Dr. Kayla Fair
Assistant Professor, Department of Population & Community Health
Education & Experience:
I earned the DrPH degree from Texas A&M University, an MPH degree from The University of Arizona, and a BSN degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. While at Texas A&M, I also earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management with an emphasis on Fiscal and Performance Management from the George Bush School of Government and Public Policy. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care. Prior to pursuing a career in public health, I worked as a registered nurse in several different settings, including pediatrics, transplant, and critical care.
Teaching Areas & Public Health Interests:
I have had the opportunity to teach public health concepts in clinical, community, academic and organizational settings. As a registered nurse, public health educator and researcher, I have more than 15 years of experience communicating complex information to both lay audiences and scientists/medical professionals. I have developed and facilitated health promotion trainings on a variety of topics with children as young as 4 and with adults at every stage of life. I have trained and mentored nursing graduates, high school students, undergraduate and graduate students with interests in healthcare, public health and research careers. Currently, I teach BACH 5300: Theoretical Foundations for Individual and Community Health, Participatory Approaches to Improving Community Health (BACH 5345), and Public Health Practice Experience (PHED 5297). I also have the privilege of chairing SPH’s Interprofessional Practice Education Committee, which develops interprofessional practice education activities for the School of Public Health.
Professional Activities & Awards:
I am a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the Texas Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association (ANA), the Texas Nurses Association (TNA) and the Delta Omega Honor Society in Public Health.
Scholarly Interests:
As an early career nurse, I witnessed the devastating effects that chronic medical conditions could have on patients and their families, especially among uninsured and other vulnerable populations. My research interests include increasing the capacity of organizations to effectively deliver health promotion strategies that address the social determinants of health. Specifically, I am interested in how organizational culture facilitates or hinders the adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of health promotion programs. I have also been involved with several research initiatives, including: childhood obesity prevention projects in Title 1 schools in Texas; multi-level interventions to promote physical activity among breast cancer survivors; exercise and treatment outcomes among patients being treated for Major Depressive Disorder; and community-focused projects to reduce health disparities among underinsured and uninsured patients in the North Texas region.
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