The latest issue of Section Connection, the IH Section quarterly e-newsletter, is now available! You can find the latest issue of the newsletter here: http://bit.ly/SectionConnection10
If you cannot access the newsletter for any reason please email Theresa Majeski, Global Health Connections Chair, at theresa.majeski@gmail.com
As you all know, the call for abstracts is now open for APHA’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia (https://apha.confex.com/apha/2019/ih.htm). The IH Section is fortunate enough to receive hundreds of high-quality abstract submissions from its members, which gives us the opportunity to put together an engaging scientific program for our meeting attendees each year. A crucial part of that process is abstract review.
We encourage you to volunteer as a reviewer! The Program Committee needs 150-200 volunteers to review and score abstract submissions. Each volunteer is assigned a handful of abstracts (usually 10-20) to grade according to criteria set by APHA, using an online form.
You can sign up to review at:
https://apha.confex.com/apha/2019/ih/cfr.cgi
Reviewer sign-ups are open until February 1.
NOTE: You CAN STILL review abstracts EVEN IF you submitted one for consideration.
The deadline for abstract submissions is February 22. After the submission period closes, the Program Committee will allocate the abstracts to reviewers at the beginning of March. Volunteers will have three weeks to complete their reviews.
Please consider volunteering for this important task! You can sign up at:
https://apha.confex.com/apha/2019/ih/cfr.cgi
The deadline to sign up as a reviewer is February 1.
Posted on behalf of the Climate Change and Health Working Group
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Application Deadline: February 08, 2019, 3:00 p.m. ET
Purpose
Through this funding opportunity, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) seeks to develop and amplify the evidence around a set of approaches that improve community health and well-being and advance health equity, while also addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation. Eligible, local approaches can focus on one or more of a range of determinants of health—including, but not limited to: air quality; energy sources; transportation or mobility design; food and water systems; housing; and health systems. Proposals should specify the determinants of health that the given approach is addressing, and the expected impact on health and well-being. Grant funds will support research and evaluation activities to develop the best possible evidence highlighting what is working well with the select approach and why; where there have been opportunities and challenges; and how other communities may learn from this approach to tackle similar challenges. *All interventions eligible for this funding must have been implemented and active for at least one year as of the date of the application.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
· Proposals must discuss approaches focused in one or more geographically defined communities.
· The community or organization implementing the approaches to address the health impacts of climate change, while improving health equity, must serve as the primary applicant (Project Director), and will be the prime recipient of funds. Individuals from collaborating organizations (e.g. research partner) can serve as the co-Project Director.
· Eligible applicant organizations include public and private nonprofit organizations, federally or state-recognized Indian tribal governments, indigenous organizations, local government, and academic institutions.
· Preference will be given to applicant organizations that are either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations or Type III supporting organizations. The Foundation may require additional documentation.
· Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories.
· Only one proposal may be submitted per applicant organization.
RWJF encourages applicant organizations representing diverse geographic areas, first time-applicants, and communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change to apply.
Key Dates
Monday, January 7, 2019 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. ET)
The first of two optional applicant webinars to provide an overview of the program and an opportunity to ask questions that are general in nature. The second webinar (see below) will be a repeat of the first. Registration is required; please register here for the January 7th webinar.
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 (8:00 – 9:30 p.m. ET)
A repeat of the first optional applicant webinar to provide an overview of the program and an opportunity to ask questions that are general in nature. Registration is required; please register here for the January 15th webinar.
February 8, 2019 (3 p.m. ET)
Deadline for receipt of brief proposals.
March 6, 2019
Selection of semi-finalists; notification of invitations to submit full proposals.
April 3, 2019 (3 p.m. ET)
Deadline for receipt of full proposals.
May 2, 2019
Selection of finalists; notification of invitation to participate in a site visit interview.
May 6, 2019 – May 20, 2019
Site visits conducted.
May 31, 2019
Selection of recommended grants; notification of decisions.
July 15, 2019
Approximate grant start date.
Total Awards
· Up to eight awards will be made through this funding opportunity.
· Proposals may request a budget of up to and including $350,000 each, for a project duration of up to and including 24 months.
· Grant funds will support only research and evaluation activities and some communication and dissemination efforts; funds may not be used to develop or implement a new intervention, program, or approach.
For more information and to apply:
https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/funding-opportunities/2018/health-and-climate-solutions-hub.html
Event Date & Time:
Monday, February 4, 2019 – 10:00am to 4:00pm
Pacific Time
CalEPA Headquarters, Sacramento, CA
Please join the California Department of Public Health, the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) for a workshop on Preparing for the Health Effects of Drought: A Workshop for Public Health Professionals and Partners. This workshop is hosted by the California Department of Public Health as part of the California Climate Action Team Public Health Workgroup meeting series and will take place at the CalEPA headquarters in Sacramento, CA with webinar participation available.
