Dean Jim Raczynski (Arkansas), chair of the ASPH DrPH Competency Development project, is hosting the ASPH DrPH Concept Identification and Specification Task Force Meeting that started yesterday, February 21 and will finish today, February 22.  Dean John Finnegan (Minnesota), chair of the ASPH Education Committee, whose committee has oversight for the project, is in attendance along with two dozen practice and academic partners.  Dr. Judith Calhoun, a competency expert from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, is working with ASPH on the project as a consultant and is on site to guide members through these first stages of their charge, as well as the entire project. 

This week, representatives from the Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard School of Public Health exhibited on behalf of the schools of public health and the Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS) at the 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Boston, MA. The exhibit session was held at the John B. Hynes Convention Center.

This week over 1,500 academic, federal, state and local preparedness experts met in Atlanta, GA for the 2008 Public Health Preparedness Summit entitled “Measuring Preparedness: Celebrating Our Success. Challenging Our Future.”  This is the fourth annual conference designed to provide participants the opportunity to share cutting-edge presentations, continuing education opportunities and information from the field. Sessions were designed with optimal opportunities to network, gather tools and resources and share stories that would improve state and local preparedness initiatives. ASPH served on the planning committee for the conference and exhibited at the meeting. 

The first certification in public health exam will be held August 11-30 and the registration deadline is Tuesday, April 30—only nine weeks away. Many graduates from CEPH-accredited schools of public health have already registered to sit for the exam. Recently, a podcast that details exam, as well as the importance of the credential, was made available. To access the podcast, visit http://asph.podhoster.com. You can listen to the podcast on this page or download it to iTunes. To register for the exam or for more information, visit www.publichealthexam.org.

ASPH regularly provides members and Friday Letter readers with information about grant opportunities.  New opportunities are listed each week in the “Funding Opportunities” section of the Friday Letter.  Readers can access a full listing of grant notices by visiting the “Funding for Faculty” section of the ASPH web site.  You may want to bookmark this page (www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=747).  Listed below are grant opportunities that have been posted in the last seven days. 

The USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announces the funding of up to $5 million in competitive grant funds through the Food Stamp Program in order to improve the accessibility and awareness of the USDA's Food Stamp Program for low-income households. Food Stamp Program Participation Grants target projects which aim to simplify the food stamp application and eligibility systems or improve access to food stamp benefits by eligible households.

The Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invites grant applications from accredited Schools of Public Health for Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRCs) that investigate the structure, capabilities, and performance of public health systems for preparedness and emergency response activities.   The P01 program project grant mechanism will be used to support multidisciplinary, inter-related and interdependent research projects and a core component. 

The Center for Minority Health (CMH) at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), will be featured in a WPXI-TV half-hour special entitled, “Here’s to Life.” The Black History Month special will air on WPXI-TV at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, February 23 and will be rebroadcast on PCNC at 3:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, February 24 and at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Monday, February 25. The special will focus on the Healthy Class of 2010 project, a seven-year campaign designed to promote the health and well-being of students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER) has released its inaugural report on public health emergency preparedness. The report, Public Health Preparedness: Mobilizing State by State, highlights the progress that has been made in state and local preparedness and response, identifies preparedness challenges facing public health departments and outlines CDC’s efforts to address those challenges.

Using data taken from a community health survey, Ms. Helen Margellos-Anast, Ms. Ami M. Shah and Dr. Steve Whitman of the Sinai Urban Health Institute in Chicago, IL explored childhood obesity patterns in certain Chicago communities and compared those levels with national estimates. The article, “Prevalence of Obesity Among Children in Six Chicago Communities: Findings from a Health Survey,” appears in the March/April 2008 issue of Public Health Reports.

A new generation of tobacco products is threatening efforts to reduce tobacco use in the United States, warns a new report recently issued by a coalition of public health organizations. The report, “Big Tobacco’s Guinea Pigs: How an Unregulated Industry Experiments on America’s Kids and Consumers,” was issued by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, with funding by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) School of Public Health have uncovered a potentially serious error in the current government statistics that indicate a significant decrease in cigarette smoking, binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption among young adults. The discovery questions the accuracy of the current data and points to the need for changes in the way future surveys and public opinion polls are conducted.

New research from the University of Michigan shows that forcing people to leave their homes in the Gaza strip alone did not cause depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, but rather the loss of social and economic resources that accompanied the move was the biggest predictor of mental health.

Persons exposed to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident as children and adolescents have an increased risk of follicular adenoma or benign tumor of the thyroid gland, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.  Results of the study further suggest that age at exposure, history of thyroid diseases and location of residence do not modify its risk.

ASPH will regularly provide members and Friday Letter readers with links to other electronic newsletters that may be of interest to the public health community. Links to E-newsletters will be added to a web page found at www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=924. This week’s additions include:

AAMC STAT: Association of American Medical Colleges, February 18, 2008
www.aamc.org/newsroom/aamcstat/aamcnews.htm

At The Frontline: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, February 2008 Issue
http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu/news/e-newsletter/index.html

AUPHA Exchange: Association of University Programs in Health Administration, Winter 2008 Issue
http://www.aupha.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3322

Harvard Public Health Now: Harvard School of Public Health, February 15, 2008
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/now/

Legacy E-News: American Legacy Foundation, February 2008 Issue: Special Focus on Black History Month

www.reviewsite.net/legacy_e-news/feb_2008/

News PHlash: New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness at UMDNJ, February 1-15, 2008
www.njcphp.org/news/index.html

As part of its activities surrounding National Public Health Week, the American Public Health Association (APHA) is sponsoring a blog site at www.nphw.blogspot.com.  APHA is inviting guest bloggers to participate by submitting entries related to the theme “Climate Change: Our Health in Balance.”   Blog entries should be no more than 350 words, concise, engaging and they should tell a story related to the theme.  If interested, please contact Ms. Tracy Kolian at tracy.kolian@apha.org.

