Greetings ICEHS members and friends,
APHA is widely recognized as the leading professional membership organization for health promotion and prevention activities in the US. Uniquely positioned to represent and advocate for issues essential to eliminating health disparities, APHA serves, among other things, as somewhat of a watchdog for policies and legislation detrimental or supportive of the health of Americans, particularly the underserved. No other organization is capable of performing this unbiased, objective oversight across the full spectrum of issues confronting the well-being of Americans. A major source of both this influential organizational position and the unique APHA perspective is the strength, breadth, and sheer number of members in its sections and SPIGS. As the economy struggles and grant funding opportunities tighten and members begin evaluating their expenditures, APHA and ICEHS membership should not be among their considered cut-backs.
APHA has made it easy for members to conduct advocacy on key issues relevant to their specific sections as well as to general public health. Last year, approximately 7,400 APHA members responded to APHA’s electronic advocacy alerts. Visit the advocacy section of their website to view, keep abreast of issues, or take action: http://www.capwiz.com/apha/home/. There are several current and upcoming issues relevant to injury, violence, and emergency health services: mental health parity legislation, strengthening of the public health workforce, climate change, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ability to regulate tobacco products, the transportation bill and Medicaid regulations. Your electronic letters influence the priority that legislators place on these bills so leverage your association with APHA.
While APHA membership is down slightly, ICEHS appears to be up by approximately 2.5% compared to the same month last year. Nancy Nachreiner and her regional chairs have been successful in their efforts to maintain ICEHS membership despite the increase in membership dues. Our aim is to get membership back to the 500 mark by the annual meeting. If you are receiving this newsletter as a friend rather than as a member of ICEHS, consider joining your colleagues who are section members. APHA members can join ICEHS through APHA’s electronic multi-membership arrangement for an additional $30 per year. Join us!
I have asked that all ICEHS committees conduct audio conference calls in July and August to plan their next year’s activities and in preparation for their role in the upcoming annual meeting. One of the annual meeting ICEHS business meetings will include roundtables and time for committee co-chairs and interested members to link up and make plans for the upcoming year. An ICEHS adhoc committee not yet on the website has been formed and will be holding audio meetings in July and August on disparities in injury, violence, and emergency services as they relate to the Healthy People 2020 initiative. Contact jp376@columbia.edu to indicate interest in being included on the call. If you are interested in participating in other committees, visit our website for contact information:
http://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/icehs/roster/committees2.htm
Etienne Krug has announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are planning to publish a Bulletin on Child and Adolescent Injury in May 2009. It is anticipated that 5 injury mechanisms will be addressed in the report: Road traffic injuries, burns/scalds, drowning, poisoning, and falls. Visit the WHO website for details:
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/media/news/whobulletin/en/index.html.
The deadline for submitting related articles and papers is September 1, 2008. For ICEHS members residing in the U.S., the CDC (jshisler@cdc.gov) has indicated an interest in being the point person for submissions related to the U.S.
We look forward to visiting on our upcoming committee audio calls,
Joyce Pressley, Ph.D, M.P.H.
Chair, ICEHS