142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

303075
From theory to practice: Public health practitioners, academics, and advocates in relation to armed conflict and war

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 1:06 PM - 1:18 PM

Emily Malloy, RN, CNM , Aurora-UW Medical group, Milwaukee, WI
Geraldine Gorman, RN, PhD , College of Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Health Systems Science, Chicago, IL
Ellen Kennelly, BS, RN, FNP , College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
In the 2009 policy statement, "The Role of Public Health Practitioners, Academics, and Advocates in Relation to Armed Conflict and War," war is identified as a major challenge to the APHA's  "vision of a healthy global society." The APHA calls for public health professionals to educate each other, policymakers, and the public about the impact of war, and to advocate for alternative resolutions to conflict. Health care professionals have taken this call seriously, and are acting on the recommendations of policy statements.

Ellen Kennelly, MSN, FNP and Emily Malloy, MSN, CNM traveled to Afghanistan to better understand how the conflict impacts civilians through interviews with ordinary Afghans, healthcare workers, Afghan government officials, and international NGO representatives. In the United States, both have participated in advocacy efforts recommended by the APHA. Gerry Gorman, PhD, RN volunteered with the Italian NGO, Emergency, in Kabul, Afghanistan, working in the Surgical Center for Civilian Victims of War. Through her work in the university and surrounding communities, Gerry has focused on raising awareness about the adverse health outcomes facing Afghans because of the ongoing conflict and unstable political future.

In this presentation these three public health professionals will reflect on what it means to act on the "The Role of Public Health Practitioners, Academics, and Advocates in Relation to Armed Conflict and War" policy statement. They will share their insights into the role of public health workers in preventing war as it pertains to Afghanistan and the United States.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Diversity and culture
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Describe the prescribed recommendations for health care professionals in the roles of Public Health practitioners, academics, and academics in relation to armed conflict and war. Identify ways health care professionals enact these recommendations in relation to the war in Afghanistan.

Keyword(s): War, Advocacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Emily Malloy, MSN, CNM traveled to Afghanistan in 2012 to research the impact of war on civilians. She conducted interviews with Afghan civilians, civil society members, and health and government leaders. In the U.S. she has enacted the APHA recommendations by making public presentations and lobbying elected officials to the adverse health outcome of war. She practices midwifery at an urban hospital in Milwaukee.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.