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Alumni Association announces the availability of scholarships to participate in the 2008 EIS Conference to be held in Atlanta, GA from April 14-18. Up to eight scholarships of $800 each will be awarded to partially subsidize participation in the Conference.

KaiserEDU.org invites undergraduate and graduate-level students in all disciplines to submit an original essay for its Second Annual Student Essay Contest. The topic of this year’s contest is on presidential health priorities. Prizes of $1,000 and $500 will be awarded. The deadline for submission is Monday, March 17 by 5 p.m. (ET).

The Gary Stewart Scholarship for Research in Public Health supports educational research projects of graduate students in public health. Funded through the Association of Reproductive Health Professional’s (ARHP) Fund for the Future of Reproductive Health, the Stewart Scholarship provides an award of $2,500, a one-year membership to ARHP and paid registration and travel to the Reproductive Health 2008 Conference.

The American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) Foundation, Inc. is currently accepting applications for the Hazel Corbin/Childbirth Connection Grant for Evidence-Based Midwifery Care. This one-year, $6,000 grant is designed to support or augment outstanding projects that foster knowledge of the safety and/or effectiveness of midwifery practices for mothers and newborns and the application of this knowledge.  The deadline for applications is Monday, April 7.

Registration has opened for scheduled Healthy People 2020 Regional Meetings locations. The purpose of these meetings is to obtain public perspectives on the framework that will be used to organize Healthy People 2020 objectives. Public comment on specific objectives will be sought in 2009. The first of the meetings will be held at the CDC in Atlanta, GA on Monday, March 17.

The Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) will be hosting a luncheon briefing, titled "Visual Imaging: Revolutionizing the Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Disease," on Tuesday, February 26 from 12-1:15 p.m. (ET). The briefing will be held at House Rayburn 2168, Washington, DC. Dr. Alexander Walsh, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California and the director of the Doheny Imaging Exploration and Software Engineering Laboratory, will be the speaker.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Low Income Health Access Open Door Forum addresses the concerns of the beneficiary advocates, providers and information intermediaries throughout the country interested in improving access to Medicare and Medicaid for lower income Americans. The next forum will be held on Wednesday, February 27 at 2 p.m. (EDT).

The West Virginia University Department of Community Medicine will be sponsoring a Grand Rounds presentation, titled “Integrating Medical and Public Health Research in Schools of Medicine,” on Thursday, February 28 from 12-1 p.m. (ET). Dr. Eduardo Simoes, the director of the Prevention Research Centers Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be presenting.

The 10^th Annual William T. Small Jr. Keynote Lecture is the highlight of the 29th Annual University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) School of Public Health Minority Health Conference on “The Impact of Poverty, Culture, and Environment on Minority Health. The broadcast of the keynote lecture, “The Science and Epidemiology of Racism and Health in the United States: an Ecosocial Perspective,” will be presented by Dr. Nancy Krieger of the Harvard School of Public Health on Friday, February 29 from 2-3:30 p.m. (ET).

Each month the Division of Reproductive Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosts an interactive web cast that focuses on issues relevant to MCH epidemiologists. This month, the web cast will be held on Wednesday, March 5 from 2-3 p.m. (ET). Ms. Kimberly Noble Piper of the Iowa Department of Public Health will present “Fetal Death Ascertainment in Iowa.”

The 3^rd Annual Health Disparities Conference at Teachers College, Columbia University will provide an opportunity for varied professionals to gain exposure to evidence-based approaches to reducing/eliminating health disparities and moving society toward equity in health for all, in addition to state-of-the-art practices being utilized by practitioners. The conference will be held March 7-8.

The Florida Department of Health will be sponsoring a free program, titled “Epidemiology of Poisoning in Florida: Opportunities for Prevention,” on Wednseday, March 19 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (ET). The program will provide education and information regarding the problem of poisoning in Florida, the services of Florida’s Poison Control Centers and guidelines for teaching poison prevention to new parents and other clinic clientele.  It will also provide poison prevention information that can be shared with parents.

Public Health Students of African Descent (PHSAD) at the University of Michigan School of Public Health will host its 22^nd annual health conference in Ann Arbor, MI from March 28-29. The focus of this year’s conference will be “What Does It Mean to Be Brown and Green? The Environment and Environmental Health in Minority Communities.”

The Yale Center for Public Health Preparedness will host a community preparedness conference aimed at addressing the needs of diverse populations. The conference will take place at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT on April 17-18.  The goal of the conference is to provide supportive information and exemplary methods of emergency response for state and local planners in an effort to reach all community members in an emergency. 

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH) at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will sponsor the 4th annual Summer Institute in Maternal-Fetal Pharmacology at the Doubletree Hotel in Burlington, VT from July 18-14. The deadline for application submissions is Tuesday, April 1.

The 2^nd Annual Public Health Congress, hosted by World Congress, will be held July 23-25  in Washington, DC at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.  In 2007, nearly 300 distinguished Public Health and Hospital executives convened for a groundbreaking meeting to share insights and improve collaborative efforts in preparedness, prevention and infectious disease control. 

New!

Volume 123

Issue 2
March/April 2008

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