Payal Kahar Profile

Kahar, Payal (Ph.D.)

Associate Professor

Department of Health Sciences

MARIEB 0326

Global Health | Health Education | Needs Assessment | Program Planning

Dr. Payal Kahar is a Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. Dr. Kahar has previously worked at Fort lewis College, Durango and Texas A&M University. She now focuses her teaching and research on global health, health education and health disparities. A major focus of her research efforts is exploring oral health disparities among rural populations in developing nations and health disparities in immigrant populations in the United States. Dr. Kahar is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in Global Public Service Academy and an affiliate faculty with FGCU Water School.

She is active as a member of committees in Southwest Florida as well as national public health organizations. She has been a member of American Public health Association, Society for Public Health Education and continues to be a member of Immokalee Interagency Council.

Clinical Experiences:

Dr. Kahar has practiced dentistry in India.

Education
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- Ph.D in Health Education, Texas A&M University
- MPH in Epidemiology, Texas A&M Health Science Center
- Bachelor's in Dental Surgery, GITAM Dental College and Hospital
Specialties
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- Dental Public Health
- Health Disparities in rural and immigrant populations
Research and Teaching Interests
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- In the past, Dr. Kahar has looked at the burden of oral diseases and their socio-ecological determinants in developing countries like India, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
- She has also explored oral health-related quality of life among hemodialysis patients in Southwest Florida.
- Her recent research studies include investigating the effectiveness of outreach programs in improving health outcomes among immigrant populations in Immokalee.
Courses Offered
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- Global Health Systems & Issues
- Needs Assessment & Program Planning
- Health Education Foundations
- Research Methods
- Healthy Community
- Public Health
- Internship
Publications
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• Kahar, P., Negroni, LK. (2020). Results from brief educational intervention and health screenings: a community health study of Latinos in Southwest Florida. Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 9: 148.
• Kahar, P., Negroni LK. (2020). Assessment of self-reported mental health and acculturation stress among foreign-born and U.S.-Latinos in Immokalee, Florida-a pilot study. Journal of Social, Behavioral and Health Sciences. 14 (2020)

• Kahar, P., Chapman, C., Gupta, J. (2019). Assessment of the effect of oral health on quality of life and oral health indicators among ESRD patients in Southwest Florida – a pilot study. International Journal of Dentistry. ID 1608329.

• Kahar, P. (2019). Patterns of oral hygiene behaviors, daily habits and caries prevalence in India and Dominican Republic: A comparative study. Indian Journal of Dental Research. 30 (1) 87-93.

• Kahar, P., Harvey, IS., Tisone, CA., Khanna, D. (2017) Prevalence of dental caries, patterns of oral hygiene behaviors, and daily habits in rural central India: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry. 14 (4) 389-396.
Conference Presentations
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Dr. Kahar has presented at:
- National Oral Health Conference
- American Public Health Association
- FGCU Research Day
Grants & Awards
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- Global Public Service Academy, Assessing oral health among Mayan population in Belize, $5000October 2019-Present
Title/Role: Principal Investigator
- Southwest Florida Community Foundation, The Immokalee Health Project, $70,000 January 2020- Present
Title/Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Kahar, Payal (Ph.D.)

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