Yitza Arcelay Rojas
Dr. Arcelay-Rojas has an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master's in Public Health Education (MPHE), a B.S. in Biology, and a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) since 2003. She has served in different roles at Walden since 2015: Senior Contributing/Visiting in the Health Education and Promotion Program and Core faculty at the Public Health, MPH and DrPH programs.
Dr. Rojas has taught Human Development, Human Sexuality, Counseling Skills for Health Educators; Health, Safety, and Nutrition; Health Promotion; Health and Illness Through the Life Cycle; Environmental Health; Well-being and quality of Life; Essential Concepts in Health Sciences and Public Health at other colleges and universities since August 2004. In addition, she serves as a dissertation committee member, Chair, and URR. She previously worked as the School Health Education Program Coordinator at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. Professionally, Dr. Rojas has worked as a Public Health Educator for the Department of Health of Puerto Rico, providing education about HIV/STI prevention.
Furthermore, Dr. Rojas has worked as a childbirth and lactation educator in different settings. She also designed and developed diverse health programs, including mental health promotion curriculum for the Hispanic population from Puerto Rico. She has experience in qualitative research method skills, including focus groups in health, curriculum, and education.
Courses Taught
HLTH 6475 - Program Design, Implementation and Evaluation
HLTH 8030 - Socio-Ecological Perspectives (doctoral level)
HLTH 6800 - Capstone
HLTH 8205 - Assessing Community Needs
HLTH 9101 - Dissertation
HLTH 8551 - Preparing for Dissertation
PUBH 8004 - Foundations of Doctoral Success in Public Health
PUBH 8044 - Advanced Program Evaluation
Education
EdD, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
MPHE, University of Puerto Rico
BS, University of Puerto Rico
Post-master's Certificate, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico
Post-master's Certificate, Graduate School of Public Health Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico
Postbaccalaureate Certificate, School of Medicine- Medical Science Campus, University of Puerto Rico
Awards / Honors
Certificate of Teaching Excellence: School of Education, , 2010
Faculty Excellence Award, Walden University, 2021
Publications
Deiter, S., Arcelay Rojas, Y. (2021). Food Insecurity Experiences of Idaho Head Start Families. Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences
Arcelay Rojas, Y. (2018). Using Focus Groups to Explore Sources of Self-Efficacy in Puerto Rican Preservice Teachers. Journal of Educational Research and Practice
Arcelay Rojas, Y. A., Avilés-Garay, E. J. (2014). Pre-service teachers' knowledge and experiences regarding the application of practices that promotes educational resiliency. Revista Actualidades Investigativas en Educación
Arcelay Rojas, Y. A. (2019). Exploring Puerto Rican preservice teachers’ resilience: A focus group study. Journal of Educational Research and Practice
H. Arroyo, Arcelay-Rojas, Y. A., Arcelay Rojas, Y. (2010). Grado de Bachiller en Artes en educación con concentración en salud escolar de la Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.
Arcelay Rojas, Y. A., Jackson, C. (2021). Experiences of African American women living with herpes simplex virus 2. Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences
Kambuga, E. E., Arcelay Rojas, Y. A. (2023). Urban American Indian Experiences: Living With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences
Presentations
Arcelay Rojas, Y. (2018). Building resilience: Implications for students and educators . Puerto Rico TESOL Southern Chapter Conference
Arcelay Rojas, Y. (2016). Conocimientos y experiencias de candidatos a maestros sobre la aplicación de prácticas promotoras de resiliencia educativa.
Arcelay Rojas, Y. (2002). Opinions of health professionals about the older adult's sexual health.