rise; thus, it has become a public health priority to reduce the c-section rate. However, there is a lack of research identifying non-clinical strategies to reduce the c-section rate. This study evaluates the association between adequacy of prenatal care utilization and low-risk, primary c-sections. Data were obtained from 2018 birth certificate data, and the sample included first-time mothers with no chronic conditions. Results indicated that women with adequate plus prenatal care were more likely to have a primary c-section delivery compared to women with adequate prenatal care.
2nd place: Jessica Hoyle, third-year PHS Ph.D. student
Title of Presentation: “It’s All in Who You Know: Associations of Social Capital with Social, Behavioral, and Health Outcomes for Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities” (research completed under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Laditka)
Press Paragraph: Research suggests that people benefit from social capital throughout life, including times of transition. Social capital refers to the resources found in networks of relationships, enabling people to function effectively. These resources depend on social norms, trust, and reciprocity developed within a social group. Researchers have shown that interventions can increase social capital. Yet, little research has examined whether social capital is associated with better outcomes for children with developmental disabilities as they transition to adulthood. More knowledge about effects of social capital for children with developmental disabilities would be useful. We studied associations of social capital with mental and physical health, health behaviors, and social and economic well-being as people with and without developmental disabilities transitioned to adulthood.
3rd place: Shanika Butts, second-year MPH Student (she will be starting the PHS Ph.D. program in August)
Title of Presentation: Pre-pregnancy Hypertension and Pre-pregnancy Diabetes and the Timing of Early Prenatal Care (research completed under the supervision of Dr. Larissa Huber)
Press Paragraph: Women who begin pregnancy with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes are at an increased risk for pregnancy complications. Receiving early prenatal care is vital to managing these conditions which would improve maternal and birth outcomes. This crosssectional national study investigates the association between pre-pregnancy hypertension and pre-pregnancy diabetes and the timing of prenatal care. Data from the National Vital Statistics System was used to complete the analysis. The findings from this study reveal that women who begin pregnancy with hypertension and diabetes do seek prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy.
UNC Charlotte Faculty Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant Awardee, Bryce Van Doren
The UNC Charlotte Faculty Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) Grants Committee has awarded Bryce Van Doren, HSR Doctoral Candidate, and his colleagues a grant to pursue their research project, “Learning Together While Staying Apart: Scaffolding Active Collaborative Learning for Student Success in Online Courses”. The SoTL Grants Committee awards grants to individual faculty members, departments, colleges, programs, academies, or standing committees to support them with their projects. Greater attention is given to project proposals that demonstrate the potential to have measurable outcomes that will benefit the UNC Charlotte teaching and learning community.
Bryce is an Active Learning Academy (ALA) member with the Center for Teaching and Learning. ALA is a learning community open to all instructors and instructional staff who are interested in using active learning techniques, learning from peers, and promoting the adoption of active learning across campus.
The full Proposal is available here: Learning Together While Staying Apart: Scaffolding Active Collaborative Learning for Student Success in Online Courses
DOCTORAL STUDENTS PUBLICATION SPOTLIGHTS
Jessica Hoyle, Public Health Sciences Doctoral Student
Research Interests/Focus:
Health disparities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Use of music and the arts to positively affect public health Hoyle, J., Laditka, J., Laditka, S. (2020). Mental health risks of parents of children with developmental disabilities: A nationally representative study in the United States. Disability and Health Journal, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.101020
Chloe Vercruysse, Public Health Sciences Doctoral Student
Bowling, J., Vercruysse, C., Bello‐Ogunu, F., Krinner, L. M., Greene, T., Webster, C., & Dahl, A. A. (2020). “It’s the nature of the beast”: Community resilience among gender diverse individuals. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(7), 2191-2207. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22371
Vinoski Thomas, E., & Vercruysse, C. (2019). Homelessness among individuals with disabilities: Influential factors and scalable solutions. NACCHO: The Essential Elements of Local Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.naccho.org/blog/articles/homelessness-among-individuals-with-disabilities-influential-factors-and-scalable-solution
Bowling, J., Schoebel, V., & Vercruysse, C. (2019). Perceptions of Resilience and Coping Among Gender-Diverse Individuals Using Photography. Transgender Health, 4(1), 176–187. doi: 10.1089/trgh.2019.0015
Subhanwita Ghosh, Health Services Research Doctoral Student
Research Interests/Focus:
Chronic diseases and effective treatment plan Breidenbach, J. D., Dube, P., Ghosh, S., Abdullah, B. N., Modyanov, N. N., Malhotra, D., Dworkin, L. D., Haller, S. T., Kennedy, D. J. (2020). Impact of Comorbidities on SARS-CoV-2 Viral Entry-Related Genes. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 10(146), 146–. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm10040146
Lisa Krinner, Public Health Sciences Doctoral Student
Research Interests/Focus: Childhood adversity and other psychological traumas, and how we can successfully cope with stress and build resilience
Krinner, L.M., Warren-Findlow, J., & Bowling, J. (2020). The Association between Childhood Adversity and Self-rated Physical Health in US College Students. American Journal of Health Promotion, epub.
Krinner, L.M., Warren-Findlow, J., & Bowling, J. (2020). Examining the Role of Childhood Adversity on Excess Alcohol Intake and Tobacco Exposure Among US College Students. Substance Use & Misuse, epub.
