Western Regional International Health Conference

University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

 

 

Friday, November 15, 2002

 

Hogness Auditorium (4th floor, room A420), Health Sciences Building

 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Celine Gounder MSIII, International Health Group Board Member, University of Washington School of Medicine

Dr. Paul Ramsey, Dean of the School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Washington

Dr. Patricia Wahl, Dean of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Dr. William Foege, Fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Former Executive Director of the Carter Center

 

RECEPTION

 

 

Saturday, November 16, 2002

Sunday, November 17, 2002

 

Training local health professionals and capacity building

Building local expertise and infrastructure are central to achieving sustainable, long-term health development. In addition to or rather than developing their own health projects overseas, some have formed training partnerships with health professionals and other leaders, providing them with the tools, models and resources necessary to build health programs indigenously.

  • Dr. Stephen Gloyd, Northwest Coalition for AIDS Treatment in Africa, Director of Health Alliance International, Director of the International Health Program at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Director of the Population Leadership Program, University of Washington
  • Dr. Robert Plotnick, Professor, Evans School of Public Affairs, and Chair of Population Leadership Program
  • Dr. Marla Blagg, Tobacco Control Program, Alameda County Public Health Department
  • Dr. James Litch, University of Washington School of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington State Department of Health, and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health


 

Part-time IH work while in private practice

Some health professionals choose not to devote their careers to international health work, but rather carry out such work on a part-time basis while still maintaining private practices at home in the U.S. There are a number of different models for doing this, including short-term humanitarian missions and doing international health research that complements one’s home practice.

Notes

  • Dr. George Brannen, Professor, Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Dr. Jim Owens, Emeritus Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Dr. Matt Thompson, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine

 

 

 

Health services research and practice

Health services research is a multidisciplinary field that seeks to improve health and prevent disease by improving health policy and identifying behavioral interventions that promote and protect the health status of populations; strategies that improve access to health and preventive services, particularly among the most vulnerable; methods that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of health care for medical and mental illness; and models for improving the financing, organization and delivery of preventive and curative health services. Health service researchers may go on to careers in academic institutions, health delivery systems, public health departments, government agencies, and the private sector.

Notes

  • Dr. Ann Marie Kimball, Director of the Masters in Public Health Program in Health Services and Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Adjunct Professor in Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Attending Physician in the International Clinic at Harborview Medical Center
  • Dr. Andy Stergachis, Affiliate Professor of Pharmacy and Epidemiology, University of Washington
  • Dr. Mary Anne Mercer, Deputy Director of Health Alliance International, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health Services, University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine
  • Dr. Mark Oberle, Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and Professor of Epidemiology and Health Services, UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine

 

 

 

Travel medicine

Travel medicine experts provide guidance regarding health risks likely to be encountered at specific destinations and associated with different types of travel – from business, humanitarian and leisure travel to backpacking and adventure tours. Travel medicine experts prepare their patients for these risks by recommending vaccinations, protection against insects and other disease vectors, or safety in different environmental settings.

Notes

  • Dr. Matt Thompson, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Dr. Chris Sanford, Co-Director, Hall Health Travel Clinic, Hall Health Primary Care Center, University of Washington
  • Dr. Rachel Bishop, Family Medicine Residency, Group Health Cooperative

 

 

 

Politics and advocacy

Priority setting and resource allocation are inherently political processes and have a tremendous impact on what health services reach particular populations and on the ability of individual physicians to care for their patients. Some health professionals choose to work through political channels to effect population-based, systems-based changes in health.

Notes

  • Dr. Donna Deno, Clinical Assistant Professor, Harborview Medical Center
  • Dr. Rich Kovar, Director, Country Doctor Community Health Center
  • Dr. Stephen Gloyd, Northwest Coalition for AIDS Treatment in Africa, Director of Health Alliance International, Director of the International Health Program at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Director of the Population Leadership Program, University of Washington

 

 

 

Health care and immigrant populations in the U. S.

Practicing medicine in immigrant communities in the U. S. – whether they be migrant farmworkers in Eastern Washington, Somalis in the Central Area, Rainier Beach and SeaTac, or Cambodians in South Seattle – includes many of the same cross-cultural issues involved in international health in addition to unique obstacles.

