IN THIS ISSUE CPH LEADERSHIP TEAM DEAN
Donna Arnett PhD MSPH ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC & STUDENT AFFAIRS
Kathryn Cardarelli PhD MPH ASSOCIATE DEAN
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10
STUDENT PROFILES
PARTNERING WITH PARENTS IN APPALACHIA
FOR RESEARCH
Nancy Schoenberg PhD ASSISTANT DEAN
FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING & ASSESSMENT
Kimberly Tumlin PhD DIRECTOR
OF PRACTICE & EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
BPH STUDENTS EXCEL
Angela Carman DrPH DIRECTOR
OF PHILANTHROPY
06 NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK
Shelley Ward DIRECTOR
OF COMMUNICATION
Allison Elliott-Shannon MA
REDUCING SEXUAL VIOLENCE AMONG TEENS
INTERIM DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Paula Arnett DrPH
MAGAZINE WRITER/EDITOR
Allison Elliott-Shannon MA DESIGNER/PHOTOGRAPHER
Justin Sumner To request additional copies or for questions or comments, contact allison.elliott@uky.edu or write to: UK College of Public Health 111 Washington Avenue Suite 212 Lexington, KY 40536 Facebook @ukcph Twitter @ukcph Instagram @ukcph www.uky.edu/publichealth
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12
KPHA & CPH RESEARCH DAY
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: THE EGGUMS
08 HOPE FOR THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN KENTUCKY
Dear Friends and Alumni: As I write to you, Commencement is days away. This week we will send 74 new graduates – including our first full cohort of 40 Bachelor of Public Health students – across the stage and into the world. It has been my privilege to get to know these graduating students over lunches, through research presentations, and as leaders on College committees. In talking with our students, I have found a common thread: they are all motivated to change the health of the world for the better. For some, this means going on to research and academic careers themselves, to continue to generate knowledge to improve health. For others, it means working with government agencies, non-profits, and community health organizations to put boots on the ground to create better health outcomes for people in Kentucky and beyond. Our students are the reason we exist as a College. Even when we are focused on activities outside the classroom, like research and professional service, we seek to involve students, to give them realworld experience in public health, and to inspire them to change their world for the better. Our global connections help the next generation of public health professionals create local impact as alumni. Alumni and supporters play a critical role in our mission. We want to stay in touch with you – not just at annual giving time, but year-round as we
seek connections to help us grow as a College, recruit the best faculty and staff, and become the first-choice College for students seeking a career in public health. We have big goals. Some of them are tangible wishlist items, like a new facility to house our entire College. Others are about creating a culture of growth, mentorship, and generosity with time and knowledge for our students and young alumni. If it has been a while since you were in touch with the College, I ask you to connect with us. You can find us on social media, on the web, and on campus. Please make sure we have your updated contact information, so you can follow – and join – our quest to grow as a College, to build health champions, and to improve health in the Commonwealth and beyond. As always, thank you for your continuing support of our College.
Donna K. Arnett, PhD, MSPH Dean, UK College of Public Health
SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 1 ]
GRADUATE
UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENT PROFILE
STUDENT PROFILE
RITHVI MELANTA
DAKOTA HALBERT
WHY CPH? “I was interested in health care management and wanted to get out of state. Then I met Dr. Martha Riddell, the MHA Program Director. Scot McIntosh [Director of Student Success] helped me find funding. I could tell they really cared about me as a person.”
WHY CPH? “As a Robinson Scholar, I always knew I was coming to UK,” says Dakota.
MHA Class of 2017 Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
A visit to the campus and Lexington sealed the deal for Rithvi. “Lexington is big enough that there are so many young people and opportunities. I felt like I could grow here. CPH feels like a small college in a big university.” WHAT’S NEXT? Rithvi is on her way to North Carolina for a two-year post-graduate administrative fellowship at Duke Health. She credits UK MHA alumni connections for helping her snag the prestigious position.
BPH Class of 2017 Hometown: Irvine, Kentucky
The Robinson Scholars program, which begins for students as high school freshmen, offers full scholarships and mentorship to outstanding students from 29 Eastern Kentucky counties. Dakota enrolled at UK as a Biology major, then switched to Health and Human Services. After investigating the graduate programs at CPH, he learned about the BPH degree as a foundation for public health professionals. Director of Undergraduate Advising Marilyn Underwood helped him see how the BPH could prepare him to achieve his goals.
