National Public Health Week

Master of Public Health Program Activities for National Public Health Week
In recognition of National Public Health Week, (April 6-11, 2009), the Master of Public Health Program is planning a number of activities during the month of April and ending on the first of May. For more information on National Public Health Week, for which the theme is “Building the Foundation for a Healthy America,” visit http://www.nphw.org/nphw09/default.htm

Shadowing Public Health Workers:  In partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, the VCU MPH Program is placing more than 30 graduate public health students with various personnel from the Virginia Department of Health for a one-day shadowing experience. These experiences will take place throughout the month of April and include activities including restaurant inspection, data analysis, evaluative report development, shellfish monitoring, and working with the Commissioner of Health.

Community Health Fair:  In collaboration with the VCU Center on Health Disparities’ Community Connections for Health Committee, the MPH Program’s Health Disparities Service-Learning Collaborative is assisting with a health fair in an underserved East End Community adjacent to VCU’s Health Sciences Campus. The Center on Health Disparities is taking the lead in organizing the health fair, assisted by MPH students, who will provide demonstrations on healthy eating and handwashing and brochures on general health information identified by community residents as topics of interest. The Center on Health Disparities has invited more than 15 local health-related organizations and agencies to take part in the fair, which will include HIV screening, information on sexually transmitted disease, blood pressure screening, representatives from Richmond Healthy Start, immunization information, and exercise demonstrations, among other activities.

Anyone interested in learning more about the health fair or volunteering at this event should contact Nannette Bailey, nbailey@mcvh-vcu.edu.

Public Health Research Forum and Town Hall Meeting:  The culminating event of the month, the Public Health Research Forum on May 1st, will include poster presentations by VCU faculty and Virginia Department of Health researchers, and graduate students in public health. More than 20 students will be presenting research and forum attendees will select the best 10 posters, which will be presented later in May at a Virginia Department of Health employee event. The Town Hall Meeting will focus on the state of public health at VCU. The event will end with a keynote lecture by Dr. Maghboeba Mosavel of Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities, on “Community Engagement: A Direct Pathway to Addressing Health Disparities.”  For more information on the Public Health Research Forum and Town Hall Meeting, visit http://www.epidemiology.vcu.edu/forums/index.html