#462

Dear Colleagues and Prospective Masters Students, 

It is with excitement that I draw your attention to our new Master of Science program in Health Management and Communication at the University of Lugano (USI), Switzerland. The program is in collaboration with Virginia Tech, School of Business. Students enrolled in this program attend courses at both University of Lugano (Lugano, Switzerland) and Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia, USA). All courses are taught in English.  

High quality students who are interested in obtaining a Master of Science degree with a truly international perspective are invited to apply. Courses commence in Fall 2008.

About the curriculum:

The first semester introduces students to the analysis of marketing data and marketing methods, preparing them for the understanding of healthcare markets and campaigns. Location: Virginia Tech

The second semester introduces students to the healthcare and health communication area allowing them to understand the rapid evolution of this increasing important sector. The semester will look at both macro area such as health policy and the design and evaluation of health campaigns as we as micro issues such as rhetoric and argumentation in the interaction between doctors and patients. Location: University of Lugano

The third semester provides an overview of the Management area allowing students to get a better understanding of competition and cooperation between companies and other institutions, the performance and working of teams and interactions with in the organization as well as the fundamental understanding of the accounting needed to evaluate proposals and projects. Location: University of Lugano

The fourth semester is dedicated to writing the master thesis, which can be done at University of Lugano or at Virginia Tech, depending on your choice of subject and supervisor; in addition students will attend some courses focusing on practical examples from the health sector.

At the end of the program, successful students will receive both a Master of Science in Communication Management & Health from USI and a Master of Science in Business with concentration in Marketing from Virginia Tech.  

About Lugano and the University:

Lugano is in the Canton Ticino (the Italian part of Switzerland) and is surrounded by beautiful lakes and mountains. With an average of over 2300 hours per year of sunny weather, Ticino benefits from mild winters and Mediterranean summers. It has the richest vegetation in Switzerland and it is famous for its contrasts: the imposing peaks, eternal snows and glaciers of San Gottardo are only a few kilometres away from charming little lakeside towns. Lugano is just 45 minutes from Milan, Italy, two hours from Zurich and 3 hours from Geneva.

The University of Lugano has a strong international and multilingual orientation, with students and faculty from over 30 nations. Both the city centre and the Lugano lake, with the beautiful Ciani Park on the shore, are in walking distance of the Campus. USI students can thus enjoy the best of what Lugano has to offer: high quality of life, within one of the most picturesque landscapes in Switzerland.

For more information about the Masters program, please go to http://www.mcmh.unisi.ch/ or contact Ms. Debora Zgraggen at zgragged@lu.unisi.ch or by phone at +41 58 666 4488.

I look forward to welcoming our new students to Lugano! 

Kind regards,

Suzanne Suggs, PhD

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L. Suzanne Suggs, PhD, CHES

Assistant Professor

Institute of Communication and Health

Faculty of Communication Sciences

University of Lugano

Via G. Buffi 13

CH 6900 Lugano

(e) suzanne.suggs@lu.unisi.ch

(w) http://www.istituti.usilu.net/suggss/

(w) http://www.ich.com.unisi.ch/en/index.htm

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** Do You Teach High School Health? ** Check Out New Text Book by Ken Packer ** www.hedir.org/publishing/packer/ ** ** HEDIR is Supported by Career & Other Advertising ** Visit: www.HEDIR.org or HEDIR.hpcareer.net for Details ** ** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift ** Phyllis Reed Did! Thanks Phyllis! ** www.hedir.org/support.htm **

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#463

** Do You Teach High School Health? ** Check Out New Text Book by Ken Packer ** www.hedir.org/publishing/packer/ ** ** HEDIR is Supported by Career & Other Advertising ** Visit: www.HEDIR.org or HEDIR.hpcareer.net for Details ** ** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift ** Phyllis Reed Did! Thanks Phyllis! ** www.hedir.org/support.htm **

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#464

Mark,

I have some slides from McKenzie and Neiger that Quote LaLonde, 1974 (Canadian Health risk study) that says Environmental issues account for 20% and Behavior for 51.5% of illness.

