October 2021
Dear Community,
The fall semester is in full swing, as evidenced by all the content we squeezed into our second issue. In this e-newsletter, readers will find coverage of Hispanic Heritage Month events, presentations at the APHA Annual Meeting, and CHE-sponsored events, like Journal Club. In addition, we are highlighting awards for which applications are still open, including the Bernard D. Goldstein Award and the NCHS/AcademyHealth Data Visualization Challenge.
We would like to acknowledge the upcoming Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) in November, designated to commemorate the indigenous peoples that resided in what is now the United States. This includes recognizing the contributions of present-day Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, as well as the oppressive forces that these populations continue to face. In Pittsburgh, we live on Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Osage, and Shawnee land. Visit the Office for Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion page for information on NAHM events at the University.
We also want to highlight Election Day on Tuesday, November 2. Voting rights represent an individual’s ability to participate in public policy and decision-making, which is directly related to population health. If you are registered to vote, confirm your polling place here and ensure you are prepared to vote on November 2.
Sincerely,
Faculty and staff of The Center for Health Equity, University of Pittsburgh
In the October newsletter:
Poster presentation on the CRAB
Hispanic Heritage Month Recap
Violence Prevention Initiative
Shots at the Shop COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
Introducing LIPHE
October Journal Club
Emerging Latinx Communities Group
2021 Data Visualization Challenge
Apply for the Goldstein Award
APHA 2021 Presentations
News from Strategic Partners
Upcoming CHE events
To learn more about the CHE, please visit our website.
Pennsylvania Department of Health partners with the American Lung Association to offer a free, virtual health equity conference, "Eliminating Disparities by 2030 It Will Take Us All!"
November 4, 2021 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Register here. Registration closes on Wednesday, November 3.
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CHE manager presents a poster on the CRAB
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At the 2021 Palliative Research Center Retreat on Thursday, September 30, Lora Ann Bray, manager of the Center for Health Equity, presented a poster titled, "Engaging Community Stakeholders to Improve the Research Process: The CRAB". The goal of the 2021 PaRC Retreat was to create connections between faculty, students, staff, and community members that will drive forward palliative care research at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Community Research Advisory Board (aka "the CRAB") was established in 2001 with the mission to advise researchers on how best to engage vulnerable and historically underrepresented populations in problem solving and foster collaboration among those populations and researchers interested in addressing health inequities. Learn more here.
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Recap of Hispanic Heritage Month
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Top photo: Photograph from the Hispanic Heritage Month Artifact Showcase, submitted by Lucy Arrelano and featured on Instagram.
Center left photo: Cover of "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, who joined attendants of the "Holding Space on the Page" event on Tuesday, September 21.
Center right and bottom photos: Photographs of attendants at "¡Que Viva Clemente!", hosted by the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center on Friday, October 8.
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VPI announces outreach project, McKeesport Violence Prevention (MVP)
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The Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI), led by BCHS's Richard Garland, was awarded funds by the RK Mellon Foundation to launch an outreach project called McKeesport Violence Prevention (MVP) in McKeesport, a community located about 12 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
“We are hiring four outreach workers who will really be violence interrupters,” said Garland. “Their jobs will be to interrupt the transmission of the disease of violence in the McKeesport area. We specifically picked McKeesport, because it is one of the ten highest communities in the US for rates of violence.” Read more here.
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Shots at the Shop offers first and second vaccine doses in East Liberty
On Saturday, October 9, the CHE partnered with Bethany Community Ministries, Black Equity Coalition, and UPMC again to offer the second Shots at the Shop event, administering 53 first or second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This clinic was hosted by Bat's Barber Shop in East Liberty.
Read more about the CHE's Health Advocates In Reach (HAIR) here.
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Volunteer team at Bat's Barber Shop, including representatives from Bethany Community Ministries (BCM), the Center for Health Equity (CHE), Pitt Public Health (PPH), and Pitt School of Medicine (SoM).
From left to right: Dr. Dara Mendez (CHE), Chandler Dangerfield (PPH), Elaine Jenkins (BCM), Dr. Tracey Conti (UPMC), Lora Ann Bray (CHE), Dr. Maria Abunto (PPH alum), Anu Ajith (SoM), Harika Dyer (PPH), and Rabira Tusi (SoM).
