Kate Guastaferro

Kate Guastaferro

Kate Guastaferro

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Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Co-Director of the Center for the Advancement and Dissemination of Intervention Optimization

Director of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Program

Professional overview

Kate Guastaferro, PhD is an intervention scientist by training, her work is devoted to the development, optimization, implementation and evaluation of effective, efficient, affordable and scalable interventions with high public health impact. She is an expert in the multiphase optimization (MOST) strategy and her expertise is in parent-focused, multicomponent behavioral interventions to prevent child maltreatment. Dr. Guastaferro co-led a statewide trial focused on the coordinated implementation of three evidence-base child sexual abuse prevention programs; included in this trial was the parent-focused child sexual abuse program that she developed, piloted and evaluated. Her current work is focused on the integration of intervention optimization into the prevention of child maltreatment.

Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Guastaferro was an assistant research professor in human development and family studies at the Pennsylvania State University, and an affiliate of its Prevention Research Center and Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. In 2020, she was awarded the Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health Research from the Society for Research in Child Development. She has been published in Child Maltreatment, Translational Behavioral Medicine, and the American Journal of Public Health.

Dr. Guastaferro received her PhD and MPH from Georgia State University’s School of Public Health, and her BA in anthropology from Boston University. She also completed a year of postdoctoral training at the Pennsylvania State University.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Prevention and Methodology Training Program (T32 DA017629), The Pennsylvania State University
PhD Public Health, Georgia State University
MPH Health Promotion, Georgia State University
BA Anthropology, Boston University

Honors and awards

Victoria S. Levin Award, Society for Research on Child Development (2020)
NIH Loan Repayment Program Award: Toward the Optimization of Behavioral Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment (201820192020)
Public Health Achievement Award, Georgia State University (2016)
Scarlet Key Honor Society, Boston University (2008)

Publications

Implementing a county-wide child sexual abuse prevention effort: Lessons learned from a state-government initiated prevention trial

Guastaferro, K., Murphy-Costanzo, A. S., Melchior, M. S., Cosgrove-Rooks, C., Kenyon, K., & Noll, J. G. (n.d.).

Journal title

Implementation Science Communications
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Mandated Reporting in New York State: A Policy Note

Melchior, M. S., & Guastaferro, K. (n.d.).

Journal title

Children & Youth Services Review
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Optimization of Smoking Cessation Interventions via Multiphase Optimization STrategy (MOST): Basic Concepts, Practical Considerations and New Developments

Guastaferro, K. (n.d.).
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Optimizing home visiting programs to improve reach: A case study in strategically balancing intervention effectiveness with provider time

Guastaferro, K., & Strayhorn, J. C. (n.d.).

Journal title

Child Protection Practice
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Pilot optimization trial of a sexual and reproductive health program for Latina teens and female caregivers: A study protocol

Merrill, K. G., Silva, J., Chu, W., Robermo, G., Melgoza, V., Gabino, B., Mora, C., Vargas, S., Fuentes, J., Keller-Montero, C., Courreljolles, N., Guastaferro, K., Scott-Wellington, F., Salgado, S., & Sedeno, A. (n.d.).

Journal title

Contemporary Clinical Trials
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StandUPTV: A full-factorial optimization trial to reduce sedentary screen time among adults

Keadle, S., Hasanaj, K., Leonard, K., Fernandez, A., Legato, M., Anand, H., Hagobian, T., Phillips, S., Phelan, S., Guastaferro, K., Seltzer, R., & Buman, M. (n.d.).

Journal title

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
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The ROOTS Parenting Intervention to Improve Child Emotional and Physical Health: Protocol For A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial For Black And Latiné Families

Cooper, D. K., Lupini, F., Alonzo, J., Beets, M., Guastaferro, K., McLain, A. C., Saini, S., & Prinz, R. (n.d.).

Journal title

Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
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Theatre testing a sexual and reproductive health program for Latina teens and their female caregivers: A mixed methods study.

Merrill, K. G., Silva, J., Atadero, J., Hung, I. L., Salgado, S., Cano, J. K., Nabor, V., Merrill, J., DeCelles, J., Guastaferro, K., Baumann, A., Fuentes, J., Rodriguez, L., & Donenberg, G. (n.d.).

Journal title

BMC Public Health
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Theory-based approach to increasing enrollment in a universal parent-focused child sexual abuse prevention workshop

Guastaferro, K., Myrick, J. G., & Abourjaily, E. (n.d.).

Journal title

Health Promotion Practice
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Contact

kate.guastaferro@nyu.edu 708 Broadway New York, NY, 10003
NYU School of Global Public Health
708 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

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