Submitted by Claire Johnson, DC, MSEd
Chiropractic Health Care Section Communications Chair
APHA Chiropractic Health Care Section members and leadership participated in the development and contribution of ACC-RAC workshops and paper presentations for the conference. Thanks to the assistance of Drs. John Stites, Paul Dougherty, Will Evans, Cheryl Hawk, and the many additional people included below, we will have outstanding CHC presence at this conference. The Association of Chiropractic Colleges Educational Conference and Research Agenda Conference (ACC-RAC) will celebrate its seventeenth year in 2010. This meeting has a long standing reputation for scientific presentations and skills development1 and will be held in Las Vegas from March 19-20.
The opening keynote speaker for the 2010 ACC-RAC will be the APHA Executive Director Dr. Georges Benjamin. As many in the CHC know, Dr. Benjamin has been a long-time supporter of the CHC’s participation in the APHA. He was initially trained in medicine and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Following this, he became board-certified in internal medicine, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a Fellow Emeritus of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He has held many health care leadership positions. In the 1980s he was the chief of the Acute Illness Clinic at the Madigan Army Medical Center. Later he was chief of emergency medicine at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the chair of the Department of Community Health and Ambulatory Care at the District of Columbia General Hospital, then Acting Commissioner for Public Health for the District of Columbia. He was the secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where he helped to develop Maryland's bioterrorism plan. He began serving as the APHA Executive Director in December 2002. He has published over 60 articles indexed in PubMed and is the publisher of The Nation's Health, and the American Journal of Public Health.2 He is a wonderful person to have as a keynote speaker at our premier annual chiropractic research conference.
Some of the presentations with a public health focus are listed here:
ACC-RAC Workshop - Back and Spinal Pain: a Public Health Priority
Spinal care is a public health priority, and chiropractic has a critical role to play. This workshop will introduce the audience to the evidence that suggests back pain is a major public health issue, including the second most common cause of disability. It will include some information on the depth of back pain and spinal conditions as a preventable cause of morbidity and disability. Information on the costs associated with spine conditions will be presented, along with information from the Bone and Joint Decade, regarding the critical role the doctor of chiropractic can play in reducing morbidity from spinal problems.
Presenters: Will Evans, Jason Bartlett, Paul Dougherty, Rick Branson
ACC-RAC Workshop - How to Become a Community Health Leader
The purpose of the workshop it to help doctors of chiropractic become better advocates of healthy measures and community programs from local to national levels. Basic do's and don'ts of advocacy and community involvement are discussed. Becoming an advocate for better health in your community by boosting involvement in public health advocacy and policy at home is the focus of the session.
Presenters: Rod Floyd, Will Evans, Georgina Pearson, Michael Ramcharan
ACC-RAC Workshop - Taking Care of Our Geriatric Population
The purpose of this project is to increase awareness of public health concerns in older adults, specifically the role of the chiropractor in evaluation and treatment of the patient with osteoporosis, the role of chiropractic in evaluation and prevention of falls and the burden of musculoskeletal pain in the older adult and the role of chiropractic in addressing this public health problem. The session will focus on the role of the chiropractic physician in assessing older adults who may suffer from osteoporosis, risk of falls and/or musculoskeletal pain. This will include an interactive portion with an actual demonstration and discussion about evaluation of the older adult. Finally the session speakers will address areas of future research addressing older adults.
Presenters: Louis Sportelli, Paul Dougherty, Cheryl Hawk, Lisa Killinger
ACC-RAC Scientific Session - Topics in Public Health
· A survey of the public perception of chiropractic and chiropractic spinal screenings
o David Russell, Kelly Holt, Heidi Haavik Taylor, George Ellis, Richard Kashmiri
· The role of chiropractors in identifying and reporting non-accidental injuries in children
o Mark Pfefer, Stephan Cooper
· Empowering Impoverished People in Health Promotion Focusing on Intrinsic Community Assets
o Ron Kirk
· Qualitative analysis of the composition of the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette
o Dwain Daniel, Xiaohua Cai, Harold Fick
· An epidemiological study on metabolic abnormality and carotid IMT in Chinese children from Yueyang City
o Xiao-Yue Wang, Liang Zhang, Hong-Hui Zhu, Xin-Min Yan, Xiang-Lin Liu, Yu-Ping Li, Chao Hua Yao, Qiong Sun
ACC-RAC Scientific Session - Topics in Educational Research: Public Health
· Teaching Public Health: An Experiential Approach
o Kara Burnham
· The Status of Mental Health in Chiropractic Schools in the United States
o Lisa Rubin, Danielle Holtman
· Nutrition services in the chiropractic college clinic: a review of literature and survey results
o Cynthia Lund
· The status of health insurance for students enrolled in a Chiropractic Curriculum
o Marni Capes
· A Study of the Effectiveness of Table Disinfection Protocols in the Clinics of a Chiropractic College
o Georgina Pearson, Paula Robinson, Gene Giggleman, Ronald Rupert, Tracy Stark
· Survey of student perceived discomfort while wearing contact lenses in the gross anatomy laboratory
o Everett Johnson
ACC-RAC Scientific Session - Chiropractic and Special Populations: Geriatrics
· Implementation of Chiropractic Care in the Long Term Setting: A Pilot Study through a Chiropractic College and the Volunteers of America
o Jodell Skaufel, Cara Borggren, Kristine Westrom, Roni Evans
· Interests, Activities, and Concerns Within a Focus Group of Adult Senior Members in a University Sponsored Senior Program
o Stephanie Sullivan, Jennifer Fisher
· Assessment of Today's Modern Day Senior Population: A Critical Need For "Fall and Injury Prevention"
o Joseph Haezebrouck
· Falls risk profile of elderly chiropractic patients
o Kelly Holt, Paul Noone, Krystal Short, Heidi Haavik Taylor
· Assessment of Students' Perceptions After the Implementation of a Geriatrics Case Studies Seminar Elective Course
o Cara Borggren, Michael Wiles
· Standardized Geriatric Patients are Associated with Increased Novice Student Confidence Levels Taking Health Histories
o Paul J. Osterbauer, Katie Burns Ryan
Our APHA CHC mid-year meeting will also be held at the ACC-RAC. It is scheduled for Saturday, March 20 from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. during the breakfast session so that all ACC RAC attendees may participate. This is a wonderful opportunity for those interested in public health to participate within the chiropractic session.
We hope to see you there! For more information about the ACC-RAC 2010, such as schedule, accommodations and registration, please visit http://www.chirocolleges.org/accrac/index.html.
References:
1. Johnson C. What is the Association of Chiropractic Colleges Educational Conference and Research Agenda Conference? J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2007 May;30(4):249-50.
2. Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (Emeritus), Executive Director. American Public Health Association Executive Board. (2009). Retrieved Jan. 30, 2010 from http://www.apha.org/about/board/bioBenjamin.htm