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Introducing the Leaders in Intersectional Public Health and Equity (LIPHE)
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Formerly the Association of Women in Public Health (AWPH), the focus of LIPHE is to encourage individuals to approach public health and navigate life with an intersectional and equity-informed stance. LIPHE community seeks to adopt a more contextual understanding of how health impacts people according to intersections of social identity (i.e., gender, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, nationality, religion, age, ability, etc.) LIPHE seeks to uplift the voices of and share experiences of health across different lived - especially marginalized - experiences and further knowledge of how to support and advance initiatives for health equity.
LIPHE is open to all Pitt students regardless of status, program, or year.
LIPHE Executive Board
Monica Henderson (BCHS), President
Mica Hope (BCHS), Vice President
Julia Heller (BCHS), Secretary
Faryaal Alam (HPM), Social Media Manager
Kayla Ortiz (BCHS), Business Manager
Jamie Martina (BCHS), Public Relations Chair
Nehal Charkraborty (Neuroscience), Undergraduate Liaison
Faculty Advisor: Martha Terry
Email: awph@pitt.edu
Social media: @lipheatpitt
Join the LIPHE roster
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Latino/a, Latin@, Latinx, or Latiné?
CHE Journal Club discusses language and identity
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In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15), Dr. Patricia Documét (BCHS) and current MPH student Emily Sierra (BCHS) co-facilitated a discussion around an article titled, "What do we mean when we say “Latinx?”: Definitional power, the limits of inclusivity, and the (un/re)constitution of an identity category".
In addition to the facilitators, 18 people attended the October Journal Club, most of them virtually.
Read more about the CHE Journal Club here.
Article citation: E. Cassandra Dame-Griff. (2021). What do we mean when we say “Latinx?”: Definitional power, the limits of inclusivity, and the (un/re)constitution of an identity category. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2021.1901957
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NCHS/AcademyHealth Data Visualization Challenge accepting applications
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The NCHS/AcademyHealth Data Visualization Challenge is a competition for graduate students (masters or doctoral level) to create interactive data visualizations to explain an important trend or disparity in public health, telling a clear and policy-relevant story in the process.
Two winning teams will receive complimentary registration to attend the February 2022 Health Datapalooza and National Health Policy Conference or an equivalent monetary award.
Note that you must submit an Intent to Apply to receive a link to the full application.
Deadline: Monday, November 15, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Read more and apply here.
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Application period open for the 2021 Bernard D. Goldstein Award
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Any degree-seeking student enrolled in Pitt Public Health who works or studies in an area related to public health practice with a faculty member who has an association with the Center for Public Health Practice is eligible to apply.
Recipients may use the award to defray the costs of opportunities that would enhance their training as a public health practitioner. The applicant must defend the use of the award in the application. One scholarship will be awarded in the amount of $2000.
The application deadline is November 18, 2021, and awards will be announced mid-December. Award winners will be notified by letter.
Read more and apply here.
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CHE at the APHA 2021 Meeting in Denver, CO
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The 2021 Annual Meeting & Expo of the American Public Health Association (APHA) spanned from October 24-27 this year, with many presenters and moderators coming from Pitt and the Center for Health Equity. See below for a list of sessions with CHE-affiliated students and faculty.
If you missed any of the presentations below, be sure to look for recordings and other post-conference media available on the virtual conference platform (registration required).
Thursday, October 21
Evaluation of the trainings of the mid-Atlantic regional public health training center, 2018 to 2020
PS1045.0 - Academic and Practice Linkages in Public Health Poster Session II
Patricia I. Documét, MD, DrPH, Chinwoke Isiguzo, MPH, Deena Blumenfeld, ERYT, RPYT, LCCE, FACCE, Kimberly Francis, MS, MPA, Leslie Fink and Elizabeth Van Nostrand, JD
Wisewoman: Engaging underserved women in primarily hispanic communities in Pennsylvania through mujer poderosa/powerful woman