“Alumni helped me prepare for my post-graduate plans,” says Rithvi. “They offered their time to me for phone calls, career advice, and even mock interviews. I want to give that back to somebody else.”
What sold him, though? The small classes and personal attention of CPH.
LIFE ADVICE: “What you put into something is what you’ll get out of it.”
WHAT’S NEXT? Dakota will re-enroll at CPH this fall as a graduate student in the Master of Public Health program. In the long term, he plans to gain experience in a clinical environment, then work toward a career in health management. In line with the mission of Robinson Scholars and his desire to make a difference, Dakota plans to stay in Kentucky to use his education and leadership skills to eliminate health disparities in Appalachia.
“The College of Public Health has a family feel, just like Robinson Scholars,” Dakota says.
LIFE ADVICE: “Go where you are needed.”
[ 2 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | SUMMER 2017
SULLIVAN MEDALLION KYLE HANCOCK
BPH Class of 2016 | MPH Class of 2018
Kyle Hancock received the Sullivan Medallion, the highest award the University of Kentucky presents for humanitarian efforts, in April 2017. Kyle is a 2016 BPH graduate and is currently enrolled in the MPH program with concentrations in environmental health and epidemiology and a certificate in public health management. Kyle was inspired to pursue public health as a career, when, in the summer after his freshman year, he went to Haiti as part of a health care team. Being part of a team helping hundreds of people in need, he realized that the systematic approach of public health was the answer to improving lives. Kyle also worked to help populations in need through his Chellgren Student Fellowship research project on the effectiveness of earthquake early warning systems. He is now engaged in a graduate practicum at the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies.
GAINES FELLOWSHIP
VANMETER AWARD
MICHAEL REGARD
ESIAS BEDINGAR
BPH Class of 2017
Michael is the first CPH student to be named to the John R. and Joan B. Gaines Fellowship. Designed to enrich undergraduate experience in the humanities, the fellowship is awarded to 12 rising juniors at UK each year. Gaines Fellows take special courses in the humanities throughout their junior and senior years. They must complete a jury project focusing on community improvement during their junior year, and write and defend a thesis project their senior year. Michael plans to use photography for his jury project, turning the lens on social determinants of health in marginalized groups, including homeless and prison populations. For his senior thesis, he plans to study the role of fashion and sartorial representation in countering the effects of low socioeconomic status on health disparities. Michael has worked closely with Dr. Julia Costich, professor of Health Management and Policy.
BPH Class of 2018
Esias received the 2017 Darrell A. VanMeter Award for Outstanding Community Service. The award is sponsored by the UK Center for Community Outreach in the office of Student Activities and Organizations. The awards committee stated that they “were very impressed by … [his] work creating an NGO targeted toward eradicating Malaria.” Esias also presented at the 2017 National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) on “Brainwave Signatures for Detecting Malingered Neurocognitive Deficit (MNCD).”
SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 3 ]
CCTS Conference & CPH Research Day March 30, 2017
Held in conjunction with the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science Conference, College of Public Health Research Day offered students the chance to present their research to peers, professors, and professionals from across the University.
6 26 CPH Students Gave... &
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
CPH Research Awards
MADELYN MCDONALD BPH 2017 Winner, Oral Presentation
ANGEL ALGARIN
MPH 2017 Runner Up, Oral Presentation
ELIZABETH RHODUS PhD Candidate, Gerontology Winner, Poster Presentation
MENG LIU
PhD Candidate, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Runner Up, Poster Presentation
MARIA POLITIS DrPH Candidate | Runner Up, Poster Presentation
Student Abstracts, Video Presentations, & Poster PDFs can be found at:
www.uky.edu/publichealth/CCTS-2017
[ 4 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | SUMMER 2017
KPHA Annual Conference CPH students returned from the 2017 Kentucky Public Health Association conference with memories, professional connections, and top honors. For the first time ever, KPHA named the UK Student Public Health Association as the number one student chapter in the Commonwealth. MPH student Allie Merritt took second place statewide for her research poster presentation.
Top left: SPHA officers Allie Merritt, Natalie Littlefield, Madi Shore, and Shelby Ferrell, accepting the chapter award from KPHA President Andrew Beckett. Top right: CPH instructor Megan Pilar, left, with Allie Merritt. Bottom left: Students enjoy their first professional conference.
SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 5 ]
National Public Health Week April 3-9, 2017
CPH celebrated National Public Health Week with five days of student-focused programming. From an interactive talk with the US Department of Health and Human Services to sharing the importance of public health with the entire UK campus, the College celebrated NPHW with style and substance, attracting recognition from near and far, including a print feature by the American Public Health Association in their coverage of NPHW in The Nation’s Health. The College hosted a videoconference with Dr. Chris Jones, director of the Division of Science Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US Department of Health and Human Services. In a session moderated by Dr. April Young, assistant professor of Epidemiology, Dr. Jones spoke with students about the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic on communities nationwide. Nearly 100 students participated in the videoconference at two on-campus sites.
[ 6 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | SUMMER 2017
The Kentucky Department for Public Health Mobile Health Harm Reduction Unit, a mobile pharmacy, visited CPH to give guided tours of their equipment. The unit can respond quickly to natural or man-made disaster areas. It has also been activated to distribute potentially life-saving naloxone to opioid users in hard-hit regions. In the signature event of NPHW at CPH, more than 100 students, joined by faculty and staff, participated in the “We Are Public Health Walk” across campus, sharing the diversity of people and professions in public health with the UK community. Students also participated in a BPH Career Fair, research presentations, and the “This is Public Health” photo contest.
During NPHW, CPH shared our message of “Health for All Y’all” at UK and beyond.
SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 7 ]
Hope for the Opioid Epidemic in Kentucky By pill or by needle, Kentuckians are dying at record rates from opioid overdoses.
The opioid epidemic is a nationwide problem, with Kentucky bearing a heavier burden of drug overdose than most states. Here are the facts: • • • • • • • •
Opioids are the leading cause of overdose (OD) in the US. Nearly half are caused by prescription drugs. Illicit opioids include heroin and fentanyl. More than half a million OD deaths occurred in the US between 2000 and 2015. OD deaths in the US quadrupled from 1999 to 2015. Kentucky has the 3rd-highest rate of OD deaths in the US. In Kentucky, OD deaths increased 21 percent in one year (2014 to 2015). The most affected areas of Kentucky are Louisville, Lexington, and Eastern Kentucky/Appalachia.
What is happening? Opioid addictions typically begin with drugs prescribed for pain. Opioid pain relievers are powerful treatments; they are also highly addictive. New guidelines limit the prescribing of opioids in clinics and emergency rooms. But for those already addicted, cutting off their supply of prescription drugs can drive them toward even more dangerous substitutes. Heroin is unregulated, and often mixed with even deadlier drugs like fentanyl. Illegal opioids have the potential to be even more addictive than prescription drugs and to kill faster. Use of injectable drugs also raises risks of HIV and Hepatitis C.
[ 8 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | SUMMER 2017
What are we doing to help? CPH is at the forefront of the effort to stem the tide of addiction in Kentucky and beyond. Here are a just a few ways we have an impact: The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) received a $7.2 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to combat drug overdoses. KIPRC works to evaluate overdose prevention related policies and practices. Its research supports expansion of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) system as a public health surveillance tool, and to improve clinical controlled substance prescribing practices.
Terry Bunn, PhD KIPRC Director
KIPRC leads the Kentucky Drug Overdose Prevention Program (KDOPP). The program works to enhance and maximize the effectiveness of KASPER, to use actionable data to inform community coalition drug overdose prevention interventions and policies, and to conduct drug overdose prevention related policy evaluations. KIPRC, with support from CDC Prevention for States funding, launched the Drug Overdose Technical Assistance Core (DOTAC) to support local health departments, community coalitions, and state and local agencies in their efforts to address substance misuse, abuse, and overdose. DOTAC’s goal is to support and enhance the ability of local agencies and community organizations to access timely data and analytical results on controlled substance prescribing and trends in drug related morbidity and mortality. Through the Kentucky Safe Communities Network, KIPRC has been active in promoting needle exchanges in Kentucky communities to reduce the spread of infectious disease. As a bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health, KIPRC, was awarded a $400,000 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to develop data-driven multidisciplinary approaches to reduce prescription drug abuse and overdoses in Kentucky. The award is a collaborative effort between criminal justice and public health agencies to address the devastating problem of drug abuse and overdose in Kentucky.
