Department of Public Health Education

Vincent Francisco, Ph.D.

Dr. Vincent T. Francisco is an Associate Professor with the Department of Public Health Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Francisco is primarily interested in research in community development, especially for the enhancement of community integration and support, and work toward empowerment of marginalized groups to facilitate systems improvements that affect health outcomes. His current research portfolio includes research on variables associated with community systems change, building the capacity of community members for engagement in community health initiatives, and research on variables associated with population-level behavior change in community settings. Current projects include work with 5 counties in North Carolina to affect systems improvements for pregnant and parenting teens (Young Moms Connect, in partnership with the NC Division of Public Health), work with community coalitions to affect positive outcomes for youth overall (Alamance Citizens for a Drug Free Community, North Carolina Coalition Institute), and work with community coalitions to affect structural change to reduce risk among adolescents for HIV/AIDS (NIH Adolescent Trials Network).

Dr. Francisco is also the founding editor of the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice. The GJCCP is an e-journal for practitioners of community psychology and community improvement around the globe. We work with practitioners and applied researchers to share quality work and to foster a learning community that will contribute to ongoing advances in the broad field of Community Practice, both in psychology and related disciplines. The journal publishes in a variety of formats that include peer-reviewed manuscripts, videos, narrated presentations, book reviews, and vignettes of innovative community improvement initiatives.

Dr. Francisco has considerable experience in the research and evaluation of community-based intervention programs focusing on adolescent development, reduction of risk for HIV/AIDS, teen substance abuse, youth violence, teen parenthood, and chronic/cardiovascular diseases. He also has considerable experience provision of technical support for the development of coalitions. He works with community initiatives to help them build capacity for systems change, create environments in which those organizations can succeed in accomplishing their mission, and evaluate those interventions within an open systems environment.

Prior to his current position at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he was research faculty at the University of Kansas, where for 15 years he was Associate Director of the KU Work Group for Community Health and Development, and is a co-inventor (with Fawcett and Schultz) of the Community Tool Box and a host of tools for evaluating and building the capacity of community health initiatives.

Dr Francisco has a PhD in Child and Developmental Psychology, and a Master of Arts in Human Development, both from the University of Kansas Department of Human Development and Family Life (now titled the Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences).

Dr. Francisco previously served as research data coordinator in the Department of Child and Family Psychology and Psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital and the Brown University School of Medicine. That work focused on research in the areas of childhood depression, adolescent suicide, childhood survivors of cancer, enuresis and encopresis, eating disorders, stress and gestational diabetes among pregnant women, and risk factors associated with HIV/AIDS. In addition, Dr. Francisco also worked at a residential treatment facility for youth in central New Hampshire. This 50-bed residential and day treatment facility focused on the treatment of boys with emotional handicaps and behavior disorders due to a variety of experiences including childhood sexual assault, neglect, and physical abuse, as well as drug and gang involvement. This facility also had a second program focused on the day and residential treatment of boys and girls with behavior disorders due to autism and developmental disabilities. As assistant director of this facility, Dr. Francisco had primary responsibility for the intake, admission, and discharge of clients in all programs, as well as administrative functioning and licensing.

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