PS1093.0 - Racism As a Public Health Crisis and How It Impacts Women's Health
Leigh Anne Schmidt, Molly Eggleston, Diane J. Ollivier, Audrey Maddox, Monica Woodring, MBA-HM and Thistle Elias, DrPH, MPA
Healthy start and the effects of perceived racism on adverse birth outcomes in pittsburgh's black families: A mixed-methods study
PS1093.0 - Racism As a Public Health Crisis and How It Impacts Women's Health
Yuae Park, MA
Friday, October 22
Racial inequities in clinicians' drug testing of pregnant women
PS2016.0 - Perinatal & Women's Health Poster Session
Abisola Olaniyan, MBBS, MPH, Mary E. Hawk, DrPH, Dara Mendez, PhD, MPH, Steve M. Albert, PhD and Judy Chang, MD, MPH
Breast, bottle, or both? breastfeeding experiences of immigrant somali mothers
PS2030.0 - Latest in Breastfeeding Research: Poster Session 2
Chinwoke Isiguzo, MPH, Abisola Olaniyan, MBBS, MPH, Deena Blumenfeld, ERYT, RPYT, LCCE, FACCE and Patricia Documet, MD, DrPH
Acceptability of a social media app to complement a social isolation reduction intervention among latinx youth during the COVID-19 pandemic
PS2058.1 - Community Engagement through HIIT
Cesar Escobar-Viera, Ph.D., M.D., Héctor Camilo Ruiz, Ph.D., Claudia Melendez-Ardiles, Monica Ruiz, MSW, Benjamin Gutschow and Patricia Documet, MD, DrPH
Developing a home-based, physical activity intervention with latinx parents of preschool children
PS2085.0 - Social Isolation and Exclusion in Relation to Latinx Health Inequities
Sharon Taverno Ross, PhD, Patricia I. Documét, MD, DrPH, Miranda Cerqueira, BS and Patricia Guevara, BS
Partnering in a pandemic: Trials and triumphs
PS2099.0 - The Scholarship of Community-Based Participatory Research: Sharing Research Findings and Lessons Learned
Thistle Elias, DrPH, MPA, Brandi Boak, BA, Jessica R. Thompson, MEd, Brandon Ziats, MSW and Denise Jones, MA
Sunday, October 24
Sexual misconduct prevention programs for black undergraduate women: A scoping review
2034.0 - Exploring the Power of Protecting Women: Addressing Sex and Reproductive Health Interventions
Phoebe Balascio, Lauren Risser, Alyssa Lisle, MSW, Ashley Hill, DrPH, Rosemary Iwuanyanwu, Alana Fields, PhD, Jordan Pollard, MSW and Lynissa Stokes, Ph.D
Monday, October 25
Women’s experiences with cash-only buprenorphine clinics for opioid use disorder: A qualitative study
3004.0 - Opioids Virtual Oral #1 - Special Populations (Women) and Special Circumstances (COVID-19)
Noelle Spencer, MSc, Nicole Eng, Leah Klocke, BA, Marian Jarlenski, PhD, MPH and Elizabeth Krans, MD, MSc
Formative evaluation of a front desk program at a Latino community resource center
3080.0 - Public Health Education and Health Promotion
Stephanie Christian, MPH, Monica Ruiz, MSW, Veronica Lozada and Patricia Documet, MD, DrPH
Tuesday, October 26
Measuring Inequity in the Assessment of the Social Determinants of Health
4014.0 - Measuring Inequity in the Assessment of the Social Determinants of Health - VIRTUAL ORAL
Moderators: Helena VonVille, Irene Molina
Racism as a public health crisis: Part II
4021.0 - Special Session: Epidemiology Section Chairs: International Network for Epidemiology in Policy: Role of Epidemiology in Evidence-Based Policy
Tiffany Gary-Webb, PhD
A longitudinal analysis of stress during the covid-19 pandemic in a pregnant and postpartum population
4044.0 - Promoting the Health of Women and Families to Create the Healthiest Nation
Serwaa Omowale, LMSW, Andrea Casas, MPH, Yu-Hsuan Lai, MSPH, Sarah Sanders, MPH, Ashley Hill, DrPH, Meredith Wallace, PhD, Stephen Rathbun, PhD, MS, Tiffany Gary-Webb, PhD, Esa Davis, MD, MPH, Lora Burke, PhD, MPH and Dara Mendez, PhD, MPH
Feasibility of cuenta conmigo, a remote mindfulness intervention to reduce social isolation among latinx youth during the COVID-19 pandemic
4125.0 - Diverse Media to Address the Digital Divide, Social Connection, and Social Isolation: Public Health Implications
Patricia Documet, MD, DrPH, Hector Camilo Ruiz, Ph.D., Claudia Melendez-Ardiles, Monica Ruiz, MSW, Benjamin Gutschow and Cesar EScobar-Viera, MD, PhD
Condom use behaviors and associations of sexual communication efficacy and condom discussions among young black women in the United States
4133.0 - Public Health Social Work: Roundtable 3
Laurenia Mangum, LMSW and Jaih Craddock, PhD, MSW, MA
Wednesday, October 27
Heart health experiences of rural Appalachian women: A community-engaged study
5012.0 - Leveraging Community-Based Strategies to Manage Chronic Disease
Jessica R. Thompson, MEd, Lindsay Pelcher, BS, Nancy Schoenberg, PhD, Thistle Elias, DrPH, MPA and Jessica G. Burke, PhD
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News from Strategic Partners
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To partners of the CHE -- please send us any news updates at any point that you think would be relevant to the students, staff, faculty, and community members that receive this newsletter.
