Keyonna M. King, DrPH, MA

Associate Professor

UNMC Department of Health Promotion
Center for Reducing Health Disparities
University of Nebraska Medical Center
College of Public Health

Professional Summary 

• 2023-present, Associate Professor, UNMC Department of Health Promotion
• 2017-2023, Assistant Professor, UNMC Department of Health Promotion
• 2016-2017, Program Evaluator, University of Nebraska Omaha, Support and Training for the Evaluation of Programs (STEPs)
• 2012-2015, Senior Research Associate, University of California Los Angeles, Clinical and Translational Science Institute/Community Engagement and Research Program (CERP)

Education

• Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Loma Linda University (2014)
• Master of Arts in Psychology with clinical emphasis, Pepperdine University (2006)
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Creighton University (2004)

Research Interests

• Applying the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach in pragmatic, community-engaged research using community partnerships with a goal to develop culturally tailored interventions that address health disparities in underserved and hard to reach populations to produce replicable and long-lasting behavior changes.
• Understanding health disparities gaps by reviewing datasets or identifying and using evidence-based strategies to address health disparities.

Selected Publications

• Grimm B, Arcari C, Ramos A, LeVan T, Brander K, King K, Siahpush M, Michaud T, Johansson P, Burke C, Topko L. Creating customized workforce development plans for medium-to-large public health departments. Pub Health Rep. 2019; doi: 10.1177/0033354919853255. [Epub ahead of print]
• Siahpush M, Robbins RE, Ramos AK, Michaud TL, Clarke MA, King KM. Does difference in physical activity between blacks and whites vary by sex, income, education, and region of residence? Results from 2008 to 2017 National Health Interview Surveys. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2019; doi: 10.1007/s40615-019-00586-9. [Epub ahead of print]
• Tibbits MK, Ndashe TP, King KM, Siahpush M. Promoting condom use through a youth-focused community-wide free condom distribution initiative. AJPH. 2018; 108: 1506-08. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304679
• Brown AF, Morris DM, Kahn KL, Sankaré IC, King KM, Vargas R, Lucas-Wright A, Jones LF, Flowers A, Jones FU, Bross R, Banner D, del Pino HE, Pitts OL, Zhang L, Porter C, Madrigal SK, Vassar SD, Vangala S, Liang L, Martinez AB, Norris KC. The Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative: Rationale and Design. Eth Dis. 2016; 26:123-132.
• King KM, Pardo YJ, Norris KC, Diaz-Romero, M, Morris DM, Vassar S, Brown AF. A community-academic partnered grant writing series to build infrastructure for partnered research. Clin Trans Sci. 2015; 8:573-578.
• King KM, Morris DM, Jones L, Lucas-Wright A, Jones F et al. The Los Angeles Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative: A Ten-Year Experience in Building and Sustaining a Successful Community-Academic Partnership. J Community Med Public Health Care. 2015; 2:1-8.

Professional Affiliations

• National Coalition of 100 Black Women Omaha Chapter, Member
• North Omaha Community Care Council, Executive Committee Member
• Public Health Association of Nebraska (PHAN), Member
• National Honor Society for Psychology (Psi Chi), Member