Our blog addresses the professional and educational development of Master of Public Health (MPH) students. Read along as Jennifer Celio, updates about research and news in the public health field. Jennifer is an MPH student in Health Policy and Management at the City University of New York School of Public Health at Hunter College and is an elected member of their curriculum committee. Her interests include obesity prevention, food insecurity, health disparities, universal health care and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.The federally subsidized School Breakfast Program began as a pilot project in 1966 and was made permanent in 1975. Students that meet Federal Poverty Level (FPL) requirements are eligible to receive free or reduced-price breakfast, which is typically served in the school cafeteria before instruction begins. The majority of students who qualify for the School Breakfast Program in New York City do not participate. To eliminate the stigma of a segregated location and the difficulty of arriving earlier to school, some schools in New York City have voluntarily implemented a classroom breakfast program to make breakfast more accessible to all students.
School Breakfast: An Opportunity for a Healthy Start
Posted in Family Health, Food Insecurity, Nutrition, Obesity, prevention, Public Health
Tagged food insecurity, New York City, obesity, school breakfast
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On being a student in 2012
If it’s been many years since you were last in school, things have changed a lot. Continue reading
Community Residents Hold The Key to Neighborhood Improvement
On April 18, 2012, I attended the New York State Public Health Association’s Pre-Conference Workshop: “Towards Health Equity: Transforming Communities through Engagement” in Troy, NY. A presentation given by Deborah Puntenney, Ph.D., Barbara Zappia, MPA, Lauren Snyder, RN, MPA and Miguel Melendez, BA focused on engaging neighborhood residents in the creation of opportunities for healthy living, using the principles of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). Instead of emphasizing “what needs to be fixed,” or the negatives about a neighborhood (i.e. low income and low literacy levels, abandoned buildings, high crime rate), ABCD seeks to identify existing assets and empower its residents. Community members are involved in the process from day 1, as they formulate personally meaningful goals and identify neighborhood assets such as community centers, churches and vacant lots (that have the potential to become playgrounds, parks, gardens or housing.)
2012 National Health Promotion Summit, Washington, D.C.
Me and Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association
I spent an exciting few days in Washington, D.C. last week, at the 2012 National Health Promotion Summit hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) on April 10-11. The Affordable Care Act‘s focus on prevention paired with Healthy People 2020‘s goals and objectives set the stage for national health promotion. During the Summit we discussed programs and policies that align with national prevention initiatives such as the National Prevention Strategy, Let’s Move, the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities and the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Strategy, and ways stakeholders from various disciplines and community roles contribute to achieving Healthy People 2020 goals and objectives.
“Nothing is more important to our country’s future than the health of our people.”
- Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
The Health Summit featured national leaders in public health including keynote speakers U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh. Continue reading
Posted in National Health Promotion Summit, prevention, Public Health
Tagged Affordable Care Act, APTR, disease prevention, Georges Benjamin, health policy, Healthy People 2020, HHS, Howard Koh, Kathleen Sebelius, Let's Move, Martin Luther King, National Health Promotion Summit, National HIV/Aids Prevention Strategy, National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities, National Prevention Strategy, ODPHP, public health, Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General
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Dive into Public Health! Here’s how…
When I received my acceptance letter to the MPH program in March 2011, I was so eager to begin, I wished classes would start right away. Unfortunately, that was not possible – I had to wait until fall. In a way, this was a blessing because it gave me the opportunity to find other ways to dive right in. I’ll share a few things I’ve found very valuable:
Posted in Public Health, Resources
Tagged APHA, CPH, CUNY SPH, Health Promotion Summit, Healthy CUNY, NYSPHA, PHANYC, twitter
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Celebrate National Public Health Week 2012, April 2-8
Monday, April 2nd marks the beginning of National Public Health Week (NPHW), spearheaded by the American Public Health Association. This year’s theme is A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement. The aim is to encourage Americans to take preventive measures to improve their lives, and each day is dedicated to 1 of these 5 focus areas:
- Monday, April 2nd – Active Living and Healthy Eating
- Tuesday, April 3rd – Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs
- Wednesday, April 4th – Communicable Diseases
- Thursday, April 5th – Reproductive and Sexual Health
- Friday, April 6th – Mental and Emotional Well-Being, *Public Health Student Day*
Click on a topic above to download a factsheet and learn about ideas for making improvements in yourself and in your community.
