Title: APHA ANNUAL MEETING
Author:
Section/SPIG: Maternal and Child Health
Issue Date:
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| Dr. Bernard Guyer |
APHA’s 131st Annual Meeting will be held Nov. 15-19 in San Francisco. The MCH Section has planned a program that includes a combination of contributed and invited sessions as well as business meetings and social events.
Highlights of the program include:
The Martha May Eliot Luncheon and Forum
This is the Section's premier event. It includes a Luncheon (ticket required) to honor the Martha May Eliot honoree and the MCH Young Professional awardee. This year's MCH Young Professional is Dr. Bao-Ping Zhu. He is with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Epidemiology Services.
Dr. Bernard Guyer, Zanvyl Kreiger Professor in Children's Health and Chair of the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences at the John's Hopkins School of Public Health, is this year's Martha May Eliot awardee. Dr. Guyer's research focuses on improving the health of children, their mothers, and their families -- in this country and in the developing world --using the tools of public health. His specific areas of research include, immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases, childhood injury and injury prevention, the causes and strategies to reduce infant mortality, and interventions to strengthen human development during the early portion of the lifespan. Dr. Guyer is currently the chairperson of the Institute of Medciine's Committee on the Poison Control system and has served as president and chairperson of several national committees related to maternal and child health. Among his many honors, Dr. Guyer was given the "Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Maternal and Child Health" in Massachusetts in 1996. In addition, in 2003, students at John's Hopkins University awarded him the "Golden Apple Award" for his outstanding teaching. Finally, Dr. Guyer has been principal investigator on numerous maternal and child health publications and authored many publications in this field.
The Forum will focus on violence prevention as a priority and concern for youth and will highlight San Francisco Bay area programs and strategies. The session will discuss a model for dealing with the complexity of violence through a comprehensive approach (Larry Cohen) and will describe research, practice, and advocacy and the interplay between them. Mayor Anna Caballero of Salinas will describe their community-wide cultivating peace approach. Dr. Howard Pinderhughes will delineate how strategies can be based on youth input and perspectives, and Donna Garske will describe how youth can focus on the vital goal of ending gender violence.
Challenges Determinants of Preterm Birth
This session will describe trends in preterm birth and associated factors and how these factors contribute to the preterm birth rate, the role of medical intervention on the preterm birth rate from an obstetrician's and neonatologist's perspective and a programmatic response.
Cuts and Bruises or Major Trauma: Impact of Federal and State Medicaid Changes on Women, Children and Youth
Speakers at this session will describe the changes from a national, state and population perspective. They will identify advocacy strategies, including strategies which focus on: documentation of outcomes; education of the public; the media or policy makers; mobilization of constituencies; and legal or legislative challenges to specific program cuts.
The National Birth Defects Prevention Study
The purpose of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) is to evaluate genetic and environmental factors associated with the occurrence of birth defects. The NBDPS, which began in October 1997, is an ongoing case-control study that records case-infants identified by existing birth defects surveillance registries in eight states. The session will include papers describing various ways the Study has been used to increase understanding of birth defects and other contributing factors to poor birth outcomes.
Walk in My Shoes: A Health Access Simulation
Walk in My Shoes is an in-depth participatory learning experience that focuses on health access issues affecting low-income women and children. Following the simulation, participants will discuss its impact in a "debriefing’." They will leave with ideas of how this or similar experiential activities can be used in educational or community settings to promote and preserve vital health services and programs, bring together community partners, or introduce students to the barriers faced by those with limited access to health services.
In addition to these invited sessions, there will be 21 presented sessions and 13 poster sessions. This includes presented and poster sessions contributed by students.