Posted on in Uncategorized

EPA to study air quality near HOVENSA on St. Croix

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has installed air monitoring equipment in three areas near HOVENSA oil refinery on St, Croix. This is in response to community concerns about the health impacts of chemical releases into the air.

Image courtesy of caribbeanbusinesspr.com

According to the full article, the study “will provide information to EPA and local residents on whether air quality near the monitoring locations poses health concerns and to guide the strategies for reducing local air pollution. EPA will use the information gathered in the study to help determine next steps, which could include additional monitoring or enforcement actions where appropriate. The goal is to protect public health by preventing exposure to pollution from the facility.”

The article goes on to say that “once monitoring is complete, the results from all of the locations will be analyzed to evaluate the potential for health concerns related to long-term exposure to these pollutants. The preliminary monitoring data is expected to be made public by late spring and a final report should be completed by the summer.”

The full article is available here http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/us_virgin_islands_news/238984.html

Posted on in Uncategorized

Frustrated News Reader

I’m cross-posting this comment I made on the Dominica News Online website because it gets at my frustration with the entire news system:

As much as I enjoy visiting this DNO, I often get frustrated for what passes as news. When a minister makes statements such as this, including the other article on ‘buggery’, I implore DNO to give the people of Dominica as much information as possible and stop posting these simple ‘press releases’. For one, the Strategic Health Plan is available in 2 volumes, with one being the Situation Analysis touched on in the ‘buggery’ article. I was able to obtain electronic copies by simply sending an e-mail to the ministry of health after a previous ‘article’ on the subject. And this leads to my second point, it would help is DNO linked previous ‘articles’ to current ones to give an accurate picture of the situation. I wanted to see for myself what’s in the document because of my interest in public health. And thus my last point, DNO could either make the document available to the public to put aside questions of availability and so we can move the conversation forward to whether they can actually accomplish what’s been stated or give people ways to get the documents.

Posted on in Uncategorized

Embedded health messages on TV shows

I’m watching a recap of last night’s Desperate Housewives and in one scene towards the end, Gabby tells her therapist that her reason for wanting to protect children is because she was molested by her stepfather. This story-line reminded me of two things. One, just today the principal investigator on one of my projects said she became interested in how to use the media in public health campaigns with wanting to be part of a team that places health messages in TV shows. The second, is that there is a group of people working on doing just that. The scene definitely reminded me of the work of The Normal Lear Center at the University of Southern California my (my alma mater) and specifically Hollywood Health & Society.

HHS often works with CDC experts to give accurate health information to television producers and others in the media and entertainment industry for use within their plots lines. In a conversation last year with HHS director Sandra de Castro Buffington, she stressed that HHS does not tell writers what to say, rather, they encourage them to include as accurate as possible any information on the topics. After all, many studies have shown that American consumers gather a lot of their health information from scripted shows. Past CDC and HHS studies have involved working with daytime soap operas on HIV and prime time television shows to highlight childhood obesity.

And, last year for my master’s thesis, I analyzed a TLC show called “One Big Happy Family” which profiled an African American family with obesity and their attempts at making a change. Now, not many African Americans saw the program to begin with, despite TLC’s claim that it attracts large audiences from that genre. Despite the low outreach, those who saw the program showed efficacy in wanting to change their behavior.

Like with many topics, I usually ask, what does this mean for the Caribbean. As we get more integrated economically, we should also consider the impact of such integration on public health (another post entirely). But, an organization, working regionally, who makes part of its mission to deliver credible and accurate information and data to writers, producers and others in the media and entertainment industry is sorely needed. With the growing influence of Caribbean theatre and rising movie industry in Jamaica and Trinidad, as well as local shows in many islands, it would be wise to make sure that the public gets the most exact and non-judgmental information. Whether it is on dengue fever or HIV/AIDS, child abuse or teen pregnancy, if we are to tackle any public health issue with credibility within the arts and entertainment industry across the region, we need to provide people with all that is needed. This, after all, is entertainment education.

 

 

Posted on in Uncategorized

Tuesday Deadline Caribbean HIV Conference Abstracts

Abstracts for the 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference are coming dues Tuesday, February 15th. This years’ theme is Strengthening Evidence to Achieve Sustainable Action. The conference takes place from November 11-21 in The Bahamas.

According to the website, the conference is expected to attract 2,000–2,500 participants and will highlight scientific research findings, implementation lessons learned, skills-building tools, and networking opportunities.

There are five conference tracks within which participants can locate their research: Special Populations, Legal, Ethical, Cultural, Spiritual, and Leadership Issues, Epidemiology, Basic Science and Vaccine Research,  Treatment, Care, and Support, Prevention: Social, Behavioral, and Biomedical Change.

Full information on the conference and each track can be found on their website https://www.2011caribbeanhivconference.org

Posted on in Uncategorized

HIV testing in schools

Two news articles caught my attention today and both address HIV testing in high schools. First, at one high school in San Francisco, the senior class is getting tested for HIV for their class project. The idea for the testing project, which is voluntary, came from one classmate who volunteers with an AIDS doctor. The students hope to inform and educate teens on the importance of getting tested.

Halfway across the globe, South Africa is implementing a testing program across its school systems in hopes of getting all South Africans to know their status and to receive treatment if positive.

Although there are concerns about privacy and professionalism in both cases, young people ages 13 to 19 constitute a significant percentage of those testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. And, although the young students in San Francisco may mot be the target group for most HIV prevention efforts, their project could serve as a pilot program for other students in high-risk groups or geographical areas. Similarly, the South Africa program could influence other countries to start testing earlier.

There is a lot of literature on screening programs in public health and associated harms caused by false positives and associated issues. So, the efficacy of population-level screening has to be a concern. However, for countries or regions with generalized epidemics or in areas with concentrated epidemics, screening those most at risk, and starting screening early ‘might’ help mitigate the spread. I hope SA is planning on studying this issue. I would like to dee a published data. And maybe, Caribbean countries where young people ages 13 to 19 are at higher risk of acquiring HIV will consider implementing a similar policy.

To read more about the students in San Francisco, the article is available at WSJ Online. Visit AllAfrica.com to read about South Africa’s policy.