2006 Congress of Epidemiology in Seattle
The Congress was a thorough success, as those of you who were able to attend know first hand. Plans are in development for another Congress in about five years, and your leadership has committed our Section to once again be one of the primary sponsors.
Part of the profits from the Congress is being used to support our expanded student support and new awards (see below for details).
National Epidemiology Policy
A new outcome of the Congress is the development of a nascent process to help coordinate policies among the leading organizations which affect us professionally, or where our field needs to weigh in.
In addition, APHA is now looking for active involvement from its Sections on evolving matters.
We are forming a committee to advance these efforts. If interested, please write to E. Oscar Alleyne, MPH, at AlleyneO@co.rockland.ny.us, who has agreed to coordinate our efforts in consultation with other members of our Section leadership. (Please cc me as well.) Mention particular areas of expertise and of interest.
Annual Meeting - November 2006
We hope to see you at the APHA Annual Meeting. Please introduce yourself!
Most members are familiar with the scientific sessions: Our Section Program Committee has developed an exciting combination of invited sessions, contributed papers, an expanded set of Poster sessions, and late-breakers. Please stop by our booth (#117) and pick up a mini-program listing all of our sessions and some special “give-aways.”
We encourage all members to join us at any or all of our Section Business Meetings. We will have refreshments, and you will discover we are friendly and welcome new and old members to actively participate. Speak with any of our leadership about your interests, and we will work with you to find ways to contribute to our section and the organization that are mutually beneficial. If you wish to run for Section office – contact me directly, as I chair our Nominations Committee. Similarly, if you are interested in representing the Section on any of APHA’s numerous boards and committees (see http://www.apha.org/private/leader/), contact me so we can discuss putting you forward with Section support. (You can also self-nominate yourself for a leadership position.)
On Monday from 4:30 - 6:00 we have an increasingly expanded Awards Session, where we have special recognitions ranging from our most senior members, the 40- and 50-year members, to the high school students who were the national winners of the Young Epidemiology Scholars program, culminating in a stimulating award lecture (see article for full details).
Save the Date: We are planning a Social for early Tuesday evening, probably 6-8 p.m. It is being especially geared towards informal interaction in a pleasant session. It’s a great way to socialize with your peers, meet new friends, get informal advice, and for students a way to get to know some junior and senior epidemiologists at other institutions. Expect an open bar and food! Details on the exact time and location (and advance sign-up sheets, as attendance will be limited) will be available at our Section Booth and at our Business Meetings. Students are warmly encouraged to attend. By the way, most who came last year (which was the first time we held a social outside of the convention center!) enjoyed it enough to stay the entire time.
Our Section is very active in APHA policy development. Several of us are currently active members of the Science Board, Action Board, Education Board, and Joint Policy Committee – each of which has key roles in the processes. In addition, the Section itself and our Governing Councilors in particular establish polices for APHA and for guidance of the Executive Board and the officers.
2006 Public Policy Development Process Overview
The APHA is an effective advocacy organization and scientific resource on policy-related public health issues. Policy at APHA serves as the basis for APHA positions and actions. The Association strives to produce relevant position papers and resolutions that are up-to-date and science/evidence based. Because APHA members are the nation's leading scientific and programmatic experts in public health, membership participation in the policy development process through constituent groups, including Sections is strongly encouraged. (See: http://www.apha.org/private/ppolicy.htm for related background information. You will first need to log in as an APHA member to access these “private” sections of the APHA Web site.) As exponents of the science behind public health, for the last decade members of our Section have been very active participants in the process. (You may wish to read some of our past Epidemiology Section newsletters – see our archives at: http://www.apha.org/newsletter/index.cfm?fuseaction=archive&secid=5).
The best way to begin your participation in the process is to visit http://www.apha.org/private/2006_proposed_policies/2006_policies.htm, where the latest version of all of the 2006 proposed policy statements are posted.
