Update from APHA Disability Section Member Roberta Carlin, MS,JD
American Association on Health and Disability
The Disability and Health Journal Accepted by Medicus/Medline and Thomson Reuters for Indexing
The Disability and Health Journal, or DHJO, has recently been accepted in Medicus/Medline and Thomson Reuters for indexing. The DHJO is now in two of the most prestigious indexing services. A 2010 Impact Factor will be announced in mid-2011. Much appreciation goes to APHA Disability Section members Dr. Suzanne McDermott and Dr. Margaret Turk, editors of the DHJO, for their outstanding dedication and commitment to ensuring the success of the journal. Much appreciation to members of the APHA Disability Section, some of whom serve as members of the DHJO Editorial Board. The APHA Disability Section and SPIG were champions in their efforts to support the creation of the Disability and Health Journal. For information about submissions visit www.healthandisability.com For information about receiving the Disability and Health Journal at a discounted price, please visit www.aahd.us/membership. APHA Disability Members receive the DHJO at a discounted rate of $100, and student members receive the Disability and Health Journal for $75.
Update from the University of New Hampshire:
Dr. Charles Drum to Lead UNH Institute on Disability
Durham, N.H. - Charles E. Drum, a leader in the fields of public health and disability, will be director of the Institute on Disability, or IOD, at the University of New Hampshire effective Jan. 18, 2011, reported Barbara Arrington, dean of the UNH College of Health and Human Services. Dr. Drum left Oregon Health & Science University's Child Development and Rehabilitation Center in November, where he was the assistant director for public health, community outreach, and policy and the founding director of the Center on Community Accessibility.
"Dr. Drum is a natural fit for the IOD, having extensive familiarity with and involvement within university and community settings," says Arrington. "Along with his demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and to act as a visionary and a leader, he is well connected and respected nationally in the disability arena. We look forward to the impact he will have not only on the IOD but on the individuals both the institute and college serves."
Drum is widely published, authoring more than 65 articles, reports, and monographs on disability issues; seven training curricula; and the first textbook on disability and public health. His expertise linking the areas of disability and public health align with the IOD's mission and goals.
In addition to directing the IOD, Drum will have an appointment as professor of health management and policy at UNH. Dr. Drum received a PhD from Brandeis University and a JD and MPA from the University of Oregon.
Updates from News from The University of Texas at Austin
AUSTIN, Texas — Dr. Alexa Stuifbergen, professor of nursing at The University of Texas at Austin and an internationally recognized researcher in the areas of multiple sclerosis, post-polio syndrome and fibromyalgia, has been appointed dean of the School of Nursing. She replaces Dr. Dolores Sands who retired in 2009. Stuifbergen’s appointment was effective Dec. 15.
"Dr. Stuifbergen is a highly recognized researcher and the recipient of numerous research awards over the course of her academic career," said Provost Steven W. Leslie in announcing the appointment. "Furthermore, as interim dean, she has proven to be a skilled and effective administrator. We are fortunate that Alexa has agreed to be the next dean of our School of Nursing."
Stuifbergen is the third dean in the school's history. Although it had its beginnings at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the School of Nursing was officially established in Austin in 1969. Billye Brown was the first dean of the school.
Before her appointment as dean, Stuifbergen was interim dean (2009-2010) and associate dean for research. She also is former director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Populations and the school's Cain Center for Nursing Research.
Stuifbergen has received more than $9.6 million from the National Institutes of Health for her studies in health promotion in adults with chronic disabling conditions.
"The faculty, staff and students of the School of Nursing share a common vision of excellence in educating leaders for nursing and continuing our vital research to improve the health and well-being of those in Texas and throughout the country," said Stuifbergen, who will continue to hold the Laura Lee Blanton Chair and the James R. Dougherty Jr. Centennial Professorship. "Our foundation has been built on the shoulders of strong leaders, and I am privileged to have the opportunity to partner with faculty, staff, students and alumni as together we write the next chapter for our nursing school."
Stuifbergen is the 2009 recipient of the "Nursing Research Award" presented by the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses. In 2007 she was inducted into the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Health Care Provider Hall of Fame. Her numerous awards also include the 2003 Distinguished Alumna Award and the Faculty Research Award (2004 and 2006) presented by the School of Nursing. She is a member of the American Academy of Nursing.
Stuifbergen will lead a nursing school that offers undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees, including a doctoral program that prepares students to become nursing faculty and researchers.
Update from APHA Disability Section Member Jake Pauls
International Conference on Stairway Usability and Safety
June 9-10, 2011
Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto, Canada
Chaired by Jake Pauls, CPE, and Wen-Ruey Chang
Conference is organized by FICCDAT
This conference will bring together experts and other interested persons from around the world to accomplish two objectives:
- Identify what is currently known about stairway usability and safety that can be incorporated with confidence now in guidance materials (for professionals as well as consumers) and building codes plus widely used standards addressed in 12 expert panels and open discussion among all attendees on Day 1, June 9.
- Identify what remains to be learned about stairway usability plus safety and how can we accomplish this, the focus of a few panels, a few oral presentations and open discussion among all attendees on Day 2, June 10.
Most program participants are invited for the special knowledge, for example in ergonomics (human factors), they will bring to particular panels. Several program participants are presenting posters (for which the abstract submission process is now closed). Selected posters will also be featured in one session of oral presentations. Generally, the conference will bring together the largest group of authorities on stairway usability and safety assembled since the first international meeting in 1985.
Day 1 panels (to establish the state of the art in key topics in usability and safety):
a. Injury epidemiology
b. Economics, including injury cost
c. Misstep and fall mechanisms
d. Perception and cognition
e. Nominal step geometry
f. Consistency of dimensions
g. Slip resistance
h. Handrails and guards
i. Persons with disabilities and older users (including where not to have stairs)
j. Crowd use of stairs, plus transportation and occupational settings
k. Codes and standards
l. Law (especially litigation), insurance and advocacy
Early registration by April 1, 2011: CA$225; after this registration is CA$300, however conference registrations might be limited to facilitate participation by all present. (Note, as of January 2011, the CA$ was at, or near, parity with the US$.)
Complete information is available at www.ficcdat.ca. (Held every four years, FICCDAT is a set of several, simultaneously held, international conferences — including one on Universal Design, June 5-8, 2011, which precedes the International Conference on Stairway Usability and Safety).
Update from APHA Disability Section Member: Lisa Hamburg
2011 National ADA Symposium
May 8-11, 2011
Paris Hotel
Las Vegas
www.adasymposium.org Online Registration is now Open.
Questions: (573) 882-3600