Join the movement!

It's never too early to get a head start on next year's National Public Health Week celebration, which will take place April 2–8 with a theme of "A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement!" Visit the National Public Health Week site today to download a brochure about next year's observance and sign up to receive free email updates. You can also visit the National Public Health Week booth, #4100, in the Public Health Expo.

'Stand up and insist on the impossible'

Watch videos from this year's Opening Session on APHA's YouTube channel!



Community. It was the thread that tied this afternoon's Opening Session together. Whether it was mental illness, health policy, social justice, health reform or the nation's natural wonders, it all came back to community — back to the notion that we all rise and fall together, that together we can shape our futures into better ones.

First up: Healthy communities promote healthy minds. That's where Pamela Hyde, administrator of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, came in to make the case that behavioral health is today's No. 1 public health challenge. By 2020, she said, mental health and substance abuse disorders will surpass all physical diseases as a major cause of disability worldwide, and more than half of U.S. adults will develop at least one mental illness in their lifetimes. In addition, drug-related deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities, and deaths by suicide outnumber homicides and deaths from HIV/AIDS. One suicide happens in the United States every 15 minutes. (Wow. This blogger had no idea.)

Fortunately, community-based approaches do make a difference, Hyde said. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans living with mental illness and substance abuse disorders do not get the treatment they need. While most Americans know at least something about things like first aid and basic nutrition, most don't know the signs of addiction and mental illness. But we want to change that, Hyde told attendees, we want to take a public health approach to the problem and begin a national dialogue.

"We want to engage you around this wicked problem," she said. "There is no health without mental health."

Next up: Healthy communities promote healthy bodies. Introducing Jonathan Jarvis, 18th director of the National Park Service. Now, you're probably asking yourself: What's this park ranger doing at the Opening Session? Well, it turns out the National Park Service wants to help you prevent poor health (and forest fires, of course.)

"There is a connection between our public lands and public health," Jarvis said, adding that the agency is now engaged in efforts to bring the outdoors into the public health discussion.

A few of those efforts include a pilot program that encourages park concessioners to offer nutritious, locally grown food; Park Prescriptions, which provides materials to health professionals that they can pass along to patients about places to enjoy the outdoors (Jarvis said he likes to call the effort "take a hike and call me in the morning"); and Let's Move Outside, a campaign administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. Today, Jarvis said, the National Park Service is seeking new partnerships in the health community to help strengthen the connections between public lands and the opportunities for better health.

"When you consider the power of the outdoors...you simply cannot come up with a health care investment that will yield a better return," he said.

Now it's time to tie it all together: Advocacy promotes healthy communities, minds and bodies. This may be the most frustrating part, especially in today's political climate. Luckily, we're witnessing transformative changes thanks to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, said session speaker Tom Daschle, former U.S. Senate majority leader. While we've still not convinced all Americans that "good health should be a right, not an option," there is consensus on a number of issues, such as the lack of transparency in the health system and the need for payment reform, he said. Whether we're successful in bringing prevention, health and wellness to all will depend on five factors, Daschle said: resiliency, innovation, engagement, advocacy and collaboration.

"We need you," he urged attendees. "The question is, will you be here?"

We will if APHA President Linda Rae Murray has anything to do about it.

"Stand up and insist on the impossible," she told Opening Session attendees. "Demand freedom now, demand peace now, demand justice now."

So, fair readers, what did you think of this year's Opening Session?

P.S. Check out videos from this year's Opening Session at APHA's YouTube channel.

P.P.S. Check out more Opening Session coverage over at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's NewPublicHealth.org.

— K.K.

Above, from top to bottom: Opening Session speakers Tom Daschle, Jonathan Jarvis and Pamela Hyde. Photos courtesy Jim Ezell/EZ Event Photography

A little birdie told me so: Tweet of the day

Today's tweet of the day among those of you using the hashtag #apha11 is in reference to Opening Session speaker Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, and it's a good one.

From Twitterer shokufeh: My new celebrity park ranger boyfriend: Jonathan Jarvis.

Hey! I saw him first!

Hello, my name is....

“You always come out of this conference with a wealth of knowledge,” said Larissa Estes, a three-time APHA Annual Meeting attendee from Houston, Texas, who was looking over the final program with colleague Robert Hines outside the registration area in the Washington Convention Center this morning.

Rise Goldstein, from Bethesda, Md., is presenting a poster on mental health research tomorrow and said the meeting gives her a chance to network and learn.

