public health

Announcing Public Health Boot Camp IV: The AIDS Foundation of Chicago and DePaul University are having our next Public Health Boot Camp on July24-29, 2011. We are having an informational session on March 8, 2011 at the DePaul Center, 1 E.

Advocates recently gathered in Baltimore at the HIV Research Catalyst Forum to share information and strategies for engaging in HIV/AIDS-related research advocacy.  Advocate engagement in research has been a key driver of so much progress in HIV/AIDS releated science.  The materials from this conference provide advocates with a treasure trove of knowledge and resources from which we can build a better and more effective HIV research advocacy movement. 

From basic definitions to cutting edge clinical trials, these conference materials are a great resource for anyone looking to impact HIV/AIDS related research.

Check out the HIV Research Catalyst Forum webcasts and presentations!

Perhaps more so than any other issue area, AIDS advocacy requires delivering lots of messages about who is most impacted by the epidemic and where disparities call us to action. 

In order to be sure these messages are accurate, AIDS advocates must be comfortable talking about epidemiology, which is the scientific study of disease distribution and the factors that cause disease to spread in a community.  The general public looks to us to understand what the numbers produced by the CDC and other public health authorities mean and to interpret what actions are necessary in response.  We need to get it right.

This presentation goes through, in an accessible and non-technical way, the epidemilogical concepts most commonly used in AIDS advocacy.  Its a great resource for old hands looking to brush up their chops or newcomers seeking to survey the landscape.

Check it out!

Ariana was kind enough to include a post from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's Johnathon Briggs and John Peller about the City of Chicago's proposed public health budget cuts:

The Illinois Public Health Association, the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators, and the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium invite you to attend this joint conference, Public Health in Peril: The Call to Action, on April 28-30, 2009 at the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale.

On Sunday, the Dallas Morning News reported that the steady increase in HIV infection rates may push Dallas County to end a 13 year-old ban on condom distribution by county health workers. Dallas County had the highest HIV rate in Texas last year, and the number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases is up, according to county statistics.