Program Spotlights

PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES PHD STUDENT NOMINATED for Multiple Prestigious Roles in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County

Isis Bey receives nominations for Crowns of Enterprise Awards, slated for the 2024 NASW-NC Election Ballot as a Member at Large candidate and appointed Chair of Multicultural Tobacco-Free Coalition in Mecklenburg County. She has hosted various trainings on the intersectionality between commercial tobacco use and mental health. “Momma Bey” led by Isis Bey was one of the first private mental health practices to become Tobacco-Free in North Carolina in 2021. Her leadership and expertise recognized across diverse sectors for promoting business excellence, social work advocacy, and public health initiatives.

PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES PHD STUDENT HAS PUBLISHED A RESEARCH

Ruchi Mishra, has successfully conducted a research to provide a novel approach to measure diagnosis coding intensity for a pneumonia cohort. In past,  she has contributed to designing the healthcare service delivery package for Universal Health Coverage.

For more information on the research, view article here

PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES PHD STUDENT AWARDED as a “Woman of Lifetime Achievement” for Social Justice Award by the YWCA. 

She was awarded YWCA’s Lifetime of Achievement Award for honoring  women whose lives exemplify YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all in October. 

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.

View Interview Here

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.

View Full Article Here

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.

View Full Article Here

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. 

View Full Article Here 

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.