Bowling, J., Vercruysse, C., Bello-Oguno, F., Krinner, L.M., Greene, T., Webster, C., & Dahl, A. (2020). “It’s the nature of the beast”: Community resilience among gender diverse individuals. Journal of Community Psychology, epub.
Cayla McAvoy, Public Health Sciences Doctoral Student
Research Interests/Focus:
Behavior change as it relates to physical activity. How can we use exercise as a form of medicine? McAvoy, C., Moore, C., Aguiar, E., Amalbert-Birriel, M., Barreira, T., Chipkin, S., Ducharme, S., Gould, Z., Chase, C., Schuna, J., Staudenmayer, J., & Tudor-Locke, C. (2020). Relative Intensity-associated Cadence (steps/min) Thresholds In 61-85 Year Olds, The Cadence-adults Study: 589 Board #3 May 27 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 52(7S), 148–149. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000675080.45143.ce McAvoy, C., Moore, C., Aguiar, E., Ducharme, S., Schuna, J., Barreira, T., Chase, C., Gould, Z., Amalbert-Birriel, M., Chipkin, S., Staudenmayer, J., Tudor-Locke, C., Mora-Gonzalez, J. Cadence (steps/min) and relative intensity in 21 to 60-year-olds: the CADENCE-adults study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021 Feb 10;18(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01096-w. PMID: 33568188
Lanny Inabnit, Health Services Research Doctoral Student
Research Interests/Focus:
Chronic disease and how comorbidities affect readmission rates. Inabnit, L. (2020) Cost Burden of COPD and Comorbidities. American Association for Respiratory Care. Retrieved from http://www.aarctimes.com/publication/?m=62074&i=678265&view=articleBrowser&article_id=3794188&search=Lanny%20Inabnit%20&ver=html5
Laura Clark, Health Services Research Doctoral Student
Research Interests/Focus:
Health Economics & Outcomes Research in Rare Diseases (Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease – ADPKD): I conduct applied research using large datasets (e.g., commercial claims, Medicare claims, & HCUP) for the generation of real-world evidence of the clinical & economic impact of ADPKD in the US to support successful outcomes & demonstrate product value in the treatment of rare & chronic diseases.
POSTERS & ABSTRACT PRESENTATIONS
APHA 2020 Annual Meeting
Oluwaseun Adeyemi, PHS Doctoral Student
4348.0 Understanding patterns of fatal injuries and risky driving behaviors during rush hours using individual-level and county-level data
Oluwaseun Adeyemi, MBChB, MWACS, MPH, Rajib Paul, PhD and Ahmed Arif, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
4273.0 Rush hour accidents: Assessing the relationship between road environmental determinants and county-level fatal road accidents patterns in the United States
Oluwaseun Adeyemi, MBChB, MWACS, MPH, Rajib Paul, PhD and Ahmed Arif, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Subhanwita Ghosh, HSR Doctoral Student
4027.0 Urban-rural differences in the association of COVID-19 mortality with social determinants of health
Subhanwita Ghosh, Rajib Paul, PhD, Ahmed Arif, PhD and Kamana Pokhrel, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Tasha Gill, PHS Doctoral Student
2106.0 Adverse childhood experiences and contraceptive use among women: Findings from the 2017 behavioral risk factor surveillance system
Tasha L. Gill, MPH and Larissa R. Brunner Huber, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Andrea Kaniuka, PHS Doctoral Student
4358.0 Challenges in community reintegration: A cross-sectional examination of substance abuse-related suicide post-psychiatric and correctional release, 2003-2016
Annelise Mennicke, PhD, Robert Cramer, PhD, Andrea Kaniuka, MA and Melanie Mayfields, MA, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
5035.0 Integrating public health and social justice models to understand suicide among transgender and gender diverse adults
Robert Cramer, PhD1, Andrea Kaniuka, MA1, Farida Yada, MPH1, Franck Diaz-Garelli, PhD1, Annelise Mennicke, PhD1, Jessamyn Bowling, PhD, MPH1 and Raymond Tucker, PhD2, (1)UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, (2)Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Lisa Krinner, PHS Doctoral Student
3252.0 Refinement of the hypertension self-care activity level effects (H-SCALE) physical activity subscale
Lisa Maria Krinner, MSc, Jan Warren-Findlow, PhD, Karina Aguilar, Julia Stullken and Jeri Ryan, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Kandice Lacci, PHS Doctoral Student
2069.0 The association between WIC enrollment and pregnancy-related behaviors and outcomes in the United States
Kandice Lacci, MPH and Larissa R. Brunner Huber, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Meghan Wally, PHS Doctoral Student
3129.1 Prevalence of prescription opioids for the treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis
Jacob Gorbaty, MD1, Susan Odum, PhD1, Meghan Wally, MSPH1, Rachel Seymour, PhD1, Nady Hamid, MD2 and Joseph Hsu, MD1, (1)Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, (2)OrthoCarolina, Charlotte, NC
3161.3 Quality and content of internet-based information for osteoporosis and fragility fractures
Thomas Bemenderfer, MD, MBA, Meghan Wally, MSPH, R. Randall McKnight, MD, Jacob Gorbaty, MD, Rachel Seymour, PhD and Madhav Karunakar, MD, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC
Coming Together for Action 2020, Charlotte, North Carolina
Lisa Krinner, PHS Doctoral Student
Krinner, L.M.,
Warren-Findlow, J., & Bowling, J. (Oct 20). The Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Self-rated Emotional Health in US College Students. Coming Together for Action 2020, Charlotte, NC. (virtual due to COVID-19)