Oldest minority health conference in nation organized by future public health leaders
| February 20, 2006 | |
While many college students held summer jobs or attended summer school last year, a small group of students from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began planning the nation’s oldest minority health conference to be held February 24.”Community-Based Research and Practice: How do we make it work for everyone?” is the theme of the 27th Annual Minority Health Conference to be held at the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center in Chapel Hill.
Photograph of Dr. Meredith Minkler
Dr. Meredith Minkler, professor of health and social behavior at the University of California, Berkeley, will present the 8th Annual William T. Small Jr. Keynote Lecture at 9 a.m. Her address will be broadcast by satellite and Internet at 2 p.m. EST. Student co-chairs Chris Heaney and Aisha Moore worked with eight committees of students to plan the conference. A primary activity of the Minority Student Caucus at the School of Public Health, student organizers see the conference as an opportunity to gain leadership skills, to study a topic of interest in more depth, and to recruit students of color to the University. “Most students who attend the conference are impressed with the presentation of it,” said Heaney. “It’s a great display of diversity . . . one of the best recruiting tools the School has for minority students.” Heaney is a doctoral student studying epidemiology at the School of Public Health. Co-chair Moore is a master’s student studying health behavior and health education. The conference draws a national and statewide audience, often filling to capacity well before the day of the conference. Session topics include immigrant health, minorities and research trials, sexual health, environmental health, homicide among minority youth, Native American health, disaster management, and obesity. “For years I’ve enjoyed following this conference,” said Minkler. “It’s a real honor now to have the opportunity to participate.” Heaney said Minkler was the obvious choice for this year’s keynote address. “Aisha and I sat down and tried to think of appropriate investigators who could really give concrete examples of successful partnerships that address health disparities,” he said. Minkler will present examples from around the country of partnerships between communities of color and outside researchers. “Community-Based Participatory Research involves community members in conducting the study and in using the findings to bring about change,” she said. 
Photograph of Dr. Jessie Satia
Jessie Satia, School of Public Health Special Assistant to the Dean for Diversity, applauds the efforts of the student organizers and the long history of the conference. “Here in our School, we have a special emphasis on decreasing the disproportionate burden of poor health and disease on minority populations,” she said. “When people are healthy, they are able to move forward to take advantage of other opportunities to improve their lives.” For more information about the conference, visit www.minority.unc.edu. Information about the satellite and Internet broadcasts of the keynote presentation can be found at www.minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2006/. # # # Contact: Bev Holt, NC Institute for Public Health, bev_holt@unc.edu, 919-966-6274 For further information please contact Ramona DuBose either by phone at 919-966-7467 or by e-mail at ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
