Faculty and Staff Profile

Karen Kemper

Educational Background

Fellow Physical Activity and Public Health Research
USC Research Prevention Center and CDC 2002

PhD Public Health
University of South Carolina, School of Public Health 1992

MSPH Public Health
University of South Carolina, School of Public Health 1986

BS Biology
University of South Carolina College of Math and Science, 1983

Courses Taught

Applied Principles of Health Fitness
Public Health Issues in Obesity and Eating Disorders
Functional Assessment of Older Adults
Creative Inquiry (CI): #1 Physical Activity Promotion and Research - Single Gender Youth Development- Girls On the Run; #2 Physical Activity Promotion and Research - Afterschool Nutrition and Physical Activity Best Practices in Hispanic children and their families; #3 Falls Prevention in Older Adults.
Medical Terminology
Public Health Communication
Research and Evaluation Strategies for Public Health
Applied Health Strategies
Health Maintenance for Men
Body Responses to Health Behaviors
Human Health and Disease
The Business of Obesity (graduate)
Theories and Determinants in Health Research (graduate)
Research Seminar (graduate)

Profile

Dr. Karen Kemper is an associate professor emerita in the Department of Public Health Sciences. Before coming to Clemson, she was the Director of Programs and Development for the Bruce Hospital Wellness Program in Florence, SC. She also worked with Lexington Medical Center's Health Directions program between 1986-2013 as a faculty member of their Fitness Instructor Training program. In 2011, Dr. Kemper co-authored the book, "If You Have to Wear and Ugly Dress, Learn to Accessorize: Guidance, Inspiration and Hope for Women with Lupus, Scleroderma and Other Autoimmune Illnesses". While at Clemson, Dr. Kemper served as the interim Director of the Joseph F. Sullivan Nursing Center, the Graduate Coordinator for the Public Health Sciences PhD program, and an Evaluator for the LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative. She led the development of the Applied Health Research and Evaluation PhD program launched in 2014 and served on four PhD dissertation committees from that program prior to her retirement. Dr. Kemper retired from Clemson University in December 2023 after 32 years of service and became a member of the Clemson University Emeritus College. She is actively involved in the Emeritus College and serves as the Faculty Senate Liaison and as a member of the Executive Committee and the Wellbeing Committee. Dr. Kemper continues to work with CU faculty, the Institute for Engaged Aging, and Upstate SC community partners to support research and intervention development for older adult fall prevention. In addition to her service with Clemson University, Dr. Kemper serves as a member of the SC Rare Disease Advisory Council, a Board of Directors member of the Steffans Scleroderma Foundation, and an Advisory Committee member for the Southeast Chapter of the National Scleroderma Foundation.

Research Interests

Dr. Kemper's research has addressed obesity prevention, physical activity promotion, and older adult fall prevention. She has worked in community, college, and school settings to develop, promote, and evaluate programs that support healthy eating, physical activity and risk reduction behaviors. She is currently working with Clemson University faculty members on an older adult fall prevention initiative for Upstate, SC. Dr. Kemper has worked on numerous research projects including: Promoting Success of At-Risk African American Youth (SC Department of Social Services); Assessing Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Risk of College Students of an Historically Black College (Research Core of NIH EXPORT (Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, and Research on Disparities in Health and Training)); Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Nutrition in Afterschool Settings, LiveWell Greenville (Community Transformation Grant, CDC, Prevention and Public Health Fund); Promoting Health and Youth Development in Afterschool Settings, Monaview Elementary School Greenville County School District (21st Century Learning Center Grant, US Department of Education); and Empowering Communities to Reduce Falls in Older, Rural Adults in South Carolina (USDHHS Administration for Community Living).

Research Publications

Kemper, K. Sargent, R., Drane, W., Valois, R., Hussey, J. Perception of Social Norms for Female Body Size in Black and White Adolescent Females. Obesity Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, March 1994

Sargent, R., Schulken, E., Kemper, K. Black and White Adolescent Females’ Pre-Pregnancy
Status. Adolescence, Vol. 29, No. 116, Winter 1994.

Sargent, R., Kemper, K., Schulken, E. Dietary Behaviors of South Carolina Adolescents. Journal
of the South Carolina Medical Association, Vol. 90, No. 6, 1994. (cited by 17)

Thompson, S., Sargent, R., Kemper, K. Black and White Adolescent Male Body Image
Perceptions. Sex Roles, Vol. 34, No. 5/6, 1996.

