Dr. Amanda Kong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and faculty at the TSET Health Promotion Research Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Hudson College of Public Health and an Associate Member of the Stephenson Cancer Center.
Dr. Kong is a public health and policy researcher who employs geographic information systems and equity-centered analyses to understand how cancer-related health behaviors and outcomes are related to the social and built environments in which people live, work, and interact. She is interested in partnering with community organizations and members to identify ways to promote healthy and just neighborhoods. Dr. Kong also seeks to understand the commercial determinants of health with a focus on the inequitable availability and marketing of unhealthy commodities, such as tobacco and alcohol products. She critically evaluates the potential for public health interventions and policies to eliminate or unintentionally exacerbate racialized and socioeconomic health inequities.
Dr. Kong has expertise in critical public health, health behavior, tobacco control, intersectionality, geographic information systems (GIS), and multilevel quantitative methods. Dr. Kong has served as a paid expert consultant in litigation against the tobacco industry, and she has published in leading tobacco control and public health journals, including Tobacco Control, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and Health & Place. Her work has also been cited by leading public health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Public Health Law Center.
Please contact Dr. Kong at Amanda-Kong@OUHSC.edu if you are interested in collaborative or mentorship opportunities.
Academic Section(s):
OUFMC Research Division
Education:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, PhD, 2020, Health Behavior
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, MPH, 2016, Health Behavior
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, BA, 2012, Human Biology
Clinical/Research Interests:
- Built and lived environment
- Geosocial health equity
- Commercial determinants of health
- Tobacco control
- Point-of-sale marketing
- Cancer prevention and control
- Geographic information systems
- Intersectionality
- Critical public health
Funding:
CURRENT:
Multi-Principal Investigator
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The COVID-19 Cancer Study (CovCS): Exploring disparities in the effects of the pandemic on cancer survivors’ health behaviors and outcomes
04/01/2021 - 03/01/2023
Co-Investigator
National Cancer Institute, P01CA225597
ASPiRE: Advancing Science & Practice in the Retail Environment
MPI: Kurt Ribisl, Lisa Henriksen, Doug Luke
09/01/2018 - 08/31/2023
Co-Investigator
National Cancer Institute, R01CA231139
Adoption, diffusion, and implementation of Tobacco 21 policies to address health disparities
MPI: Cristine Delnevo, Shawna Hudson
07/01/18-06/30/23
COMPLETED:
Co-Investigator
National Institute on Drug Abuse, R01DA043468
The Determinants of Tobacco Relapse and Initiation Following a Period of Forced Abstinence in the U.S. Military: A Social Ecological Approach
PI: Melissa Little
08/01/18-02/28/23
Postdoctoral Trainee
National Cancer Institute, T32CA128582
Cancer Health Disparities Training Program
MPI: Eugenia Eng, Deborah Tate (University of North Carolina)
08/01/2020 - 07/31/2021
Principal Investigator
National Cancer Institute, F31CA239331
Associations of tobacco retailer density with neighborhood sociodemographics, individual smoking behaviors, & COPD hospital discharge rates: A spatial health approach
12/01/2019 - 07/31/2020
Principal Investigator
Royster Society of Fellows Dissertation Completion Fellowship; The Graduate School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Associations of tobacco retailer density with neighborhood sociodemographics, individual smoking behaviors, & COPD hospital discharge rates: A spatial health approach
8/20/2019 - 05/31/2020
Select Publications:
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
- Tunstall H, Shortt NK, Kong AY, & Pearce J. (2022). Is tobacco a driver of footfall amongst small retailers? A geographical analysis of tobacco purchasing using electronic point-of-sale data. Epub ahead of print. Tobacco Control. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057089
- Reimold AE, Kong AY, Delamater PL, Baggett CD, Golden SD. Urban-rural differences in tobacco product availability in food retailers, United States, 2017. J Rural Health. 2022 Jun 16;. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12687. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 35708094.
- Kowitt SD, Cox MJ, Jarman KL, Kong AY, Sivashanmugam A, Cornacchione Ross J, Goldstein AO, Ranney LM. Communicating the risks of tobacco and alcohol co-use. Addict Behav. 2022 May 31;134:107383. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107383. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 35700653.
- Kong AY & Henriksen L. Retail endgame strategies: Reduce tobacco availability and visibility and promote health equity. Tob Control. 2022 Mar 3. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056555. [Epub ahead of print].
- Kong AY, Golden SD, Ribisl KM, Krukowski RA, Vandegrift SM, Little MA. Cheaper tobacco product prices at US Air Force Bases compared with surrounding community areas, 2019. Tob Control. 2021 Dec 14. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056984. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34907089.