Notes

  • Dr. Tamera Schille Straub, Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic
  • Dr. Alan Chun, Director, International District Clinic
  • Dr. J. Carey Jackson, Director, International Medicine Clinic, Harborview Medical Center
  • Dr. James Litch, University of Washington School of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington State Department of Health, and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health

 

 

 

Development of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics of global public health significance

Researchers in academia and the public and private sectors are helping to provide new tools to diagnose, prevent and treat various diseases worldwide, including malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. In addition to developing these tools, other important areas of research include how to disseminate those new tools and incorporate them into effective programs.

Notes

  • Dr. Virginia Price, Distinguished Fellow, Amgen
  • Dr. Steven Reed, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Corixa
  • Dr. Wes Van Voorhis, Training Program Director, Infectious Diseases, Professor of Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Pathobiology, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Ms. Mazie Barcus, Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy Reserves, and Epidemiologist, Parasitic Diseases Program, U.S. Naval Medical Research

 

 

 

International health careers through the U. S. government

There are myriad opportunities to do international health work as a federal employee, whether it be through the Department of Health and Human Services (e.g. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Public Health Service), the Department of State and the U. S. Agency for International Development, or the Department of Defense.

Notes

  • Dr. Melinda Moore, Deputy Director, Office of Global Health Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services
  • Ms. Mazie Barcus, Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy Reserves, and Epidemiologist, Parasitic Diseases Program, U.S. Naval Medical Research
  • Dr. Reimert Ravenholt, President of Population Health Imperatives, Former Director of the Office of Population at the U. S. Agency for International Development

 

 

 

Foundations and non-governmental, multilateral, and volunteer organizations

Foundations and NGOs and have historically played a pivotal role in the international health activities of the United States. The Rockefeller Foundation is a major trainer of epidemiologists through its International Clinical Epidemiology Network. Rotary International has made a major contribution polio eradication efforts worldwide. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s goal is to accelerate the development, deployment and sustainability of health interventions, with a focus on HIV/AIDS, TB, other infectious diseases, and reproductive and child health. NGOs and volunteer organizations, such as CARE, Oxfam, Save the Children, Catholic Relief, American Friends Service Committee, Médecins sans Frontières, Merck Foundation, American Medical Association, and the American Red Cross, to name a few, have important overseas missions in developing countries and are critical to emergency relief, health care delivery, and infrastructure development in many countries. Finally, the World Bank, World Health Organization, UN Development Program and UN Children’s Fund are all actively involved in health initiatives throughout the world.

Notes

  • Dr. Stephen Gloyd, Northwest Coalition for AIDS Treatment in Africa, Director of Health Alliance International, Director of the International Health Program at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Director of the Population Leadership Program, University of Washington
  • Mr. James Cheyne, Associate Director, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health
  • Dr. Suzan Goodman, Bay Area Coordinator of International Planned Parenthood Federation, and Assistant Clinical Professor, UC Davis
  • Dr. Peter Small, Senior Program Officer, HIV/AIDS and TB Program, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

 

 

 

Ethics, international law, human rights

Health professionals active in international health impact upon developing countries and local communities through resource distribution, enrollment of subjects in studies, changes in individual and local self-determination and autonomy, and social and cultural change. Those with expertise in ethics and human rights issues can help to guide international health work, while international law is an important tool that can be used by the health profession to help set priorities and enforce ethical and human rights standards.

Notes

  • Dr. Pat Kuszler, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor, University of Washington School of Law, and Adjunct Professor, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor, University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine
  • Ms. Diane Atkinson-Sanford, Adjunct Faculty, University of Washington School of Law
  • Dr. Bruce Kochis, Director of the University of Washington Human Rights Education & Research Network, and Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington

 

 

 

Clinical trials and epidemiology research

Through epidemiological research, health professionals can help define international health problems, study patterns and causation of disease, and test new strategies and interventions to prevent and treat disease. Interventions may involve systemic change, programmatic restructuring, education, or various applications of both old and new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics.

Notes

  • Dr. King Holmes, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for AIDS and STDs at the University of Washington, Head of the Infectious Diseases Section at Harborview Medical Center
  • Dr. Connie Celum, Associate Professor, Medicine, Allergy & Infectious Diseases, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Dr. David Thomas, Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington
  • Dr. Gottfried Schmer, Professor Emeritus, Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Dr. Craig R. Cohen, Acting Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Dr. Carey Farquhar, Acting Instructor, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease,
    University of Washington, and Assistant Director, International AIDS Research and Training Program
  • Dr. Ruth Nduati, Senior Lecturer, Department of Paediatrics, University of Nairobi