NEWS

Public Health Grand Rounds scheduled for Jan. 31; wired communities to be discussed

By WENDY TANSON
School of Public Health

CHAPEL HILL -- A panel of public health experts will discuss "Wired Communities: Putting the e in Public Health" on Jan. 31 during the latest installment of Public Health Grand Rounds, a co-production of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The live hour-long broadcast, airing at 2 p.m. ET, will be available free by webcast and satellite, with sites statewide, across the nation and in Canada where people can go to view the program and participate in a live dialogue with public health experts.

This presentation’s goal is to provide information to communities and the public health work force about the benefits of electronic networks and to discuss strategies for leveraging resources to build and participate in these networks.

"It’s important for people to realize how much modern computers and networks can help promote the practice of public health," said program panelist Dr. Patrick O’Carroll, regional health administrator for Public Health Service Region X at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"But it doesn’t happen by accident. There are certain principles and approaches that are key to successfully applying these technologies for public health purposes. These principles and approaches will be discussed in the course of the broadcast."

The tools that build a wired community – such as online resources, innovative software and sophisticated equipment – will be discussed, as well as how those tools can be best used to exchange information.

"Across cities, states and countries, these information exchanges strengthen our public health infrastructure and allow the public health work force to apply the latest and most relevant research to their everyday practice," said Dr. Angela Ruffin, head of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Office of the National Library of Medicine. "Through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and this broadcast, we want to help ensure that the public health work force knows how to get the information they need, when and where they need it."

Ruffin and O’Carroll will be joined on the panel by Dr. Bill Roper, dean of the UNC School of Public Health, and Dr. Hugh Tilson, clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy at the school.

Panelists will discuss Blacksburg, Va., a community that is improving the practice of public health by building relationships, investing in information technology and communicating with the world.

Viewers may submit questions to the panel at interactive satellite conference sites, by fax or online. Panelists will respond, live, to as many questions as time will permit, with further discussion online following the broadcast.

Since its beginning in 1999, the Public Health Grand Rounds series has covered emerging issues of importance to the public health community and the people it serves, including bioterrorism, asthma, genetics, breast cancer screening, disaster preparedness, West Nile Virus, food safety, urban sprawl and obesity. The next broadcast, scheduled for March 28, will focus on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy legislation.

More than 250 sites in 48 states will carry the broadcast live. To register for the program or identify a downlink site location or site for individual viewing, click on www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.edu. Past editions of the program, too, may be viewed by visiting this web site.

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Note: Donna Davis, project director for Public Health Grand Rounds, is available for interviews at (919) 966-9134 or donna_davis@unc.edu.

North Carolina Institute for Public Health contacts: Lisa Morris, (919) 843-9261 or lamorris@email.unc.edu; and Bev Holt, (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu

School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467