- Weinberger AH, Steinberg ML, Mills SD, Dermody SS, Heffner JL, Kong AY, Pang RD, Rosen RL. Assessing sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and mental health concerns in tobacco use disorder treatment research: Measurement challenges and recommendations from a Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) pre-conference workshop. Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Oct 8. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab201. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34622932.
- Kong AY, Delamater PL, Gottfredson NC, Ribisl KM, Baggett CD, Golden SD. Sociodemographic inequities in tobacco retailer density: Do neighboring places matter? Health Place. 2021 Sep;71:102653. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102653. Epub 2021 Aug 27. PubMed PMID: 34461529; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8490323.
- Kong AY, Gottfredson NC, Ribisl KM, Baggett CD, Delamater PL, Golden SD. Associations of County Tobacco Retailer Availability with U.S. Adult Smoking Behaviors, 2014-2015. Am J Prev Med. 2021 Jun 13. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.03.015. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34134883; NIHMSID:NIHMS1704044.
- Kong AY, Delamater PL, Gottfredson NC, Ribisl KM, Baggett CD, Golden SD. Neighborhood Inequities in Tobacco Retailer Density and the Presence of Tobacco-Selling Pharmacies and Tobacco Shops. Health Educ Behav. 2021 Apr 19:10901981211008390. doi: 10.1177/10901981211008390. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33870767; NIHMSID:NIHMS1716669.
- Kong AY, Baggett CD, Gottfredson NC, Ribisl KM, Delamater PL, Golden SD. Associations of tobacco retailer availability with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease related hospital outcomes, United States, 2014. Health Place. 2021 Jan;67:102464. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102464. Epub 2020 Dec 1. PubMed PMID: 33276261; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7854476.
- Kong AY, Queen TL, Golden SD, Ribisl KM. Neighborhood Disparities in the Availability, Advertising, Promotion, and Youth Appeal of Little Cigars and Cigarillos, United States, 2015. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Dec 12;22(12):2170-2177. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa005. PubMed PMID: 31917833; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7733061.
- Kong AY, King BA. Boosting the Tobacco Control Vaccine: recognizing the role of the retail environment in addressing tobacco use and disparities. Tob Control. 2020 Sep 23. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055722. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32967986.
- Kong AY, Zhang X. The Use of Small Area Estimates in Place-Based Health Research. Am J Public Health. 2020 Jun;110(6):829-832. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305611. Epub 2020 Apr 16. PubMed PMID: 32298183; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7204458.
- Kong AY, Myers AE, Isgett LF, Ribisl KM. Neighborhood racial, ethnic, and income disparities in accessibility to multiple tobacco retailers: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 2015. Prev Med Rep. 2020 Mar;17:101031. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.101031. eCollection 2020 Mar. PubMed PMID: 32021758; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6993011.
- Kong AY, Golden SD, Berger MT. An intersectional approach to the menthol cigarette problem: what’s race(ism) got to do with it?. Critical public health. 2019; 29(5):616-623. doi: 10.1080/09581596.2018.1478066.
- Kong AY, Derrick JC, Abrantes AS, Williams RS. What is included with your online e-cigarette order? An analysis of e-cigarette shipping, product and packaging features. Tob Control. 2018 Nov;27(6):699-702. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2016-053061. Epub 2016 Jun 29. PubMed PMID: 27357936; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5199627.
- Golden SD, Kong AY, Lee JGL, Ribisl KM. Disparities in cigarette tax exposure by race, ethnicity, poverty status and sexual orientation, 2006-2014, USA. Prev Med. 2018 Mar;108:137-144. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.12.017. Epub 2017 Dec 28. PubMed PMID: 29289642; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6030689.
- Kong AY, Eaddy JL, Morrison SL, Asbury D, Lindell KM, Ribisl KM. Using the Vape Shop Standardized Tobacco Assessment for Retail Settings (V-STARS) to Assess Product Availability, Price Promotions, and Messaging in New Hampshire Vape Shop Retailers. Tob Regul Sci. 2017 Apr;3(2):174-182. doi: 10.18001/TRS.3.2.5. Epub 2017 Apr 1. PubMed PMID: 29201950; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5708590.
- Golden SD, Kong AY, Ribisl KM. Racial and Ethnic Differences in What Smokers Report Paying for Their Cigarettes. Nicotine Tob Res. 2016 Jul;18(7):1649-55. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntw033. Epub 2016 Feb 13. PubMed PMID: 26874329; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4902891.
Links to full published works: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/amanda.kong.1/bibliography/public/