This is further supported by current research also sighted in his Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Text…

“Over this same time, we have witnessed disease prevention change ‘from focusing on reducing environmental exposures over which the individual had little control, such as providing potable water, to emphasizing behaviors such as avoiding use of tobacco, fatty foods, and a sedentary lifestyle’ (Breslow, 1999, p.1030).  In fact in the latter part of the twentieth century, it was reported that better control of behavioral risk factors alone—such as lack of exercise, poor diet, use of tobacco and drugs, and alcohol abuse—could prevent getween 40 and 70% of all premature deaths, one-third of all acute disabilities, and two-thirds of chronic disabilities (USDHHS, 1990b)”.  (McKenzie, Neiger, Smeltzer, 2005, Pearson education publisher).

I am not sure where he is getting environmental exposure as the leading problem.  Unless by “potent” he is saying that environmental exposure cause more severe conditions… and behavior just causes MORE instead of more serious…. I don’t know.

Just my input.

Tyler Watson

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#465

Mark and Tyler -  the source is most likely  The Force Field and Well Being Paradigms of Health graphic, where Blum depicts heredity, environment, health services and lifestyles as the predictors of health.  The "environment" section includes fetal, physical, and sociocultural.

H.L. Blum. (1981). Planning for Health.  NY: Human Science Press.

I have a poor paper copy of the graphic.  Can't scan it, but if you'd like I can send a paper copy to you.

Lydia Burak

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#466

Mark,

The estimate of lifestyle/behavior accounting for the largest percentage of deaths applies to the United States and other developed nations. Part of what makes a developed nation a developed nation is its environmental health protection services. If you take away modern sanitation and return the U.S. to 19th century filth, people would die young in such large numbers from pestilence and famine that they would not have the opportunity to die from lifestyle-related chronic disease.

The greatest progress in improving the nation's health in the 20th century came toward the beginning of the century. That progress was due to sanitation and then later on vaccinations, antibiotics, etc. The Age of Lifestyle is a recent development.

I've had problems with my messages bouncing back from HEDIR so I'm sending my reply to you individually as well as to the list.

Bill

William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H.

Professor, Health Science Program

California State University, Los Angeles

404 Simpson Tower

5151 State University Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90032

(323)343-5867

wlondon@calstatela.edu

Faculty Web Page: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/wlondon/

Health Science Web Page: http://www.calstatela.edu/dept/health_sci/index.htm

Regular office hours for Spring 2008: Mondays, 2:15-5:30 pm; Tuesdays, 11:00-11:45 am

Dr. London is co-host of Credential Watch (http://www.credentialwatch.org), associate editor of Consumer Health Digest, a free weekly e-newsletter available by subscription at http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/chd.html, and a co-author of Consumer Health: A Guide to Intelligent Decisions, Eighth Edition (http://www.chsourcebook.com).

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#467

I can only cite the recent PBS miniseries documentary, “Unnatural Causes,” but perhaps the author is referring to the fact that the environment (broadly defined—availability of fresh produce, exercise opportunities, violence and stress, etc) is number one because it strongly influences the behavior and lifestyle choices an individual can make.

www.unnaturalcauses.org – I highly recommend checking it out.  It includes many tools and prepared items for classroom and other educational use as well.   (Full disclosure: NALBOH is one of the sponsoring partners in the project.)

Marnie L. Glaeberman, JD, MPH

Director of Government Relations and Partnerships

National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH)

1300 L Street NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20005

202-218-4413  fax 202-218-4409

marnie@nalboh.org

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#468

It could be the environmental/ecological mix. (I don't want to speak for the author.)  If you all have seen "Unnatural Causes" it looks closely at epidemiological research surrounding social determinants of health in relation to individual lifestyle choices, and the distribution of the opportunities to engage in healthy lifestyles  I would agree with the statement IF it is followed closely with a very pointed discussion on the social determinants.  If it is simply a statement made standing along, then.....

