The Future of Public Health and the Web

FutureWeb 2010 Conference, Raleigh, N.C., April 30, 10:30 a.m.-noon

Chair: David Potenziani, senior associate dean at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Public Health. He works in the strategic planning, developing and maintaining partnerships, overseeing the administrative functions and raising funds for the School. Potenziani is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Policy and Administration (HPAA).

Panel description: Web technology and approaches provide a new set of tools for public health practitioners. The Web offers new capabilities for those committed to protecting and promoting the public’s health, from combining data resources for detecting early outbreaks of infectious diseases and other events to using social networks for data connection. Participants will bridge the nexus from the front lines of public health to research in new methodologies. The panel will aim to specifically isolate the key challenges and opportunities in the looming future for public health and the Web and it will work to identify some specific action steps that can be taken today to work for a better tomorrow.

Panelists:

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  Charles Coleman

  Charles Coleman, managing director and senior strategist of SAS Institute’s Education and Medical/Healthcare practice. He works closely with his team and the SAS R&D to provision technologies for use on campuses and within academic medical and research centers. He previously served as the director of Global Information Technology for Red Hat. Coleman will discuss the North Carolina Bio-Preparedness Collaborative for Public Health Surveillance.

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  Deborah Tate

  Deborah Tate, of the UNC Health Behavior and Health Education Department. Her research initiatives involve interventions for the prevention and treatment of obesity, and developing public health alternatives to standard clinical treatments for obesity incorporating technology and informatics. Tate will discuss using the Web and mobile devices for health promotion.

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  Alice Ammerman

  Alice Ammerman, director of UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Her most recent research initiatives focus on school nutrition policy associated with childhood obesity, sustainable agriculture as it relates to improved nutrition and social entrepreneurship as a sustainable approach to addressing public health concerns. Ammerman will cover the use of GIS on the Web for siting farmer’s markets and optimizing availability of fresh locally grown food. Click here to view the Carolina Public Health Solutions Web site.

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  Kurt Ribisl

  Kurt Ribisl, of UNC’s Health Behavior and Health Education Department. He has conducted research in the areas of health behavior, cancer studies, health communication and technology. His primary research interests include tobacco control policy and information technology. During this session, Ribisl will look at a public health approach to regulating dangerous and age-restricted goods sold online.

For more information about FutureWeb 2010 panel discussions, featured panelists and more, click here to navigate to the FutureWeb site. To register for the conference, visit theFutureWeb registration page.