Mann, M., Pruitt, R., Meehan, N., Kemper, K. Physical Activity Counseling for Mature Adults.
Advance for Nurse Practitioners, Vol. 5, No. 7, July 1997.

Franklin, S. Pruitt, R., Willoughby, D., Kemper, K. Animal Exposure Risks: Implications for
Occupational Health Risk. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal, Vol. 45, No. 8, August 1997.

Rainey, C., Kemper, K., Poling, Tucker, S., Jordan, S. Parents’ Perceptions of Influences on
Child Eating Behaviors: An Attribution Approach. Journal of Health Education, 29(4)223-229, 1998.

Kemper, K., Spitler, H., Williams, E., Rainey, C. Youth Service Agencies: Promoting Success
for At-Risk African-American Youth. Family & Community Health, Vol. 22, No. 2, July 1999.

Rainey, C., Mayo, R., Haley-Zitlin, V, Kemper, K. Nutritional Beliefs, Attitudes and Practices of
Elderly, Rural Women. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2000.

Rainey, C., Kemper, K. Preceptor Training Workshop. Health Education and Behavior,
28(3):261-266, 2001.

Spitler, H, Kemper, K., Parker, V. Promoting Success for At-Risk African-American Youth:
Perceived Barriers and Resources in Using Community-Based Success Criteria. Family
and Community Health, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp37-52, 2002.

Kemper, K., Rainey, C. Sherrill, W., Mayo, R. Guidelines for Public Health Practitioners
Serving as Student Preceptors. Health Promotion Practice. 5(2):160-73, April 2004

Huggins, C, Willoughby, D, Timms, J,. Kemper, K. Health Promotion of the Frail Elderly:
Strategies for Advanced Practice Nurses. Advance for Nurse Practitioners, Vol 13, No 9: 30-36, September 2005.

Haley-Zitlin, V, Salari, S, Kemper, K. Exercise program barriers in seniors. Federation of
American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal, Vol 19, Iss 4, A471,
2005.

Rossi, M, Cason, K, Williams, J, Nieto-Montenegro, S, Kemper, K. The Impact of Nutrition and Physical Activity Program on Hispanic Youth and Their Parents. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Vol 40, Iss 8, S83, 2008.

Kemper, K. Welsh, R. Physical Activity Behaviors of Students of a Rural Historically Black College, Journal of American College Health, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2010.

Kemper, K. NHLBI Weight Guidelines: Stratifying patients for weight loss counseling. The Nurse Practitioner: The American Journal of Primary Health Care, Vol. 35, No. 8, August 2010.

White, M. G., Cason K, Coffee A, Mayo R, Kemper K. Beliefs, Barriers, social support and self-efficacy among Hispanic women of South Carolina regarding healthful foods. Topics in Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 25, No. 3: 264-271, 2010.

Kemper, Karen A. Vitamin D levels within Southern, Rural Hispanic Community. e-Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association, Vol 1-7, Supplement I, pp. 17-20, 2011.

Dye CJ, Williams JE, Kemper K. Impact of an intervention on mediators of physical activity among elderly food stamp recipients. Journal of Educational Gerontology, 38; 788-798, 2012.

Stegelin, D., Anderson, D., Kemper, K., Wagner, J. & Evans, K. Exploring daily physical activity and nutrition patterns in early learning settings: Snapshots of young children in Head Start, primary, and After-school settings, Early Childhood Education Journal, 42(2), 133-142, 2014.

Dixon, E., Condrasky, M., Sharpe, J., Kemper, K. Menu Planning Template as a tool for promoting healthy pre-adolescent diets. Topics in Clinical Nutrition Vol 29, No 1, Jan-Mar 2014.

Kemper KA, Pate SP,Powers AR, Fair M. Promoting Healthy Environments In Afterschool Settings: The LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative. Prev Chronic Dis 2018;15:180164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd15.180164. 2018.