“I’m looking forward to seeing friends and colleagues I haven’t seen in many years and wanting to see what’s new in the world, professionally,” she said.

That professional teaching is a key draw for many, including Theresa Mieh, an HIV/AIDS researcher from State College, Pa.

“I’m here to listen to presentations from experts in the field and learn from them to see how to better my own research,” she said.

Richard Chambers, who works for Pfizer and is from Collegeville, Pa., said lessons learned from the biostatistics sessions at past APHA Annual Meetings have translated to positive changes at his workplace. He said the statistics-related sessions at APHA touch on topics not found elsewhere, such as dealing with large populations and missing data.

“If a group stays among themselves, the thinking stays inbred,” Chambers said about the importance of attending a meeting where diverse ideas circulate. “We have to mix and mingle to keep people from thinking in silos.”

Patricia Daugherty, a newly minted MPH and new APHA member from Blacksburg, Va. (go, Hokies!), was excited but a bit overwhelmed while perusing the Annual Meeting program this morning.

“I hope to take away a whole lot more knowledge from different aspects of public health,” she said. “I also brought my resume and I’m hoping to have someone critique it. And I’m looking for a job.”

New member Benjamin Keeney from the University of Washington is both presenting two posters and participating in an oral session, but also hopes to spend the next few days “learning a lot, meeting new people, soaking it in.”

If you’re in need of some help navigating the meeting, come to the New Member/First-Timer Orientation session from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Salon H of the convention center. What do you hope to take away from this year’s meeting (besides public health swag from the Expo)? Let us know in the comments section below.

— D.C.

Walking the walk

Saturday’s frigid downpour didn’t stop members of the APHA Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section from taking some good public health intentions and putting them into action.

“I just love it when people will take a risk on something that’s kinda out there,” said Tony DeLucia, a professor at East Tennessee State University, who led a very wet walking audit of a neighborhood near Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church in southeast D.C.

DeLucia was among nine public healthers who braved the wind and rain to learn how to assess sidewalks, streets and crosswalks for pedestrian access.

The crosswalk at Pennsylvania Avenue and 30th Street, for example, was well-marked and had a crossing signal that included an audible alert. Yet the group of nine barely made it across the intersection before the light changed. Most sidewalks were well-maintained, but some ended abruptly.

DeLucia plans to give audit results to community leaders in the area. In 2008, a study found that 42 percent of residents living in the area had high blood pressure — the highest rate in the District — and 40 percent are obese.

Turnout might have been light as far as local residents taking advantage of the health fair and healthy foods market inside the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, but the event brought people together for what looks like some lasting collaboration. In fact, medical students from D.C.'s Howard University plan to work with the local group Dreaming Out Loud in the future to offer free health screenings in the city’s under-served communities.

“I’m happy and impressed,” Howard University medical student Valerie Lerebours said about the 16 students who were on hand from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. to offer blood pressure and blood glucose checks, glaucoma screenings and body weight measurements. “It’s a great way to actually implement what we learn.”

Many Howard and Georgetown University medical students were volunteering side by side for the first time, something many of them hope to continue.

“Even though we’re in the same city, we don’t work together as much as we should,” said Brad Grant, associate dean of Howard University's College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science.

Grant said he has reached out to some of his students to participate in a future community mural painting project and will be giving the keynote speech at tonight’s CHPPD Section Social, which is slated for 6:30-8:30 p.m. at 920 U St. ($10 donation suggested).

CHPPD Section Chair Amy Carroll-Scott said she’d like the community outreach activity to become a yearly event involving more APHA sections.

“Everybody’s doing great things in their communities, and then we come to the Annual Meeting and talk about it, but don’t do anything,” she said.

But the fact that scores of volunteers showed up yesterday to highlight healthy eating and exercise and offer screenings “shows we can mobilize and do it again," she said.

— D.C.

Above, Tony DeLucia, far left, leads fellow public health practitioners on a walking audit of a neighborhood in southeast Washington, D.C. Photo by Donya Currie

The bright future of public health

Students from around the country gathered for the annual National Student Meeting yesterday, all drawn to the field of public health for various reasons. We met up with just a few of the hundreds of students in attendance at the event, which was organized by the APHA Student Assembly, to find out more about their personal motivations for pursuing studies in public health.

