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| August 27 2012- In This Issue |
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Home
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Commissioner Sends Update to Doctors |
"Stay in SHAPE" Contest |
District Celebrates Breastfeeding |
Intern Works with SENDSS Data |
$2.5 Million Grant for Obesity
|Creating a
Tobacco-Free Georgia
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PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
Commissioner Sends Public Health Update to Georgia's Doctors
Last week, Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner of the Georgia
Department of Public Health (DPH) sent an email to more than
30,000 physicians and physician assistants in Georgia giving
them an update on public issues they may have heard about in the
news or encountered in their practice.
Many people have heard about cases of swine flu in certain U.S.
states this year. While the majority of cases are occurring in
Ohio and Indiana, the commissioner felt it necessary to share
some important information. All influenza viruses have the
capacity to change and it's possible this virus may become
widespread, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
There have been 225 cases of H3N2v infection (a swine flu
variant) in the U.S. so far this year. Human to human
transmission remains rare with most the result of exposure to
swine.
So far this year, H3N2v cases have been reported in Hawaii,
Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio
and Illinois. There have been no deaths as a result of H3N2v.
Most infections have occurred in children and have been mild
with very few hospitalizations. As with other influenza
infections, certain people, including young children, elderly
persons, pregnant women and people with long-term medical
conditions, are at greater risk of complications than others.
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Georgia SHAPE launches "Stay in SHAPE" Contest
Georgia SHAPE recently launched the "Stay in SHAPE" contest,
where students can share how they move and stay in shape. This
contest is part of the governor's SHAPE initiative, a statewide
program merging governmental, philanthropic and academic and
business communities to address childhood obesity.
Winners will join Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on the field before
the Atlanta Falcons game Sept. 30, 2012 against the Carolina
Panthers and will receive two tickets to the game along with a
cool new Polar ActiveŽ fitness watch.
Entering the Stay in SHAPE contest is easy. Students can simply
capture what they do and send it to Georgia SHAPE. They can make
a video, perform an original song or even snap a cool action
photo -- the possibilities are limitless. All they have to do is
show Georgia SHAPE, through video or sound -- even the written
word -- how they Stay in SHAPE!
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Breastfeeding mothers and their children, along with
breastfeeding advocates including Brunswick Mayor
Bryan Thompson, gathered to celebrate World
Breastfeeding Week 2012 in the Coastal Health
District.
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The Coastal Health District Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
program, Southeast Georgia Health System, Southeast Georgia
Breastfeeding Coalition and La Leche League of Camden and Glynn
Counties came together in Brunswick to host "A Walk for
Breastfeeding Awareness" and "The BIG Latch On" to celebrate
World Breastfeeding Week 2012. The family-friendly events drew a
large crowd and district staff is already planning a similar
event for next year.
"The Coastal Health District is committed to helping mothers
breastfeed their babies because breastfeeding is preventive
healthcare," said Monica Lightfoot, Coastal Health District
breastfeeding coordinator. "The event was hugely successful. We
registered more than 60 participants who showed up with their
babies and toddlers, as well as family members, and advocates
who came together to support the cause. We could not have pulled
it off without a strong commitment from our community partners."
Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson kicked off the event by reading a
World Breastfeeding Week proclamation. Following the awareness
walk, participants took part in "The BIG Latch On," an
international gathering of breastfeeding women at registered
locations around the world who latch on their child at a set
time.
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DPH Intern Analyzes SENDSS Data of Underserved Communities
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Michael Kelleman and his younger brother, Tim,
cycled 40 miles at the Five Boro Bike Tour in
New York City, held every first Sunday in May.
It is the largest recreational cycling event in
the United States ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Boro_Bike_Tour). |
Michael Scott Kelleman grew up in Ashland, Ky., and saw
firsthand the impact of poor lifestyle choices, including
lack of physical activity, high prevalence of smokers and
poor nutrition. With an ever-increasing portion of the
population obese and a higher incidence of diabetes, this
early exposure led him to seek a second graduate degree -- a
Master of Science in Public Health in biostatistics at
Emory's Rollins School of Public Health.
Kelleman's extensive knowledge in biostatistics and clinical
trials made him a highly qualified candidate as an intern
with the Georgia Department of Public Health's (DPH) STD
epidemiology section.
Linda Allen-Johnson, STD epidemiology program manager,
supervised Kelleman's work at DPH.
"Michael's previous research experience was indeed an asset
to our selection to have him analyze the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) database. He was tasked
to see whether the unique identifier for a
physician/provider would help to standardize our providers
in our electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) system,"
Allen-Johnson said. "He completed enough of the project that
this unique qualifier would work for any program."
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UGA Public Health Researcher Receives $2.5 Million Grant to Combat
Childhood Obesity
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Marsha Davis,
associate professor in the University of Georgia
College of Public Health
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Marsha Davis, an associate professor in the University of
Georgia College of Public Health's department of health
promotion and behavior, recently received a $2.5 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of
Food and Agriculture. The five-year grant will support a
community-based childhood obesity prevention program in Colquitt
County, which is located in southwest Georgia.
The prevention program's key partners are the College of Public
Health and the Colquitt County community and elementary schools.
The UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Cooperative
Extension will provide additional support for the effort.
The program, Davis said, is being designed to engage 600 third
graders through an obesity-prevention program that includes
their families, schools and community. Her goal is to equip
children in Colquitt County with the practical skills they need
to become "change agents" for their families and schools.
"Because obesity is such a complex issue, we need to work with
the community," Davis said. "Families and schools represent the
most important targets for obesity prevention efforts in
children. In addition to adopting better habits for themselves
at an early age, children also can work to alter behaviors among
the adults in the community."
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DPH Working in Partnership to Create a Tobacco-Free Georgia
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(L-R) Brandon, Terrie and Roosevelt, featured as former
smokers in the "Tips From Former Smokers" http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/
ad campaign, attended the 2012 NCTOH conference. They
discussed with Connie F. Smith (far right), health
communications specialist, how they quit smoking. |
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and
disease in the United States, killing more than 443,000
Americans each year according the CDC. In fact, more than 8
million Americans are living with a smoking-related disease, and
every day more than 1,000 youth under 18 become daily smokers.
Georgia shares in the burden of tobacco-related illnesses and
deaths with 10,000 people dying of smoke related diseases each
year. Smoking also costs Georgia $1.2 million in healthcare
costs and another $2.3 million in productivity. These are
reasons enough for staff from the Georgia Department of Public
Health's (DPH) Tobacco Use Program Prevention (TUPP) team to
join 2,000 attendees at the National Conference on Tobacco or
Health (NCTOH), A New Era of Tobacco Control: Policy,
Regulations and Prevention, hosted in Kansas City from August
15-17, 2012.
The DPH TUPP team represented smoking cessation, prevention,
communications, surveillance, environmental tobacco smoke
exposure and epidemiology. The conference offered a unique
opportunity for TUPP to hear from and exchange ideas with the
most innovative and experienced experts in tobacco use
prevention and cessation at the local, state, national and
international levels.
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Home
|
Commissioner Sends Update to Doctors |
"Stay in SHAPE" Contest |
District Celebrates Breastfeeding |
Intern Works with SENDSS Data |
$2.5 Million Grant for Obesity
|Creating a
Tobacco-Free Georgia
|
PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
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