Kadine Powell
“Within a community, public health professionals assess and evaluate the factors that can and are impacting health, health behavior and health outcomes. Then they make a plan to change behavior, improve outcomes and maintain health.”
Kadine Powell will start a new job at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department in Texas this October. As a public health associate, a position administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, her focus will be on sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention and education.
“I thought I was going to go to medical school! I served in the Air Force for 16 years, and thought I’d become a physician treating veterans,” says Powell, a student in FDU’s online public administration and public health dual-degree program.
Turns out, she wanted a career in health care but not as a doctor.
“In the Air Force, I handed out food, clothing and hand sanitizer. I taught people English and explained behaviors that promote wellness.” That sparked her interest in community wellness.
“So many factors determine health — social, cultural, socioeconomic, racial, employment, age and educational determinants, among others,” she says. “Are there grocery stores, parks, hospitals and specialty physicians in the area? Data collection and analysis play an important role in health assessment and evaluation.”
It’s critical, she says, for experts to collaborate to find public health solutions for communities.
Ultimately, Powell says, “I can’t tell you what to put on a cut or how to set a bone or draw blood. But I can look at individual and community characteristics and advocate for people.”