Interdisciplinary conference will focus on policies for healthier aging
| August 27, 2009 | |
The Prevention Research Centers – Healthy Aging Network, a program funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will host a conference, “Promoting Environmental and Policy Change to Support Healthy Aging,” Sept. 15-16 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.
The Healthy Aging conference is scheduled for Sept. 15-16 at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Network’s mission is to assist with the development and dissemination of research related to the public health aspects of healthy aging. Nine American universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, provide the Network with expertise in aging research and partner with community-based groups to develop programs to improve health, particularly for older people. University of North Carolina sponsors include the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; UNC Institute on Aging; Center for Aging and Health, in the School of Medicine; N.C. Healthy Aging Research Network; UNC Highway Safety Research Center; UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health; and the Carolina Geriatric Education Center. The conference, third in the Network’s Research to Practice symposia series, will address challenges, research evidence and promising strategies for practice and policy change. Its content may be of particular interest to professionals and academicians in public health, aging services, health care, business, planning, architecture, engineering and recreation, as well as advocates for livable communities. Professionals from a wide array of disciplines will learn how to work with others in their communities to implement environmental and policy changes that are critical to the promotion of healthy aging. Larry Adelman, executive producer of the award-winning PBS documentary, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, will talk about how environments impact quality of life, health disparities and community health. Dr. Leonard Syme, a social epidemiologist from the University of California, Berkeley, will discuss imperatives for environmental and policy change. Additional speakers are from a wide range of backgrounds including transportation engineering, architecture, public health, city planning, and aging. Topics will include walkable communities, policy change, transportation planning, environmental assessment, universal design, fall prevention and access to healthy food. Other universities that partner with the Network include Texas A & M University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Colorado, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, University of South Carolina, University of Washington and West Virginia University. For additional information and to register, visit http://prc-hanconferences.com/2009-conference. UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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