USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium: SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM AGENDA
11:00
a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Track 2: Strategies for Addressing the Growing International Element of Public Health
Greenlee/Graham Room, Tucson Convention Center
Approaches to Enhancing Collaborative Global Health Efforts
This session will feature two presentations examining new and evolving approaches to fostering collaborative global health endeavors.
A Model for Civil-Military Cooperation on Global Health
CAPT Ken Schor, USN, DO, MPH, Assistant Professor, Preventive Medicine & Biometrics and Deputy Director, General Preventive Medicine Residency Department of Preventive Medicine & Biometrics Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
pps (10.58 MB) | pdf (1.52 MB)
This presentation will look at how to better integrate global health efforts across multiple civilian agencies and the military.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Identify components of an effective integrated strategy
• Describe the key partners in such an effort and their roles
CAPT Arthur French, MD, USPHS, Coast Guard National Maritime Center
This presentation will examine the humanitarian assistance and disaster response components of the recently signed document “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Sea Power.” This document creates a unified maritime strategy integrating sea power with other elements of national power. The strategy addresses six key tasks, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The humanitarian assistance component of the strategy focuses on building relationships in times of calm and working to mitigate human suffering, as well as enhancing the ability to conduct rapid and sustained disaster relief operations. This presentation will take a detailed look at the humanitarian assistance and disaster response components of the strategy and the role of the U.S. Public Health Service in implementing the strategy.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe how humanitarian assistance missions will be an integrated component of the national maritime strategy
• List the desired clinical and operational competencies for Commissioned Corps officers supporting maritime humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions
02:45
p.m. – 03:15 p.m.. Track 2: Strategies for Addressing the Growing International Element of Public Health
Greenlee/Graham Room, Tucson Convention Center
A Glimpse of Hell: Torture as a Global Public Health Problem
CAPT John Tuskan, USPHS, Director of the Refugee Mental Health Program, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Presentation (pps, 606 KB)
This presentation will provide an overview of the international and domestic definitions of torture; the types and objectives of torture; and the health service needs of survivors. The session also will discuss the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 and the Office of Refugee Resettlement program as they relate to services for survivors of Torture. It is estimated that government-supported torture is practiced on five continents and in 70 countries. Using data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the populations at risk of torture worldwide, it is estimated that there may be more than 400,000 torture survivors in the United States.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Discuss the public health implications of torture
• Identify the types and objectives of torture and the service needs of survivors
• State the major provisions of the U.S. Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998
03:15 p.m. – 03:45 p.m. Track 2: Strategies for Addressing the Growing International Element of Public Health
Greenlee/Graham Room, Tucson Convention Center
Battered Immigrant Women Project
Jean McClelland, Coordinator, Pima County Battered Immigrant Women Task Force
Montserrat Caballero, Coordinator, Pima County Battered Immigrant Women Task Force
Presentation (pps, 405 KB)
This presentation will describe an effort by the Southern Arizona Battered Immigrant Women Project to better understand women's experiences in applying for immigration status under the Violence Against Women Act ‘s (VAWA) self-petition process, The VAWA was created to protect the rights of all victims of interpersonal violence in the United Stats, which includes rights to health and well-being, dignity, and self determination. VAWA includes provisions to provide support to battered immigrant women to leave harmful or lethal situations without jeopardizing their immigration status.
The researchers conducted interviews in three border counties with a number of applicants. Findings from these qualitative interviews will be presented to illustrate how policy, politics and practices facilitate or obstruct access to these rights. Specifically, the study highlights the lived experience of battered immigrant women, and offers recommendations to improve policy and service delivery based on these women's views and critiques of the VAWA self-petition process.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe the issues facing battered immigrant women in the VAWA self-petition process
• Identify policies and practices that facilitate or hinder this process
• Discuss the challenges of addressing federal, state and local policies in terms of immigrant rights and access to basic human services
04:00
p.m. – 04:30 p.m. Track 2: Strategies for Addressing the Growing Element of Public Health
Greenlee/Graham Room, Tucson Convention Center
Preparing for Clinical Work in Less Developed Countries
CAPT Ronald Pust, MD, USPHS, Global Health Curriculum Director, University of Arizona College of Medicine
This session will discuss how public health officials deployed to less developed countries (LDCs) can effectively utilize internationally-validated diagnostic and treatment technologies, which may be more effective than models and methods of medical care well-suited to the United States but not sustainable and sometimes inappropriate in LDCs. This session will begin with a brief experiential "needs assessment" by participants, followed by an overview of resources and materials on clinical care in LDCs, and conclude with a discussion of the utility of these approaches for clinicians being deployed abroad
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Cite salient sources and courses to prepare individuals for clinical and public health deployments in developing nations, including those derived in/from developing nations
• Compare and contrast the content of these resources to the goals of various types of international clinical service in which they have or will participate
04:30
p.m. – 05:00 p.m. Track 2: Strategies for Addressing the Growing International Element of Public Health
Greenlee/Graham Room, Tucson Convention Center
Crossing Borders-Creating Safety: Emotional Trauma First Aid Skills for Public Health Personnel
Lisa LaDue, Supervisory Mental Health Specialist on the Iowa-1 Disaster Mental Health Team (NDMS-DMAT) and Executive Director of Pi Trauma Services Group, Ltd.
This presentation will address the impact of emotional trauma, which is an increasing international concern due to public health threats, terrorism, and other disasters that result in displacements of large populations. Public health personnel are likely to find themselves in front-line positions working with overwrought and traumatized individuals. Creating a sense of safety for others and for providers is a pre-requisite to working effectively in culturally diverse disaster settings.
The psycho-biological aspects of trauma will be discussed in order to provide a basic understanding about the interactions between the human brain, body and mind when confronted with life threatening situations. This knowledge base provides the foundation upon which emotional first aid skills have been developed and field-tested in disaster settings. This presentation will provide concrete explanations and guidelines to assist public health personnel in providing emotional trauma first aid to individuals regardless of the cause of the trauma, the setting, or the culture of the affected population.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe the effects of fight, flight and freeze responses to trauma
• Assess an individual’s ability to be safe
• Provide trauma first aid to enhance individual and group safety