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Minutes from the April 2003 Business Meeting
Opening
The Spring Science Board was called to order at 8:30 a.m. on April 28, 2003 in the American Public Health Association (APHA) by Chair, Harry Perlstadt.
Present: C. Korenbrot (ex-officio), L. Mood, J. Mott, G. Pappas, H. Perlstadt, G. Perry, H. Richardson, A. Tractenberg, D. Wegman
Excused/Absent: A. Hyder
Resigned: R. Kington, D. Donnell, D. Atkinson
- Approval of Agenda
The agenda was unanimously approved as distributed.
- Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Fall (November 2002) meeting were approved with corrections.
- Open Issues
None
- New Business
2005 Annual Meeting Theme Program Emphasis
The Board will forward the following themes/emphases to the Executive Board for consideration/approval for submission to the Governing Council:
- Theme: Public Health Strategies and Methods for the 21st Century
Summary: There is a continued need to improve the quality of people’s lives by preventing disease, injury, and disability. Public health interventions are increasingly complex with multi-level interventions. Many current prevention strategies already offer excellent opportunities to promote good health at a reasonable cost.
Program Emphasis: health surveillance & informatics, surveillance, laboratory science, pollution prevention, food safety, risk communication, health & environmental impact assessment, precautionary policies, lead intervention, OSHA regulations, neonatal screening, tobacco cessation counseling, genetic testing, cancer screening, TB screening, disease registries, childhood vaccines, HIV counseling & testing, adult immunizations, WIC Supplemental Nutrition program, targeted home visiting, family planning.
- Theme: The Best Defense is Good Public Health
Summary:
Program Emphasis: Health surveillance, informatics, national health insurance, workforce development, research, core competencies, risk communication, ethics, public health law.
2003 Science Board Session
The Science Board agreed to sponsor a session at the Annual Meeting. Initially the group discussed sponsoring a session tentatively titled Public Health Science & the Media.
The session would focus on improving media coverage of public health science. Since it would be easier to attract top journalists when the Annual Meeting is in Washington, DC, the session will be developed at a later date for the 2004 Annual Meeting. One outcome of this session would be the creation of an APHA Consumer Guide for Health Reporting.
The Science Board will now sponsor a session entitled:
The Obesity and Diabetes Epidemic: The State of the Science and the Challenge to Public Health.
Abstract:
Preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes are two of the most important public health issues facing our nation. Immediate intervention is critical as the rates of these two diseases are increasing nationally at an alarming rate, and recent data suggest that both conditions may be prevented or reduced through lifestyle changes.
Evidence about Overweight/Obesity document that between 1980 and 2000, the proportion of obese adult Americans doubled; approximately two-thirds of all American adults suffer from overweight and an even larger percentage of some ethnic or socioeconomic groups are affected; and 9 million children (15%) between the ages of 6 and 19 are labeled overweight. Obesity is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and other chronic debilitating conditions including heart disease, cancer, and stroke. The estimated annual cost of obesity in the United States is $97 billion.
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death and results in a serious burden for those affected and for society. More than 90% of persons with diabetes are Type 2. It affects both sexes, all ages, all ethnic groups and all educational levels but disproportionately impacts women and minorities. The estimated annual cost of diabetes in the United States is $ 132 billion.
Speakers will discuss relevant research findings and challenges in addressing these interrelated issues; the impact of obesity and diabetes; efficacious and cost-effective preventive practices that can reduce the burden of these diseases; and will challenge public health professionals to put evidence-based interventions and policies into place.
At the end of the session, it is expected that participants will be able to:
- Understand the relationship between obesity and diabetes and its effects on health outcomes.
- Identify barriers to weight control/ weight loss.
- Identify risk factors of obesity and diabetes.
- Consider and promote population-based preventive approaches to addressing obesity and diabetes.
2004 Science Board Session
Title: Improving Coverage of Public Health Science: How to Talk about Public Health Science and Evidence
Purpose: There are increasing opportunities for sharing the state -of the- public health science and evidence. Recent experiences with public health crises related to anthrax and SARS point to the need for public health professionals to be prepared to share new information effectively. One starting point is the effective use of science journalists. This session will explore the role of Internet, print media and television in increasing the public's awareness about public health science and evidence. A panel of distinguished media representatives and APHA members will discuss the most effective means for using the media and getting the message out.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session participants will be able to:
- Define and discuss the concept, public health science.
- Discuss why there is a need to discuss public health science.
- Explore the challenges of science journalism and health reporting.
- Understand the guidelines for displaying and talking about public health science and evidence including the presentation.
Role of the Science Board
The Board will ask the Executive Board to vet all new task forces, prior to their creation, through the SB for input regarding the scope of work, recommendation for the appointment of a scientific expert as appropriate and possible appointment of a Science Board member. Also, to support the recommendation process, the Science Board would establish a Science expert database. Members would be able to designate their expertise online. The database would be modeled after the existing Environmental Health section database.
Science Board Nominees for 2004
The Science board forwarded the following names to the membership deployment committee for consideration as new members of the Science Board.
| Geraldine Perry (reappointment) |
Jill Morris, PhD |
| Pat Butterfield |
Bill Sappenfield |
| Leticia Davis |
Steven Shoenbaum |
| Larry Fine |
Glorian Sorenson |
| C. Gwynn |
Eileen Story |
| Leonard Jack |
Eileen Surrey |
| Kathleen Kreiss |
Sherrone Wynn, PhD |
Infant Caries and Breast Feeding
The issues raised in the correspondence from Dr. Palmer was forwarded to the Oral Health, MCH and Nutrition sections for their review and consideration. Dr. Palmer’s materials should be sent with a copy of the ADA and AAP policies. These sections can decide if APHA’s policies should be updated.
- Agenda for Next Meeting
Executive Board decisions about the 2005 Program theme; the expert database and vetting process for task forces.
Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 12 noon by the Chair. The Fall meeting will be at 8:30 a.m. on November 16, 2003 in San Francisco, CA.
Minutes submitted by: Barbara J. Hatcher
Approval Date:
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