JPHCOPH
Nandi Marshall named the 2024 American Public Health Association’s Executive Board Chair
Georgia Southern University’s Nandi Marshall, DrPH, has been named the 2024 Executive Board Chair for the American Public Health Association. “I am currently serving a four-year term on the APHA Executive Board. The most important aspect of the new position is that I have the amazing opportunity to lead our board of public health professionals as we work to support the association and its members in our commitment to achieving health equity,” said Marshall. “My goals for the board focus on supporting the association as we work towards implementing the new strategic plan, continuing to strengthen our governance procedures, ensuring our board members are properly trained, exploring innovative financial stewardship, and facilitating engaged, connected, and visionary board members.”
Marshall specializes in maternal and child health equity. She holds a BA from Spelman College, an MPH from East Stroudsburg University and a DrPH from Georgia Southern University. She is a certified health education specialist, a certified lactation counselor, and a certified diversity executive. She is also one of the associate deans for Georgia Southern’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH).
“I could not be prouder of Dr. Marshall’s recent election to serve as Chair of the association’s Executive Board this year. APHA champions the health of all people and all communities, and her appointment is a testament to a commitment to make a difference in improving health and eliminating health disparities in the communities she serves. To be recognized by your professional peers for such a high-profile leadership role is truly impressive, and it serves as yet another reminder of the impact the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) is having on rural and underserved communities in Georgia, the region, and globally,” said Stuart Tedders, Ph.D., dean of JPHCOPH.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.-based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health professionals in the United States and hosts the largest gathering of public health professionals in the world at their annual meeting and exhibition. APHA was founded by a group of physicians and has been involved in every major significant public health program of the last 150 years.
The organization is divided into sections, special interest groups, affiliates, forums, and caucuses. Sections are the primary organizing units in APHA composed of individuals with shared interest in topics, practice areas, or conditions. Affiliates are state-based public health associations. Forums are cross-organization bodies around an interdisciplinary health topic. Special interest groups are groups organizing themselves into a section. Caucuses are outside professional organizations that are organized around social issues or populations in official relation with APHA. APHA is governed by a 24 member executive board, and led by an executive committee composed of a chair, vice-chair, president (elect and immediate), speaker, and treasurer. The legislative body of the organization is the governing council, which is composed of voting and non-voting members. Each part of the association is self-governed.
APHA has five types of membership: regular, retired, early-career professional, organizational, and student. Members receive an online subscription to the American Journal of Public Health and The Nation’s Health as well as a weekly newsletter, Inside Public Health.
Dr. Vogel receives APHS Lifetime Outstanding Service Award
Dr. Robert L. Vogel, Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, was honored with the APHS Lifetime Outstanding Service Award at the 2023 Lowell Reed Lecture and Awards Luncheon. This prestigious accolade is bestowed upon members of the APHS section who have demonstrated long-term exemplary service, leadership, mentorship, and commitment to the field of public health statistics. Annually awarded, this distinction recognizes a member who has significantly influenced the section for at least ten years. Dr. Vogel’s more than a decade-long contribution to the Applied Public Health Statistical Section of the APHA, including various leadership roles, underscores his significant impact and dedication to the field.
Georgia Southern Partners with Bulloch County High Schools, Introduces Public Health Pathway for Students
Beginning in fall 2023, a public health pathway will be offered to high school students in Bulloch County. This three-course pathway will introduce students to the broad topic of health care. The first two courses, Introduction to Healthcare Science and Essentials of Healthcare, are currently offered to high school students in the county. The new course, Applications of Public Health, will introduce students to the knowledge and skills needed for a career in public health.
The public health course was developed by the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) at Georgia Southern University. The course will be offered in an asynchronous online format, and will be facilitated by JPHCOPH Associate Dean Nandi A. Marshall, DrPH.
“It has been a dream of mine to work with the Bulloch County school system to bring the public health pathway to our high school students,” Marshall said. “We are beyond excited about the partnership, and I am thrilled to introduce the students to the amazing world of public health.”
“Public health is the prevention side of healthcare, and it affects everyone, everywhere, every day,” noted JPHCOPH Dean Stuart Tedders, Ph.D.
“The desire to improve health and quality of life is something that resonates broadly around the world,” he said. “As such, there are tremendous career opportunities for those interested in making a difference.”
JPHCOPH offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in public health. Careers in public health are diverse and plentiful, yet many students are unaware of these opportunities.
“We hope this pathway opens the door for many students that might not have otherwise known about careers in public health,” said Marshall.
JPHCOPH began working with the Bulloch County school system last September to develop the public health pathway.
“We are so excited to partner with Bulloch County Schools to finally realize this initiative to begin training future public health practitioners,” said Tedders.
Bulloch County Schools Superintendent Charles Wilson is also excited to partner with Georgia Southern to offer this pathway.
“This is another example of how we can all work together in this community to expand our offerings for our students that are relevant and purposeful,” Wilson said. “We appreciate Georgia Southern University’s efforts, particularly those of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.”
The image in the mirror or the number on the scale, which counts? When it comes to depression, it’s a weighted issue.
