Biography:

Elizabeth (Beth) H. Chaney, Ph.D., CHES is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Education and Behavior, at the University of Florida (UF).  Prior to her move to UF, Dr. Chaney was an assistant professor at East Carolina University (ECU) .  Dr. Chaney received her B.S. in Biology and M.A. in Health Studies from The University of Alabama and her Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from Texas A&M University (TAMU) in August 2006. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist. 

While earning her Ph.D. at TAMU, Dr. Chaney served as a Lecturer, Graduate Research Assistant, Internship Supervisor and Graduate Teaching Assistant, as well as Assistant to the Editor and Copy Editor for the American Journal of Health Studies.

Dr. Chaney is an active member of American Association for Health Education. She serves on the Position Statement Committee, was the Student Member of the Board of Directors, a Member of the Convention Planning Committee and as Board of Directors Liaison to the Student Involvement Committee.   Dr. Chaney also served as a Co-guest Editor for International Electronic Journal of Health Education: Special Issue on Distance Education Models and Outcomes and serves as the Representative for AAHE on the development of a joint position paper with the Society of Directors of State Health, Physical Education and Recreation on quality assessment of distance education in k-12.  She also participated in the development of the joint position paper by the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association on the importance of school health education.  Dr. Chaney received an AAHE Presidential Citation in 2007.

Dr. Chaney is currently serving a five year term on the Board of Commissioners of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing and is or has been a member of the American Public Health Association, Society for Public Health Education, Eta Sigma Gamma and the American School Health Association. 

Dr. Chaney’s research focal areas include health behavior theory, technological applications in health promotion, quality assessment of distance education applications, and survey development.  Dr. Chaney has numerous publications and has conducted numerous research presentations in these areas.

Dr. Chaney’s research efforts have received funding from the United States Department of Education Grant Competition to Prevent High-Risk Drinking or Violent Behavior Among College Students.  Dr. Chaney serves as the evaluator on this recent grant award.  In addition, Dr. Chaney received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year (2007-2008) award for Texas A&M University’s Division of Health Education.    

Research Interests:

• • Technological applications in health education and promotion.
• • Quality assessment and evaluation of distance education delivery.
• • Survey development.