Upcoming events with the Black Environmental Collective
The mission of the Black Environmental Collective is to advance solutions that support Black communities’ ability to combat environmental threats to quality of life, food, environment/place, and climate change. The BEC is partnering with Lead Safe Allegheny to host the virtual summit "Life Without Lead: Envisioning a Lead Safe Community for All" on Thursday, October 28. In addition, Dr. Jamil Bey of the BEC Advisory Board will be speaking at "The Air We Breathe: A Regional Summit on Air Pollution and Asthma in Our Community" on Friday, November 5.
As an Allegheny County resident, is lead in my drinking water something I should worry about?
September 20, 2021 (Public Source)
Recently, the lead levels in Pittsburgh water tested at one of the lowest levels in more than two decades. That said, individual households or neighborhoods may still have issues. Most of the lead in people’s water supply today comes from location-specific sources, such as lead service lines running from a house to the water main, lead pipes (more likely in houses built before 1986), lead soldering on pipes or brass faucets. Over time, water corrodes the metal, and the lead seeps into the water. These sources of lead could contaminate your home’s water, even if the overall water in your area is safe. As Pittsburgh’s water equity task force has shown, such problems disproportionately affect people of color and residents of low-income neighborhoods, who are more likely to live in areas with underfunded or outdated infrastructure. Read the entire article here.
Allen Place Community Services, Inc. offered free diabetes screening
On October 2, Allen Place Community Services, Inc. offered a free diabetes screening, as a part of the Nutrition, Health and Information Symposium at Allegheny Commons East Park. There were 200+ community members who participated. They were able to feed over 200+ with hot meals, provide fresh fruits and vegetables to each guest, and offer diabetes screenings such as blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C checks for guests in need for free. Results were presented on site and physicians and nurse practitioners provided any necessary counseling or referrals to clinical care. Guests also were taught how to check their feet for diabetic foot ulcers and received vouchers to get a free diabetic eye screening for a later date. Additionally, 40 people received a flu shot and 4 people received a COVID-19 booster shot.
Mendez interviewed on the Pitt Pulse Podcast regarding maternal and infant health research
October 11, 2021
Hear from Dr. Dara Mendez, who is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology here at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health. The Pitt Pulse Podcast spoke to her about the need for equity in health, and learned about her own research within the area of maternal & infant health, and reproductive justice. Listen to the episode on Spotify here.
Office of Health Sciences Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion partners with other agencies for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
On Tuesday, November 9, the Office of Health Sciences Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion co-sponsors the webinar "Getting Beyond, 'Are you safe?'" with the Office of Sexual Violence Prevention and Education, the Office of Health Promotion, and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. The training is facilitated by Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. Register for the event here.
Complete a survey about COVID vaccine hesitancy with the Black Equity Coalition
In partnership with the University, Pittsburgh's Black Equity Coalition is conducting a survey study among Black residents in the region to gather input on important questions related to access to healthcare, vaccination concerns and clinics, transportation, and issues we all are facing since the pandemic impacted our jobs and families. Read more and complete the survey here.
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Upcoming CHE Events
Focused Writing (Remote & In-Person) - Learn More
Friday, October 29, 2021 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Friday, November 5, 2021 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Friday, November 19, 2021 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Journal Club (Remote & In-Person) - Learn More
Friday, November 5, 2021, 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Facilitators: Taylor Robinson (EPI), FORWARDS President & Wendeline Frederic (BCHS), FORWARDS Vice President
LaVeist, T., Pollack, K., Thorpe Jr, R., Fesahazion, R., & Gaskin, D. (2011). Place, not race: disparities dissipate in southwest Baltimore when blacks and whites live under similar conditions. Health affairs, 30(10), 1880-1887.
Maternal Child Health Equity Scholars Group Meeting (Remote) - Learn More
Thursday, November 18, 2021 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Community Research Advisory Board Meeting (Remote) - Learn More
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Emerging Latinx Communities Meeting (Remote & In-Person) - Learn More
Friday, November 12, 2021 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Facilitator: Dr. Jamie Booth (School of Social Work)
Booth, J., Huerta, C., & Thomas, B. (2021). The role of bilingualism in Latino youth experiences of acculturation stress when living in an emerging Latino community. Qualitative Social Work, 20(4), 1059-1077.
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