WSPHA Representative to APHA & Journal Editor Blog

Dr. Cornel West is an American philosopher, author and civil rights activist. He currently teaches in the Center for African American Studies and in the department of Religion at Princeton University. He is known for his combination of political and moral insight and criticism, and his contribution to the post-1960s civil rights movement. The bulk of his work focuses upon the role of race, gender, and class in American society and the means by which people act and react to their “radical conditionedness."

West is a graduate of Harvard University. He earned a Ph.D. from Princeton and returned to Harvard as a Du Bois Fellow. He continued his career at Union Theological Seminary in New York and after that Yale Divinity School.

Dr. West became a professor of religion and director of the Program in African American Studies at Princeton In 1994 he accepted an appointment as professor of African-American studies at Harvard University with a joint appointment at the Harvard Divinity School.  In 2001, after a much publicized argument with Harvard president Lawrence Summers, West returned to Princeton, where he has taught since. He has written several books that analyze issues of race, class, and social justice.


Bill JenkinsDr. Bill Jenkins has devoted himself unceasingly to the twin causes of eliminating racial/ethnic health disparities and racial/ethnic minorities career opportunities in biostatistics and epidemiology.

Dr. Jenkins did his undergraduate work in Mathematics at Morehouse College in Atlanta. After earning a masters degree in biostatistics from Georgetown University, Dr. Jenkins earned his M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  He has also completed post-doctoral work in Biostatistics at Harvard University School of Public Health.

Dr. Jenkins has held leadership positions in the American Public Health Association, the American College of Epidemiology, and the American Statistical Association.
 

Just got word from APHA about new books that are available in the APHA Bookstore.  This is just a brief listing of some of the new titles one can find there!

APHA is proud to announce the newest additions to the our bookstore:

Confronting Violence, Third Edition,
by George Gellert, MD
Confronting Violence provides a comprehensive review of the causes, victims, perpetrators, impact and settings of interpersonal violence, along with strategies for societal, family and individual prevention of violent victimization.

Introduction to public healthIntroduction to Public Health, Third Edition
by Mary-Jane Schneider, PhD
This new Third Edition of this best-selling text offers new and updated discussions of current topics, recent events, and the most up-to-date data to illustrate the key issues that affect the public's health.

Demarco FactorThe Demarco Factor,
By Michael Pertschuk
Vinny DeMarco might be a latter-day Don Quixote except that he tilts his lance at real obstacles to social justice: lobby-locked state legislatures and Congress, stonewalling the public will.

WOW!  if "April showers bring May flowers." then they also bring National Public Health Week!
I'm excited about all of the activities going on across the Country, as well as in our own back yard.  The theme, "A Healthier America: Once Community At A Time" really resonates with me. I became interested in Public Health, like so many people in public health, because I wanted to help people have more quality in their lives. Growing up on a farm in the rural Mid-West, I embrace the value of "one community at a time!"
The following words came right from the APHA website:

It begins with us. Here and now.

If every one of us commits to promoting good health in our communities, we can create a ripple effect from coast to coast. Through just one neighborhood that makes its public parks accessible, one municipality that launches a bike-helmet safety program, one group of people who join together to bring fresh foods to school, or one health center that offers a vaccination program, we can create a collage of public health successes across the country.

Block by block, let’s find these small changes and make them today in our communities. Everyone can play a part in helping others stay healthy. The solution to our nation’s large, complex public health challenge is to think—and act—locally. Every action counts, no matter how small.

Commit yourself to action.  Today.  Now.

Pace,
Melody

Deadline Extended to April 9th!!
TWENTIETH Annual Public Health Materials Contest

The PHEHP Membership Committee is soliciting your best health education, promotion and communication materials for the 20th annual competition. The contest provides a forum to showcase public health materials during the APHA Annual Meeting and recognizes professionals for their hard work.

All winners will be selected by panels of expert judges prior to the 138th APHA Annual Meeting, November 6-10, 2010 in Denver, CO. A session will be held at the Annual Meeting to recognize winners, during which one representative from the top materials selected in each category will give a presentation about their material.