The Epidemiology Section has its own coordinated process of review. Our Governing Council whip, Dr. Howell Sasser, coordinates our Section’s efforts and can be reached via e-mail at: Howell.Sasser@carolinashealthcare.org. Specific Epidemiology Section Governing Councilors have been assigned to each of the policies to review them and integrate all comments from Section members. The Section will discuss these viewpoints on our regular monthly section leadership conference calls and then in person at the APHA Annual Meeting at our Section Business Meeting on Saturday evening. Finally, written summaries will be presented on behalf of the entire Section at the Open Hearings, held on Sunday afternoon of the Annual Meeting.
We welcome participation in this process by all APHA members. If you are a member of the Epidemiology Section, and if you can present well-reasoned arguments, preferably backed by current references, to modify a proposed policy (to improve or change it) or perhaps why it should be rejected, we want to hear your views. It is much more likely that changes will be accepted by the Joint Policy Committee if recommendations come with documentation and Section support. Contacting Dr. Sasser in advance is preferred, but, we also welcome you to come and join in our lively discussion and debate at our business meetings. After the Open Hearings, our Governing Councilors will highlight remaining issues at our other business meetings - and discuss any “late breakers” with the Section, to solicit advice before the Governing Council itself debates. Generally, our Governing Councilors will then vote en bloc on specific policies; as the second largest Section, our active presence on the Governing Council floor combined with en bloc voting leads to significant impact on the process.
If you are considering developing and submitting a “late breaker” policy proposal, we strongly encourage you to contact Dr. Sasser in advance of the meeting and to involve our Section.
2006 Consent Calendar for Archiving
In 2003, the Governing Council decided to undertake an annual review of existing APHA policy statements. This year, the Action Board solicited input from all Sections, Affiliates, SPIGs, and Caucuses. A total of 183 policies from 1950-2004 were reviewed ,and 26 have been recommended for archiving. The history and further details are described at http://www.apha.org/private/2006_Proposed_Policies/archiving_final_aug23.pdf and the policies proposed for archiving are listed therein. Please take a look. You may find a policy that you feel strongly about – and if your view differs from the suggested action, please contact Dr. Sasser.
Education
We are actively involved in helping to set policies, such as the issue of credentials for epidemiologists that identify our special skills within the context of various types of roles. As a result, APHA will be a co-signatory of the draft guidelines that will be issued shortly. In addition to the Young Epidemiology Scholars Program, we are actively working toward providing mentorship opportunities to students at levels ranging from high school through graduate school, and in stimulating the expansion of the teaching of epidemiologic principles at the junior high and high school levels. See our last newsletter (Spring 2006) for some of the details. Please contact Dr. Robin Taylor Wilson at rwilson@hes.hmc.psu.edu if you wish more information or wish to get involved.
APHA has special educational sessions just prior to the Annual Meeting, organized by the APHA Education Board. If there are sessions you wish to help develop for the 2007 meeting, given the very long lead time needed, NOW is the appropriate time to contact our representative for Continuing Education, Dr. John S. Neuberger, via e-mail at Jneuberg@kumc.edu.
2006 Epidemiology Section Election Results
APHA has notified us that the following members have won:
Epidemiology - Section Council
Sonja Hutchins, MD, MPH, DrPH
Polly A. Marchbanks, PhD
Governing Council Representatives
Elizabeth Armstrong Bancroft, MD, ScM
Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH
Victor A. Ilegbodu, MPH, PhD, MD
Resa M. Jones, MPH, PhD
Karin A. Rosenblatt, MPH, PhD
Pauline Thomas, MD
Congratulations! We look forward to your leadership!
OTHER SECTION LEADERSHIP NEWS
· Dr. Resa M. Jones, our current section secretary and newsletter editor, has won election to the Governing Council.
· Effective after this year’s APHA Annual Meeting, Dr. Howell Sasser will become our next section secretary and newsletter editor.
· Dr. Linda Hazlett will continue as our program planning chair for the 2007 annual meeting
· Dr. Robin Taylor Wilson is our Governing Council Whip-elect and will serve as our whip for next year.
· E. Oscar Alleyne, MPH, one of our Section Councilors, is organizing our Section Booth for the 2006 APHA Annual Meeting. Volunteers to help staff the booth are needed (see article later in the newsletter). You may sign-up in advance or see us at one of our Business Meetings.