Adams, E.V., Van Puymbroeck, M., Dye, C.J., & Kemper, K.A. Matter of
balance and yoga for fall risk reduction among older adults: A pilot study. Annuals of Behavioral Medicine, 53, S256-S256, 2019

Adams, EV, Van Puymbroeck, M, Torphy, H, Helsel, B, Torphy, H, Kemper, KA, Dye,
C, Schmid, AA. A Novel Approach to Fall Risk Reduction: Combining Education and Therapeutic Yoga. OBM Geriatrics January 03, 2020 doi:10.21926/obm.geriatr.2001097, 2020

Zhang, Y, Francis, E, Xia, T, Kemper, K., William, J., Chen, L. Adherence to DASH dietary pattern is inversely associated with osteoarthritis in Americans, International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, pp 1-7, February 04, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2020.1722075, 2020

Francis, Ellen, Mengying, Li, Hinkle, Stefanie, Cao, Yaqi, Chen, Jinbo, Wu, Jing,
Zhu, Yeyi, Cao, Hiaming, Kemper, Karen, Rennert, Lior, Williams, Joel, Tsai, Michael, Chen, Liwei, Zhang, Cuilin. "Adipokines in Early and Mid-Pregnancy and Subsequent Risk of Gestational Diabetes: A longitudinal study in a multi-racial cohort" BMJ Open Diab Res Care 2020;8:e001333. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2020-001333, 2020

Helsel BC, Kemper KA, Williams JE, Truong K, Van Puymbroeck M. Multidimensional
risk score to stratify community-dwelling older adults by future fall risk using the Stopping Elderly, Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) framework. Injury Prevention. Epub ahead of print: [16 December 2020]. doi:10.1136/ injuryprev-2020-044014. 2020

Shanikque Blackwell, MPH, CHES1; Shannon Stark Taylor, PhD2; Shaniece Criss, ScD, MPH, MPA3; Karen Kemper, PhD4; Daniela B. Friedman, PhD5; Wanda Thompson6; Lorie Donelle, PhD7; Phyllis MacGilvray, MD, FAAFP8; and Nabil Natafgi, PhD, MPH, CPH9. Improving patient health literacy during telehealth visits through virtual-based teach-back methods training for family medicine residents: A pilot two-arm cluster, non-randomized controlled. JMIR Formative Research, Vol 7, 2023;7:e51541 doi:10.2196/51541, 2023

Ganesh Raghu, Sydney B. Montesi, Richard M. Silver, Tanzib Hossain, Madalina Macrea, Derrick Herman, Hayley Barnes, Ayodeji Adegunsoye, Arata Azuma, Lorinda Chung, Gregory C. Gardner, Kristin B. Highland, Marie Hudson, Robert J. Kaner, Martin Kolb, Mary Beth Scholand, Virginia Steen, Carey C. Thomson, Elizabeth R. Volkmann, Fredrick M. Wigley, Dee Burlile, Karen A. Kemper, Shandra L. Knight, and Marya Ghazipura; on behalf of the American Thoracic Society Assembly on Clinical Problems. Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis–associated Interstitial Lung Disease: Evidence-based Recommendations- An Official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline. Am J Respir Crit Care Med Vol 209, Iss 2, pp 137–152, Jan 15, 2024.

Zhao, Dandan; Luo, Y; Kemper, Karen; Zhang, Lingling; Pan, Xi. "Household Environments and Functional Decline among Middle-aged and Older Adults in China: Variations by Gender, Age, and Residence". Research on Aging, first published online April 11, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275241246, 2024

Christina J. Dietz, PhD, Emily Doherty, PhD, John Emerson, MD, Karen Kemper, PhD, MSPH, Lior Rennert, PhD, and Windsor Westbrook Sherrill, PhD, MBA, MHA Understanding Primary Care Provider’s Knowledge and Perceptions of Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support. Primary Diabetes Care, 2024 Dec;18(6):637-643. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2024.10.005. 2024

Crowe, B.M., Kemper, K., & Van Puymbroeck, M. (In press 2025). Barriers to consider when implementing a community evidence-based fall prevention program. OBM Geriatrics.

Kanny, SJ, Sherrill, WW, Zhang, L, Mangold, Fontanna, Kemper KA "Evaluating the Relationship Between Hormonal Cycle Regularity and Sports-Related Concussion Outcomes in Adolescent Athletes," Journal of Athletic Training (in press 2025).

Honors and Awards

2008 Health Communication HCWC@10 Award, American Public Health Association Health Communication Working Group
2009 Outstanding Woman Faculty Award, President’s Commission on the Status of Women at Clemson University
2009 Phil and Mary Bradley Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry, Clemson University
2012 Award of Distinction, Clemson University National Scholars Program
2016 Outstanding Leadership of the Department of Public Health Sciences Doctoral Program, Clemson University
2020 Decade of Dedication to Scleroderma Patient Education Award, Division of Rheumatology, MUSC

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