Entries will be accepted in the following categories:

    * Printed materials (e.g., brochure, newsletter, poster, flyer, tailored message, comic book);
    * Electronic materials (e.g., Web site, CD-ROM, computer program, video game); and
    * Other (e.g., keychain, T-shirt, button, bracelet, magnet, educational videotape, PSA, etc.)

Contest rules:

    * Multiple authors/submitters per material are acceptable, but the lead author must be a member of APHA. Contact APHA about joining the organization.
    * The material must have been implemented and/or distributed since the last material Contest deadline (April 10th, 2009).
    * Only one entry for each group of authors per category. That is, the same group of authors cannot make multiple submissions in the same category by rearranging the order of authors.
    * Single-item submissions only. Multiple-versions (e.g., Spanish and English) of a single material are acceptable but material series are not.
    * English translations for materials in languages other than English must be provided along with the original material.
    * All materials must have undergone appropriate evaluation (formative and/or summative) and the results must be included.
    * A panel of judges for each category will select the winners. Winners will be contacted in late May 2010.
    * All materials become the property of the PHEHP Section and cannot be returned.
    * One representative of each winning material must attend the Annual Meeting in Denver, CO to give a presentation about their material in a special session. Failure to meet this requirement will disqualify the material and the authors from the contest this year and for three subsequent years.
    * Authors for the winning material will be required to provide information necessary to complete the CE application for the session.

All submissions must be received by April 9th, 2010.

Submissions must include:

    * One copy of the completed entry form (below);
    * Four copies of the one-page material description (see the entry form for details);
    * Four copies/pieces of the material (Web site submissions should simply include the URL on the description).
    * Four copies of English translation if necessary.


Twentieth Annual Public Health Materials Contest Entry Form

Authors:

Mailing Address:

Telephone:

E-mail:

Submission Category:

___Printed Material

___Electronic Material

___Other Material

I allow/do not allow (circle one) PHEHP staff to release the above information to people who attend the APHA Annual Meeting and request additional information about the submitted entry. I have obtained appropriate consent to use images of anyone recognizable in my material, and I release from liability the APHA PHEHP Section, all its officers, employees and all persons involved therein. I understand that all submissions become property of the PHEHP Section and will not be returned.

Signature of lead author:

Date:


On one side of a single sheet of paper, please include four anonymous copies of the following information:

1. Material title and URL, if a Web site;
2. Approximate dates of implementation;
3. A description of the material and its overall purpose;
4. Intended target audience for material;
5. The health behavior addressed by the material;
6. How the material was developed including the application of theory and/or needs assessment data; and
7. How the material was evaluated and the results of the evaluation.

Be sure to include one copy of this form, four copies of the separate sheet describing the material and four copies/pieces of the material. All submissions must be received by April 9th, 2010. Late submissions will not be accepted. For additional questions, contact Kira McGroarty at kmcgroar@jhsph.edu .

Material should be sent to:

Kira McGroarty, MPH, CHES

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

624 N. Broadway, Room 597

Baltimore, MD 21205-1996

Another quarter draws to a close.  I am continually excited and renewed by the next generation of Public Health Professionals!  Students are so full of new ideas and skills!
Meetings dominate my time as both ARGC and Journal Editor!  In fact, this is how many of my meetings are going these days!  (I am the one in the red chair!)
Take care, all, and happy March 11!

Quick alert..
The Special Session Proposal submission deadline has been extended to Friday, February 26.


Again the URL to log in and submit a proposal is below.

http://apha.confex.com/apha/138am/ss.htm

Manuscripts continue to come in for the June issue of the Washington State Journal of Public Health Practice.  I encourage you to submit a manuscript!  Click on the link to the Journal on the left to find the guidelines for authors. 

Several members of the Editorial Board have asked about interest in publishing a special issue of the Journal focused on Community Health Workers and Social Justice: Voices From the Field.  Papers will be solicited from many different CHWs, and will be presented in the native language of the CHW, as well as Spanish and English.

If this is something that appeals to you, please drop a comment below, and we will explore it further.

Peace,
Meody