From mutations of coronavirus to massive shifts in technology and geopolitics, the world is changing rapidly. So, too, is the epidemiological relationship between depression and obesity.
Arsh Kaur Mallhi, a fourth-year doctoral student in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) at Georgia Southern University, recently published on this topic in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Co-authors include Georgia Southern epidemiology professors Jian Zhang, M.D., and Kelly Sullivan, Ph.D.
The study updates research conducted by Zhang 10 years ago, in which Georgia Southern students reported that what women saw in the mirror, not the number on the scale, influenced their mood. A woman who had a healthy weight but was wrongly self-perceived as being overweight was most likely to feel depressed.
Further, the concern with self-body image, although mostly misperceived, was highly prevalent among women, causing major distress or problems in social life, work, school or other areas of functioning.
Zhang believed it was time to reevaluate how the intertwined relationship between leading chronic conditions had evolved, and tasked Mallhi with research on the psychiatric impact of obesity.
New analyses conducted by the team found that among white women, actual body weight is becoming a stronger predictor of depression while self-perceived obesity is becoming less influential.
This switching pattern shows that white women have gradually paid more attention to the number on the scale. Excessive body weight, reliably detected by a scale, may contribute to depression, which can be a strong predictor of various chronic conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even cancers.
“The switch makes the efforts in promoting bodyweight-related physical and mental health more harmonious,” said Mallhi. “Unlike what was reported previously, excessive body weight is associated with both physical and mental health. The increasing popularity of the body-positivity movement might be the driver behind the diminishing association between perceived body image and depression in white women.”
Mallhi’s study found no association between body weight and depression among Black and Hispanic women, neither self-perceived nor measured by the scale.
“We should look at this from a dichotomous perspective,” said Zhang. “No relationship suggests low social pressure to maintain body weight and a low risk of psychological and emotional strains. However, low pressure to maintain a healthy body weight may also be translated into no motivation or no action to achieve a healthy weight, presenting an immense challenge to obesity-prevention efforts.”
Sullivan noted that they aren’t surprised that the relationship between body weight and depression has evolved in sex-race-specific trajectories as society becomes more diversified culturally.
“One-size-for-all public health intervention rarely exists,” she said. “A unified intervention approach may be counterproductive between segments of the population. The public health approach must be consistently fine-tuned to adapt to our rapidly evolving world. Culturally competent interventions should be explored.”
The Georgia Southern team examined data from 27,387 men and women who participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2018. Depression was ascertained using the Patient Health Questionnaire, a commonly used tool to assist primary care clinicians in screening for depression. Participants were also asked whether they considered themselves to be underweight, overweight or about the right weight before nurses measured their body weight and height to calculate their body mass index.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated both weight gains and anxiety, making addressing obesity and depression more urgent, said JPHCOPH Dean Stuart Tedders, Ph.D.
“COVID presents opportunities to address health emergencies with a newfound urgency,” Tedders said. “The JPHCOPH strives to provide opportunities to maximize each student’s potential, and more and more of our students are publishing their work in top journals to advance public health research and inform public health policy. I am very proud of what our students are achieving. Arsh’s study is just one example of the many ways in which our students are impacting the public’s health through their education and beyond.”
Georgia Southern offers new online bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public health
For more than a decade, there has been an increase in the demand for public health workers, and a shrinking public health workforce, exacerbated by pandemic burnout. To meet educational and workforce needs, Georgia Southern University is expanding its offerings in public health at multiple degree levels.
The Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) just launched a fully online Master of Public Health (MPH) with a focus in health informatics. The program is made possible in part through a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are excited to be able to offer this concentration to our online students,” said Gulzar Shah, Ph.D., JPHCOPH professor and Health Policy and Community Health Department chair. “Health informatics is a rapidly growing field and the grant will provide several graduate assistant opportunities and paid practicums to support students enrolled in this concentration.”
The graduate-level courses will focus on health information systems, data analytics and public health data visualization for evidenced-based practices. The classes will be available as elective options for students in the University’s Doctor of Public Health program.
In fall 2023, JPHCOPH will launch a fully online Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) degree with an emphasis in global health, though students will have the option to do an internship close to home.
“We hope that the online BSPH meets the needs of students who can’t attend traditional, in-person undergraduate classes, including those across the country and abroad,” said JPHCOPH Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Nandi Marshall, DrPH.
According to recent survey findings, it’s estimated that 80,000 full-time staff members are needed to fulfill fundamental public health service roles in scientific, government, academic, research and medical settings across the U.S. On a global scale, the numbers far exceed this.
“We know the demand for our programs is high, but today’s students need the flexibility of program modality,” noted JPHCOPH Dean Stuart Tedders, Ph.D. “The quality and investment of our faculty in these online programs is on a par with what we offer in traditional classrooms. Either way you are receiving the same quality education that we are known for.
“Our graduates are making a difference every day improving the health of people in Georgia and around the globe. It is imperative that we continue to respond to the needs of our students to offer excellent accredited programs in public health, in a manner that meets both their needs and our mission to improve health in our communities. That is what we are doing with these new offerings.”
For more information, visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu/JPHCOPH.