Melody

#469

Hello Hedirities,

There is a vast amount of research supporting that environmental factors, such as social determinants of health, are the best predictors of health.  As I have written other places, the LaLonde Report is no longer believed to be accurate or credible.  Additionally, one should be weary of research that is funded by national governments, especially in the Americas.  Will a government and a culture of individualism support the lifestyle or environmental perspective?   The LaLonde report actually positioned that factors other than healthcare were important for health; an important contribution.  However, the U.S. government only attended to the lifestyle factor, which was highly overestimated in the LaLonde Report.  I have tried unsuccessfully to publish the SDOH position in a few articles in Health Education journals, but it seems that many health educators are stuck in the 1970s (a guild issue of tradition over empiricism; not uncommon throughout history).  See the works of Marmot, Wilkinson, Raphael, etc. for support of the SDOH perspective.  SDOH is an upstream perspective that avoids victim blaming, as much as possible.  The lifestyle position inevitably leads to a confused combination of moralism, blaming, and norming.  Cohen is absolutely correct in his position.  There are literally thousands of pages of text supporting his position (see WHO).   The lifestyle perspective does a very poor job of explaining health disparities, once accounting for environmental factors.  If a person is low in the social gradient and does not behave as health educators would prescribe, is the behavior unhealthy or the environment?  The answer is both, but the environment precedes behaviors and changing behavior without changing contexts is fruitless in altering health disparities.  One could position that less healthy people with less healthy lifestyle fall into a lower social gradient as opposed to a person in a lower social falling into a lesser health status.  The answer again is that both are true to a degree.  However, the social gradient is more likely to push someone into lower health status, then vice versa.    

James

Director of Research and Evaluation

Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#470

It appears many of us "health educators" can quickly answer and provide sources for the multiple causes death, disease, dysfunction, dissatisfaction, discomfort, disability, and or degradation. 

To me what seems more appropriate for us to do as health educators is to search for the causes and factors related to health. That is those things that lead to physical, mental and social well-being. To me, that should be the end point we move ourselves and others toward. My understanding of that endpoint for health is a condition that is more than simply the absence of disease. This is how I have been using Salutogenesis, a concept devised to discover the origins of health. My hope is we can develop an effective science to support a positive health movement. That is the focus of my career - I hope many of you will join me.

Sorry for the sermon but if we move people toward positive health, we also will make them "unsick" and low on risk factors. Afterall, is it realistic to think we can prevent everything? A key concept associated with salutogenesis.

--

Be Wellr,

Craig M. Becker, Ph.D.

Department of Health Education & Promotion

East Carolina University

3207 Carol Belk Building

Greenville, NC 27858

Telephone: 252-328-5312

beckerc@ecu.edu

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#471

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) is sponsoring the 2008 Graduate Student Leadership Conference, Oct 16-18 at the AAHPERD headquarters in Reston, VA. We invite you to encourage graduate students at your university to submit an application to attend. We can still accommodate some additional students for this conference and we want to have as much diversity of student populations as possible. We must confirm our hotel space by July 1 so we can accept applications until June 30.

All the needed information about the Graduate Conference is on our website,.

We encourage you to pass this along to the graduate students who you think would benefit from this experience.

Best wishes

Becky J. Smith, PhD

Executive Director

AAHE/AAHPERD

** Do You Teach High School Health? ** Check Out New Text Book by Ken Packer ** www.hedir.org/publishing/packer/ ** ** HEDIR is Supported by Career & Other Advertising ** Visit: www.HEDIR.org or HEDIR.hpcareer.net for Details ** ** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift ** Phyllis Reed Did! Thanks Phyllis! ** www.hedir.org/support.htm **

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#472

Dear Colleagues,

The House and Senate have both adopted the budget resolution this week, which includes $59.7 billion for Function 550 (public health programs)  which is roughly $5.2 billion more than the president’s FY 2009 request.

Adoption of the budget will give appropriators their “302 (b)” discretionary spending levels (i.e., piece of the pie) that is distributed among the subcommittees. The 302 (b)s are not yet publicly available.

The House Appropriations Committee has released its markup schedule. Subcommittee markup of the Labor-HHS-Education bill is scheduled for Thursday, June 19. Full committee markup of the bill is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25.

The Senate Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee will likely schedule its markup for the week of June 23.

Increased funding for the Function 550 programs was one of the Advocacy Issues from the 2008 Health Education Advocacy Summit – this is a very positive sign.

Becky Smith, PhD

Executive Director, AAHE

** Do You Teach High School Health? ** Check Out New Text Book by Ken Packer ** www.hedir.org/publishing/packer/ ** ** HEDIR is Supported by Career & Other Advertising ** Visit: www.HEDIR.org or HEDIR.hpcareer.net for Details ** ** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift ** Phyllis Reed Did! Thanks Phyllis! ** www.hedir.org/support.htm **

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