Hefei Wen, PhD
Dr. Hefei Wen, assistant professor of Health Management and Policy, has authored papers on Medicaid expansion and opioid addiction recovery. Her research has been cited by the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in policy recommendations. Dr. Ty Borders, professor of Health Management and Policy and Foundation for a Health Kentucky Endowed Chair in Rural Health Policy, has investigated rural substance use and treatment access as a principal investigator on grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). He is the director of the Rural and Underserved Health Research Center.
Ty Borders, PhD
Dr. April Young, assistant professor of Epidemiology: is the principal investigator on grants from NIDA, and the National Institute of Mental Health to study opioid users at risk of HIV, Hepatitis C, and overdose. As part of her research, Dr. Young studies the impact of social media on drug use. CPH has ongoing partnerships with local health departments, the Kentucky Department for Public Health, and law enforcement communities.
April Young, PhD
SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 9 ]
Partnering with Communities: Helping Parents In Appalachia When very young children exhibit disruptive behavior, the risk of later antisocial behaviors - including substance abuse, school failure, and criminality - escalates significantly. Evidence-based behavioral parent training (BPT) interventions show efficacy in preventing the negative outcomes and costs associated with disruptive behavior problems. Risk factors for child disruptive behavior: • Poverty • Lack of education • Substance abuse in the home • Mental health disorders in the home • Population health disparities Barriers to BPT intervention in rural communities: • Shortages of mental health providers create a barrier to BPT interventions. • Stigma prevents parents from seeking services in mental health centers or schools. A CPH team led by Dr. Christina Studts, assistant professor of Health, Behavior & Society, is conducting a project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to pilot-test the training and delivery of BPT by local community health workers in five rural Appalachian counties. The health workers are familiar and trusted individuals in their communities and have direct access to families in need of BPT intervention.
Dr. Studts and the trainees discuss effective limit-setting strategies with young children.
In February 2017, project staff spent a week in Hazard, Kentucky, at the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH), where they engaged in hands-on training with local health workers. The CPH team included Studts; Dr. Angela Carman, assistant professor of Health, Behavior & Society; Julie Jacobs, project director; Meagan Pilar, CPH instructor; and Allie Merritt, MPH student. They were joined by faculty from the UK College of Social Work, as well as staff from the CERH and Kentucky Homeplace. Community health workers will now work with local parents to deliver BPT with the goal of improving outcomes for families and children.
“In the region of Appalachia, at least one in five children exhibits sub-clinical to clinical levels of disruptive behavior problems.”
Pictured: Back row - Wayne Noble, Jennifer Wilson, Julie Jacobs Front row - Meagan Pilar, Allie Merritt, Bonnie Riley, Rita Owsley, Christina Studts, Diana Cornett, Connie Ritchie
[ 10 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | SUMMER 2017
Long-Term Intervention Reduces Sexual Violence Among Teens Dr. Ann Coker, professor of Epidemiology, and Dr. Heather Bush, associate professor of Biostatistics, led a study testing the “Green Dot” bystander intervention program in Kentucky high schools over five years. By Year 4, compared to survey data before program implementation, sexual violence victimization rates were 13 percent lower in the intervention schools versus controls. “In this study, we sought to change the culture that supports violence in high schools, and making these changes requires time,” said Coker. Coker and Bush both hold appointments in the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women. Other CPH researchers included students Emily Clear and Candace Brancato and MPH alumna Lisandra Garcia.
