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Tyler G. James

Doctoral Candidate and Graduate School Fellow

University of Florida

Tyler G. James, MS, CHES

I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Health Education and Behavior at the University of Florida. I started working in health education/promotion in 2014, as a student assistant at GatorWell Health Promotion Services. At GatorWell, I worked with a team of health promotion specialists to develop and analyze needs assessments to inform health communication and social marketing campaigns. I also volunteered as an HIV testing and prevention counselor throughout North Central Florida, with primary focus on college student and Deaf populations. In 2017, I received my Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) credential from the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing.

Broadly, I am interested in health services research and healthcare utilization. More specifically, my research applies quantitative and mixed methods to (1) better understand the development and application of health behavior theory in research and practice, and (2) reduce health inequity among underserved populations. Guided by my experience in HIV prevention, my early research focused on STI/HIV prevention and treatment utilization among adolescents and emerging adults. However, through personal experiences and community-based partnerships, my interests evolved to focus on deaf and hard-of-hearing health equity. My work with the deaf community has included community-engaged quantitative health needs assessments and a qualitative inquiry off communication experiences in emergency settings. My dissertation, funded by a federal dissertation research award, applies mixed methods to better understand emergency department utilization among deaf and hard-of-hearing adult patients.

My research has received generous support from:

Interests

  • Health services research
  • Health behavior among Deaf and hard-of-hearing populations
  • Applied quantitative and mixed methods
  • Health behavior theory development and advancement

Education

  • Ph.D. candidate, Health and Human Performance conc. Health Behavior, Current (exp. 2021)

    University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

  • M.S. Health Education and Behavior, 2017

    University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

  • B.S. Psychology, 2016

    University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Most Recent Publication

Tyler G. James, Meagan K. Sullivan, Michael M. McKee, Stephen J. Hardy, II, Glenna Ashton, Zulma Santiago Zayas, David G. Phillips, JeeWon Cheong
May 2020

Preprint: Conducting low-cost community-engaged health research with Deaf American Sign Language users

Background. Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users represent an understudied linguistic/cultural minority group experiencing social disenfranchisement leading to a myriad of health inequities. Community-engaged and community-based participatory research is a best practice when working with Deaf ASL-users; yet, prior research using large funding mechanisms from governmental organizations is mostly unattainable by community organizations. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot survey assessing the feasibility of community-engagement methods to administer a low cost, community-oriented, accessible health survey among Deaf ASL-users in Florida. Methods. We established a community advisory workgroup of representatives from major Deaf-serving organizations and higher density localities. The community-academic partnership developed an accessible health survey available in ASL and English. The pilot survey was administered over a three-month period in summer 2018 using convenience sampling strategies including in-person recruitment at community events, and advertisements through Facebook and community e-mail lists. Results. Our recruitment strategy yielded 92 eligible, and diverse, respondents from across the state of Florida. We provide lessons learned from our strategy including considerations for including community members as translation reviewers; recruiting participants across a large geographic area with limited time; and, informed consent strategies. Conclusions. Limited resource environments are pervasive in public health practice and in the communities we serve. Using data from this pilot survey, we identified recommendations for future study methodology to improve community-orientation and participant recruitment among this priority population.

DOI

Five Most Recent Publications

Tyler G. James, Meagan K. Sullivan, Michael M. McKee, Stephen J. Hardy, II, Glenna Ashton, Zulma Santiago Zayas, David G. Phillips, JeeWon Cheong (2020). Preprint: Conducting low-cost community-engaged health research with Deaf American Sign Language users.

DOI

Meghan L Fox, Tyler G. James, Steven L Barnett (2020). Suicidal behaviors and help-seeking attitudes among deaf and hard-of-hearing college students. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

PDF DOI

Jalie A Tucker, JeeWon Cheong, Tyler G. James, Soyeon Jung, Susan A Chandler (2020). Pre‐resolution drinking problem severity profiles associated with stable moderation outcomes of national recovery attempts. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

PDF

Tyler G. James, Meagan K Sullivan, Leanne Dumeny, Katherine Lindsey, JeeWon Cheong, Guy Nicolette (2020). Health insurance literacy and health service utilization among college students. Journal of American College Health.

PDF

Tyler G. James, JeeWon Cheong, Sadie J Ryan (2019). Sexual risk factors and human immunodeficiency virus testing intention among at-risk college students who have never been tested. Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

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See all publications

Resources

DHH Health Resources
Resources for ASL Students

Contact

  • PO Box 118210, Florida Gym Room 5, Gainesville, FL 32611
  • DM Me