Faculty Listing

Dr. Kathy Black

Title: Professor and Affiliate Professor, College of Public Health
CV:  View CV
Phone: 941-359-4584
Email: kblack@usf.edu
Office: C253
Area of Interest: Age-Friendly Communities, Aging in Place/ Community, Environmental Gerontology, Advance Care Planning, Geriatric Mental Health, Healthcare Professional Communication

Kathy Black is a Professor of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus. Dr. Black obtained her Ph.D. from SUNY Albany and Master’s Degrees in Social Work and Gerontology from the University of Southern California and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Black is Next Avenue Top 50 National Influencer in Aging, a Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar, a Fellow in the Gerontological Society of America, and Advisor for Age-Friendly Sarasota.

Dr. Black has more than 40 years of experience working in the field of aging as a practitioner, educator and researcher. Dr. Black has worked with older adults and their families in the capacity of geriatric case manager, medical social worker, and geriatric nurse in acute and long term care, hospital, nursing home, and community-based settings. Dr. Black has conducted over 200 presentations in the field of health and aging at local, state, national, and international venues. Dr. Black has been the Principal Investigator of more than a dozen grants has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications in such journals as: Journal of Community Practice, Educational Gerontology, Clinical Gerontologist, and the Journal of Applied Gerontology. Dr. Black is on the editorial boards of: Research on Aging, Ageing & Society, Social Work and Mental Health, and the Journal of Social Service Research. 

Breakthrough Research

Greenfield E.A., Black, K., Oh, P. & Pestine-Stevens, A. (in press). Theories of Community Collaboration to Advance Age-Friendly Community Change. The Gerontologist, Special Issue on Age-Friendly Environments.

Black, K. & Oh, P. (in press). Assessing American Age-Friendly Community Progress: What Have we Learned? The Gerontologist, Special Issue on Age-Friendly Environments.

Greenfield, E., Black, K., Buffel, T., & Yeh, J. (2019). Community gerontology: A framework for research, policy, and practice on communities and aging. The Gerontologist,59(5), 803–810.

“The Promise of Documentary Theatre to Counter Ageism in Age-Friendly Communities”, Dr. Kathy Black & Dr. Valerie Lipscomb - 10/30/2018

Selected Research

Carmody, J., Black, K., Bonner, A., Wolfe, M., & Fulmer, T. (2021). Advancing gerontological nursing at the intersection of age-friendly communities, health systems and public health. Journal of Gerontological Nursing,47(3),13-7.   

Black, K., & Jester, D. J. (2020). Examining older adults’ perspectives on the built environment and correlates of healthy aging in an American age-friendly community. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 7056, 1-11. 

Black, K., & Hyer, K. (2020).  Generational distinctions on the importance of age-friendly community features by older age groups. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 39, 1025-1034.

Black, K., & Lipscomb, V.B. (2017). The promise of documentary theatre to counter ageism in age-friendly communities. Journal of Aging Studies. 42, 32-37.

Hyer, K., Badana, A., Black, K., Haley, W. (2017). Preparing for Florida’s older adult population growth with user-friendly demographic maps. Florida Public Health Review.

Black, K., & Hyer, K. (2016). From Aging-in-Community to Age-friendly Community: Translating Research into Practice. The International Journal of Aging and Society.6(4),53-71.

Black, K., & Csikai, E. (2015). Dying in the Age of Choice. Journal of Social Work in Palliative & End-of-Life Care.11 (1), 27-49. [Invited Manuscript].

Black, K., & Dobbs, D.J. (2015). Community-dwelling Older Adults’ Perspectives on What Matters Most.  Activities, Adaptation & Aging. (39), 133–152.

Black, K., Dobbs, D.J., & Young, T. L. (2015). Aging in Community: Mobilizing a New Paradigm of Older Adults as a Core Social Resource. Journal of Applied Gerontology,.34(2), 219-243.

Gelman, C., Black., K., & Kaye, L.W. (2014). Engaging students in gerontological work through innovative caregiving programming: Introduction to three brief reports.  Gerontology and Geriatrics Education,35(3), 219-227.   

Gelman, C., Black., K., & Kaye, L.W. (2014). Growing the gerontological workforce through real-world research and practice: Final thoughts. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 35(3), 246-247.

Black, K. & Ziemba, N. (2014). Engaging students through gerontological research. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 35(3), 228-334.    

Sheets, D., Black, K., & Kaye, L. (2014). Who cares for caregivers? Evidence-based approaches to family support. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57(6-7), 525-530.

Black, K. (2014). Establishing Empirically-informed Practice with Cargeivers: Findings from the CARES Program. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57(6-7), 585-601.

Black, K. & Dobbs, D. J. (2014). Community-dwelling Older Adults’ Perceptions of Dignity: Core Meanings, Supports, Challenges, and Opportunities. Ageing & Society, 34(8).1292-1313.

Black, K. (2014). Multidimensional Health Assessment of the Older Adult. W. Bridgewater, MA: S.C. Publishing, Inc.

Black, K. (2014). Depression among Older Adults. W. Bridgewater, MA: S.C. Publishing, Inc.

Black, K. (2014) Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Neurocognitive Disorders: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management. W. Bridgewater, MA: S.C. Publishing, Inc.