“As a teen parent, I went through the prenatal process and experienced first-hand the shortcomings of the health care system. I personally experienced a lot of barriers, so I don’t want others to go through the same thing I did. I want to bridge the gaps between the health care system and teen parents.”
Brittany Chambers, Oakland, Calif.
Second-year MPH student, California State University – Fresno






“After my undergrad, I applied and got into USF. Once I got into the master’s program, I loved it. I really enjoyed it. I got my degree in global health practice. After that I took a year off and worked in the field before applying to the PhD program. After schooling, I hope to make a difference.”
Pam Guevara, Tampa, Fla.
PhD candidate, University of South Florida






“My interest in public health started with an interest in my personal health. Through my studies, I learned of all the problems with behavior and how that affects people’s health. So with knowledge from the public health field, I want to be in a position to help other people, especially other students and people my age.”
Renzo Meza, Gaithersburg, Md.
Psychology and public health major, University of Maryland - Baltimore County





“I studied anthropology in undergrad. I took a public health class and immediately thought it was for me. I got my MPH at UCLA and took a year off to work in eastern Kentucky, where I was exposed to rural health issues. I was finding there were a lot of needs in the community and I could incorporate anthropology and public health.”
Julia Caldwell
PhD candidate, University of California – Los Angeles






“When I was in a refugee camp in Sudan, I saw one person who made a difference in our lives. He was an Ethiopian doctor who helped with a cholera outbreak. He called on me to help translate for him. When I saw how one individual made such an impact on so many people, I was inspired.”
John Mabior, originally from south Sudan
Public health major, University of Maryland – Baltimore County







“Since I was 14, I was interested in health. My dad works in health promotion, and I’ve always been interested and passionate about living a healthy life. I want to help others to do the same. Eventually, I want to change the world! I’d really like to work with organizations to help others live healthier lives. I’ll be applying to doctoral programs soon. I have an end goal, but I’m not quite sure about the ‘how’ just yet.”
Allison O’Donnell, West Bloomfield, Mich.
Second-year MPH student, University of Michigan




— L.R.

Photos by Lalaine Ricardo

Celebrate good times

Members from APHA's affiliated state and regional public health associations celebrated their colleagues' accomplishments and enjoyed the festivities at the annual APHA Committee on Affiliates reception and awards ceremony, which was held Saturday night.

Above, CoA reception attendees smile for the camera. Click! Photos courtesy Jim Ezell/EZ Event Photography

Sunday's Have You Heard

Yes, We're Open!: Come one, come all to the APHA 139th Annual Meeting Opening Session! We've got some big speakers lined up for what is sure to be an energizing kick-off. This year's speakers include former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle; Jonathan Jarvis, the 18th director of the National Park Service; Pamela Hyde, administrator of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Opening Session takes place from noon to 2 p.m. in the lower level of Exhibit Hall A in the Washington Convention Center.

Get your goody bag ready: The nearly 700 booths at this year's Public Health Expo will be ready to welcome you with open arms, tons of information and, yes, lots of free stuff. So clear some space in your APHA meeting bag for public health goodies galore. Expo booths run the gamut, including schools of public health, federal and state public health agencies, nonprofit organizations, book publishers as well as APHA membership groups. The expo opens right after Sunday's Opening Session at 2 p.m. in Exhibit Halls D/E of the Washington Convention Center.

Overwhelmed?: No worries, we're here to help. Check out the New Member/First-Timer Orientation session from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Salon H of the convention center to help you organize your schedule and hear from seasoned Annual Meeting attendees.

Raise your voice!: Thinking about taking a trip to the halls of Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of a healthy America? Then don't miss Sunday's session 177 at 2 p.m. in room 140A of the convention center to learn about "Training for Hill Visits on APHA Priorities." Then, visit APHA's Annual Meeting Hill Visits site for all you need for a successful visit with your member of Congress.

Going viral: Looking for a little mystery? Check out The Contagion Project event on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Salon A/B/C of the convention center and hear from Dr. Larry Brilliant, a scientific consultant to the recent movie "Contagion," president of the Skoll Global Threats Fund, and founder and director of the Seva Foundation, a global organization that works to eliminate preventable blindness, among many other accomplishments. Hear about the science behind "Contagion" and an exciting new challenge for APHA members. Will you go viral to help?

Two tweets are better than one: Meet your fellow Twitterers at the APHA Tweetup at 7 p.m. at restaurant 901, which is located at 901 9th St., NW, just a few steps away from the convention center. Tell them a little birdie sent you.