A little history on NPHW:
- In 1995, the first full week of April was proclaimed National Public Health Week by former President Bill Clinton.
- For the past 3 years, the final day of NPHW is observed as Public Health Student Day.
NPHW planned activities:
- Twitter chat led by Dr. Georges Benjamin (APHA Executive Director) – Monday, April 2, at 1 p.m. via @NPHW or #NPHWChat
- NPHW Road Tour with Dr. Benjamin – Atlanta, Denver, Baltimore
- Public Health Student Day – APHA event at Morgan State University
- Legislative Action – Send a letter to your member of Congress, check out resources in the NPHW toolkit
Social media:
- Facebook – “Like” the NPHW.org Facebook fan page
- Twitter – Follow @NPHW, tweet/retweet messages using #NPHW
- YouTube – Post videos relating to prevention, “Like” or comment on APHA videos
- Blogging – Subscribe to the NPHW blog, tag any blog posts you write regarding NPHW with “NPHW 2012″
To find events near you, visit the NPHW website and search by state.
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Sources:
APHA NPHW 2012 Webinar, January 31, 2012: https://apha.adobeconnect.com/_a912675164/p4ehft68a70/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normall
APHA Public Health Newswire, “National Public Health Week 2012 to address disease prevention”: http://www.publichealthnewswire.org/?p=2489
My Road to Public Health
Hi readers! Just thought I would take some time to introduce myself. I was so excited to get that first blog post out regarding contraception, because the more news that came out about limiting women’s rights and access to care, the more I felt like I had to write about it! I suppose I had a similar sense of urgency when I decided to get into public health. It was an interesting journey getting there, with many twists and turns along the way, but I feel like I’ve found my calling.
Posted in Public Health
Tagged health policy, nutrition, obesity, occupational therapy, public health, special needs, student
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Contraception: Not Just a Women’s Issue
In honor of Women’s History Month, I am dedicating my first blog post to contraception, a hot topic in the media and in the presidential race, with far reaching effects for both men and women. Employers have the right to deny contraception coverage under their health insurance plans, pharmacies can refuse to dispense birth control pills and a growing number of states are mandating forced transvaginal ultrasounds prior to receiving an abortion. In Texas, even women’s access to any type of health care is currently being threatened by the ongoing contraception debate. This past week the U.S. government announced that a health program serving 100,000 low-income women in Texas is shutting down because the state enacted a law that prohibits funding for clinics that provide abortion services, in defiance of federal law.
Posted in Public Health, Reproductive Rights
Tagged abortion, contraception, women's health
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30 Instructional YouTube Videos on Public Health Awareness
If public health is the science and art of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles and research for disease and injury prevention, then what better way to promote public health than through public-access videos? The following list of 30 instructional YouTube videos about public health awareness include topics such as behavioral science and health education, nutrition and food safety, emergency services and risk management, environmental health, maternal and child health and epidemiology. While these categories do not cover all the topics available within public health awareness, you might see where many of the issues below overlap several categories. Continue reading
Posted in Public Health
Tagged behavioral science, child health, emergency services, environmental health, epidemiology, food safety, health education, maternal health, nutrition, risk management
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15 Stunning Public Health Infographics
The field of public health is full interesting challenges. At home and abroad, public health issues are becoming increasingly important. We know that our policies have bearing on our health, and our choices can impact our health.
Additionally, we also know that around the world others don’t have the same access to public health facilities and information. There is a lot of information out there about the distributing of health resources, as well as information here at home about the threats we face to our health. If you are interested in information about public health, there are some great infographics that can illustrate different statistics. Here are 15 public health infographics:
Posted in Public Health, Resources
Tagged disease, Health, Health care, medicine, public health
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