Francoise Kendall
assistant professor of clinical community health sciences

Department(s):
Community Health Sciences

Email:
fkendall@tulane.edu

Research Interests:
Women’s health; reproductive and sexual health; cultural aspects of health; health seeking behavior; program monitoring and evaluation.

Professional Achievements:
2008- 2009, Clinical Assistant Professor, Tulane University
2006-2009, College Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
2000-2006, Training Director for the Louisiana Family Planning Title X grant Training
1998-2000, International Consultant 1989- 1995, Obgyn/public health nurse

Educational Background:
MPH, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA
MA, (equivalent) in Ethnology, University of Neuchatel, Switzerland
BS (equivalent) in Nursing, Lausanne, Switzerland

Course(s) Taught:
Behaviors and social aspects of health (Tulane, SPHTM)
Women’s health (New Mexico State University)
Intro to ObGyn (Tulane, SPHTM)
Health care of women (Tulane, SPHTM)
Human sexuality (New Mexico State University)
Program monitoring and evaluation (Tulane, SPHTM)

Personal Statement:
As a clinical faculty, my role is to enhance students’ opportunities to learn the practice of public health and help them link their newly acquired academic knowledge with the reality of the field. What makes me suitable for this endeavor is the versatility of my educational background, which combines nursing, anthropology and public health, the many years of professional experience in both developed and developing countries, and the fact that I love teaching. I started my career as an ObGyn nurse in a hospital in Switzerland but I quickly felt the need to apply my skills to where there is greater demand such as in sub-Saharan countries. Since my first “African” experience in a rural dispensary in Cameroon, I have had the opportunity to apply my expertise in women and reproductive health to a wide range of health programs and research projects. In Ethiopia, I introduced the female condom and conducted an acceptability study with commercial sex workers. In Namibia, I evaluated their national HIV counseling program. In Madagascar, I trained the Ministry of Health’s staff in using community-based participatory research. Teaching has always been an important aspect of my work. I taught and provided training to a wide range of laypeople and health professionals on a wide range of topics. I co-taught a introductory course on medical anthropology to first year medical students in Cambridge (UK). In the U.S., between 2000 and 2006, as the Training Manager for the Louisiana Title X Family Planning Program I provided continuing education to the family planning health providers. For the past 3 years, I have been a College Assistant Professor in the College of Health and Human Services at the New Mexico State University where I teach courses on women’s health and human sexuality via distance learning. Needless to say that teaching for me is a joy and a great privilege. I get to review and learn about the topics covered in my courses through the lens of enthusiastic students, but I also get to be part of their vision on how to make this world a better place for everybody.

Contact Information:
Community Health Sciences
1440 Canal Street
Suite 2300
New Orleans, LA 70112
Telephone: 504.988.6089
fkendall@tulane.edu

Level of Instruction:
graduate