PEEL
SEXUAL VIOLENCE BYSTANDER INTERVENTION STUDY By the Numbers:
25 HIGH SCHOOLS 5 YEARS 89,707 SURVEYS COMPLETED IN VIOLENCE Year 2 REDUCTIONS ACCEPTANCE
REDUCTIONS IN Years 4-5 CONSISTENT SEXUAL VIOLENCE $1.55 M IN CDC FUNDING
Cost OF SEXUAL ASSAULT PROGRAMS THE COST OF TRAINING Sharing SHARED INTERVENTION COUNSELORS THE KENTUCKY ASSOCIATION
Practice and Experiential Education Lab
New for the 2016-2017 academic year, the Practice and Experiential Education Lab (PEEL) offers realworld experience for students while also providing critical services to our public health practice partners. Under the direction of Dr. Angela Carman, Director of Practice and Experiential Education, students work on survey development and analysis, literature reviews, social media, grant writing, and more. Lead PEEL student Emily Edmiston, MPH Class of 2017, worked in collaboration with three local health departments to write a successful $10,000 grant application to the Center for Sharing Public Health Services. The grant will fund the “Tri-County Get Fit Challenge” in Bourbon, Clark, and Montgomery counties in central Kentucky. Pictured: Hanna Caselton, Emily Edmiston, Dr. Angela Carman, Madi Shore, Nicole Fields
SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 11 ]
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:
MPH GRADS CONNECT WITH CAREERS… AND EACH OTHER
Jan & John Eggum
MPH Graduates Class of 2004 (Jan) and 2007 (John) “Who is that guy?” In 2004, Jan Hamon was an MPH student at CPH. On a class break, she noticed a classmate – John Eggum. She struck up a conversation with John, impressed by “the whole package” of his personality and looks. The two began dating, and had what Jan now describes as an “off and on” relationship. Then one day in 2007, John brought up shopping for an engagement ring. “Oh! We’re in a serious relationship!” thought Jan. By the end of 2007, they were married. Today the couple have dual careers in public health, both working with chemical and occupational safety. Jan is the Lab Safety Specialist and Chemical Hygiene Officer for laboratories at UK, and John is the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) Manager at the US Army Blue Grass Chemical Activity in Richmond, Ky. The Activity mission is safe and secure storage of the last inventory of chemical weapons (GB and VX nerve agent, as well as H “mustard” blister agent). Both credit their MPH training for their professional success.
“It was a well-rounded public health education, so I could plug in anywhere in the field,” said John. “It prepared me well. The technical information is right on,” said Jan. Beyond the classroom, both Jan and John emphasize the importance of the connections they made at CPH (even those that didn’t end with a walk to the altar). John found his position with CSEPP through a fellow MPH student. Jan’s UK connections paved the way for her current job on campus. “Public health is a broad field, but the community is connected,” said John. Jan offers advice to current students: “The College of Public Health gives you knowledge, but be open to where it leads you.” Editor’s note: marriage not guaranteed, but professional connections are a given for CPH graduates.
[ 12 ] UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | SUMMER 2017
Dear Friends of CPH, Fewer than 20 years ago, the UK College of Public Health was founded by a group of faculty, staff, students, and university leaders with the spark of a dream: to make CPH the catalyst to improve health in the Commonwealth and beyond through teaching, research, and service. Today, the College is thriving, with a diverse and academically strong student body taught by exceptional faculty who also produce world-class research. The intellectual contributions of our scholars, coupled with our valuable community partnerships, have made the College a leader in public health in Kentucky and around the world. But the best is yet to come! There is so much more we can do; we owe it to our college’s founders, alumni, students, and faculty to aim high and keep the flame burning bright for the next generation of public health torchbearers.
Our goals are bold. They include: • • • • • •
A building to house the College of Public Health under one roof, Development of a Population Health Center, Increasing scholarship opportunities for students, Collaborative programs to address the opioid epidemic, Multi-sectoral collaborations between public health and other partners to tackle cancer prevention, and Expanding efforts to find solutions to prevention of chronic diseases in rural communities.
May we count on you joining us? We need funds, yes, but we also need friends. We need the connections of our alumni and supporters to make inroads with potential donors, corporate sponsors, and community partners.
Here are a few ways you can help: • • • • •
Make a gift to CPH, Establish a student scholarship fund, Help us identify individuals and corporations who have a passion for fighting health disparities, Help identify those who want to increase preventive measures to fight illness and addiction, or Include CPH in your estate plans.
If you wish to take an active role in the future of the College, please contact me at shelley.ward@uky.edu or by phone at (859) 323-4551. Thank you for your steady encouragement and support as we continue to advance the College of Public Health. Sincerely,
Shelley Ward Director of Philanthropy SUMMER 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH | [ 13 ]
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 51 LEXINGTON, KY
College of Public Health University of Kentucky 111 Washington Avenue Lexington, KY 40536
www.uky.edu/publichealth An Equal Opportunity University
“Our Vision is to be a Catalyst of Positive Change for Population Health”