ATLANTA – Mercer University was represented at the American Public Health Association's (APHA) 2017 annual meeting and expo by faculty, students and alumni from the Department of Public Health within the College of Health Professions.
Public health experts and academics from around the world gathered in Atlanta to consider the theme of “Creating the Healthiest Nation: Climate Changes Health” Nov. 4-8 at the Georgia World Congress Center and Omni Hotel at CNN Center.
“It was an informative and gratifying experience for all of us,” said Dr. Nannette Turner, associate professor and chair of the Department of Public Health. “I was very proud of our representation throughout the conference. The opportunity to build into our knowledge base was invaluable, as was the opportunity to elevate the brand of Mercer's Master of Public Health (MPH) and undergraduate programs.”
Five faculty members – Dr. Huey Chen, Dr. Cheryl Gaddis, Liliana Morosanu, Dr. Jimmie Smith and Dr. Turner – and Pharm.D./MPH combined degree student Michelle Vu presented on the following topics:
Turner N., Morosanu M., Gaddis C., Chen H., White V., “A Longitudinal Study of Contraceptive Use Among Low-Income African American Women in an Inter-Conception Care Program” Gaddis C., Turner N., Morosanu M., Chen H., Williams S., Nix L., “Evaluation of the Implementation of a School-based Telemedicine Program in Georgia” Chen H., Morosanu L., Powell-Threats K., Lian B., Turner N., “The Silent Battle between Fidelity and Viability: Evaluating an Interagency Collaboration for Planning and Implementing a Healthy Community Initiative” Smith J., “A Liaison-Based Academic Health Department in Georgia: A Partnership to Improve Community Health” Vu, M., “Implementation of a Novel Mobile Community Health Application (App) Program by Student Pharmacists”
Additionally, Dr. Gaddis and Dr. Smith were elected to leadership positions within APHA. Dr. Smith will serve as section counselor for the Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section, and Dr. Gaddis will serve as a member of the APHA Governing Counsel.
About the College of Health Professions
Mercer University's College of Health Professions is composed of five programs: physical therapy, physician assistant studies, public health, clinical medical psychology, and athletic training. The College offers a doctoral-level physical therapy program, master's-level physician assistant program, bachelor's- and master's-level public health programs, doctoral-level program in clinical medical psychology, and master's-level athletic training program. The Department of Physical Therapy offers residencies in orthopaedic, neurologic and cardiovascular/pulmonary physical therapy; a fellowship in orthopaedic manual physical therapy; and an onsite clinic. Each program is housed in a department that provides students with comprehensive didactic courses taught by an extraordinary faculty and extensive clinical experience enhanced by outstanding service-learning opportunities. For more information, visit chp.mercer.edu.