The morning session will be an informational and educational session for public health professionals on the health impacts of drought, and drought projections, with a focus on California. The afternoon will be a facilitated session by NDMC to help participants better understand and use a new CDC National Center for Environmental Health resource guide called Preparing for the Health Effects of Drought: A Resource Guide for Public Health Professionals.
Local health department staff and partners are particularly encouraged to attend, to hear tips and lessons learned from California health departments that have responded to severe drought.
The entire workshop will be shared via webinar, but we encourage in person participation, when possible, to get the most out of the facilitated learning.
Agenda (draft) available here: https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/ab32publichealth/meetings/meetings.htm
Register to attend here: https://cpaess.ucar.edu/forms/preparing-health-effects-drought-california-2019
Webex webinar option – register by clicking here: https://cdph-conf.webex.com/cdph-conf/onstage/g.php?MTID=ef6d7ecb278ccd899bf962522b9c8b926
For more details, please contact: Amanda Sheffield (amsheffield@ucsd.edu)or Dan Woo (daniel.woo@cdph.ca.gov).
Politics & Policies
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who’s in D.C. this week to meet with administration officials and members of Congress, told Axios he hopes the U.S.’ souring relationships with Europe and China — sparked by the Trump administration’s tariffs — won’t hurt long-term global health or climate change goals.
Stereotypes that migrants are disease carriers who present a risk to public health and are a burden on services are some of the most prevalent and harmful myths about migration.
Pakistan’s expulsion of 18 international aid agencies will hurt 11 million aid recipients in a South Asian nation grappling with perilously low standards of education and healthcare.
Programs, Grants & Awards
Each year, in June and November, the Global Health Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia facilitates educational exchanges in the Dominican Republic (DR) through the Global Health Allies Program. The program is open to all benefits-eligible CHOP employees who have been employed at CHOP for at least 18 months at the time of the trip. Approximately six people whose expertise fits with the particular needs of each exchange are chosen following a formal application and interview process.
Students from the Clinton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Milton, Portage and Sun Prairie high schools spent the day at “Opening Doors to the World,” the sixth annual High School Global Public Health Day at UW-Madison.
Research
For most people who take statins to lower cholesterol, the risk of side effects is low compared to the benefits, according to a recent scientific statement.
Diseases & Disasters
U.S. Navy sends hospital ship to Colombia to treat Venezuelan migrants.
The UN appealed Tuesday for $4 billion to cover humanitarian needs in Yemen in 2019 – its largest country appeal ever – and announced its first appeal related to Venezuela, calling for $738 million to help those who have fled the country’s economic meltdown and health crisis.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) confirmed that in September of 2018, first ladies from both China and Africa have committed to advocate and prevent HIV/AIDS among adolescents, creating a joint initiative that emphasizes a three-year health promotion and HIV-prevention advocacy program.
Newly released data by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) shows it is this community-centered approach that has helped Namibia exceed some of the 90-90-90 targets set by UNAids in 2014.
Decades after polio was eradicated from Papua New Guinea, the crippling and sometimes deadly disease has returned, leaving doctors scrambling to revive long-lapsed vaccination programmes.
A drug that protects children in wealthy countries against painful and sometimes lethal bouts of sickle-cell disease has been proven safe for use in Africa, where the condition is far more common, scientists reported on Saturday.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is quickly becoming an international concern. With 489 people diagnosed with the disease and 289 deaths, it is already the second largest Ebola outbreak in history (although still dwarfed by the 2014 West Africa outbreak). While the DRC has a good track record of responding to these outbreaks, the ongoing military conflict in the country is making the response much more difficult.
Technology
Tanzania is the first confirmed country in Africa to achieve a well-functioning, regulatory system for medical products according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A chatbot is a computer program that automatically replies to user messages based on a decision tree or artificial intelligence algorithm. Increasingly, chatbots are being used to give technology a more human face and make data more accessible to people.
Researchers from the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine have generated six antibodies that could be used to test for and potentially treat the Zika virus. To date, the mosquito-borne disease has afflicted more than 1.5 million people worldwide, but there is no effective vaccine or drug available for treatment. It is most dangerous during pregnancy, which can result in miscarriages, stillbirths, or congenital disabilities.
An inexpensive, easy-to-use blood test could dramatically alter how sickle cell disease is diagnosed in Africa, where the often-undiagnosed disease is a leading cause of childhood mortality, according to a manufacturer-sponsored study presented here.
Environmental Health
Britain is bidding to host the UN climate change conference in 2020, the biggest since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015, as part of the government’s aim to be seen as a green leader.
Equity & Disparities
Uterine cancer is killing more women, and black women are disproportionately burdened by the disease, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
Women, Maternal, Neonatal & Children’s Health
Malaria quickly kills toddlers. But rapid diagnostic tests, a new suppository drug and bicycle ambulances can buy enough time to get stricken children to hospitals.
IH CONNECT 