Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section Newsletter

Winter 2003

"Injury Prevention Is No Accident"

• Go directly to a few of the articles in this newsletter by clicking the links below or to read everything, scroll down the page or print out the newsletter to read at your convenience.

In this issue:

ICHES Section News

* Notes from the Chair

* Call for Abstracts for 2003 Meeting

* Memories from 2002 Meeting

Of Interest

* Special Event in Seattle on January 23, 2003

What's New

* NHTSA Releases 2001 Data on Rural vs. Urban Motor Vehicle Crashes

And Much More!

Reminder about the ICEHS Section Web Site A reminder that much useful information, including an updated list of contacts for Section officers, is available from the section Web site: www.icehs.org

Needed: ICEHS Voices
By the time you read this, two of the first deadlines for membership input into vital Association initiatives will have passed. Our Association is in the middle of two processes for members to provide direction for change: by offering input to the Task Force on Association Improvement and Reorganization (TFAIR) and by identifying policy statements that need updating or need to be archived. I hope that ICEHS was well represented. However, these dates were only the beginning of these lengthy processes through which our Association is hoping to be more responsive both to members and to those outside the organization. While we all love to trade those "ain't it awful" stories, few of us actually enjoy doing something about it. My thanks to those of you who took the time to do so but everyone else still has plenty of opportunity to be heard.

After the 2001 Annual Meeting, the Task Force on Organization and Governance (TFOG) was reconstituted and reformed as TFAIR in accordance with the resolution passed by the APHA Governing Council. The overall goal of TFAIR is to collect, compile, and analyze information about the Association's strengths and areas for improvement and to propose ways to improve the organization that build on our strength and address our weaknesses. TFAIR provided a Web site at which members could express their ideas on these topics. Those ideas will be compiled and recommendations made to the Governing Council. If you have any thoughts on the process or there are things you wish you had said, please send them to our Councilors, Sue Gerberich (<sgerb@moose.cccs.umn.edu>) and Linda Degutis (<Linda.Degutis@yale.edu>).

TFAIR was not needed to identify one of the constant criticisms heard about APHA, that our processes prevent a quick and useful response to current public health issues. APHA has more than 1,000 policies from as far back as 50 years that the staff must plow through when asked for the Association's position on a particular topic. As many as 20 new policies get passed each year.

This fall, the Executive Board began a process to identify which of these policies actually still represent both current science and the Association's position. The first step was the identification of topic areas in which the Association should have policies. Staff will now identify existing policies in those subject areas or those areas in need of policy development and volunteer member units will be sought to review, update or archive policies. This review process will take place this spring. Recommendations to the Joint Policy Committee will be made on May 20. If you are interested in working on this opportunity for injury and emergency health issues to be accurately represented in this initiative, please contact our Policy Committee co-chairs, Linda Degutis (<Linda.Degutis@yale.edu>) and Charlie Branas (<cbranas@cceb.med.upenn.edu>).

Be Sure We Know How To Reach You!
In the past, e-mail addresses for all Section members have not been available to Section Chairs or Newsletter editors. APHA was concerned that these lists would be misused and members would be bombarded with unwanted e-mail. This policy has now been changed and Section leadership will finally be able to send a blast e-mail to the entire Section. If you have any complaints about your Section leadership's use of this ability, please let ME know, don't send your complaints to staff. But, this system will only work if we all remember to keep our contact information up to date. APHA has one of the easiest and fastest contact information update systems that I am aware of. Please be sure to use it so we don't lose you!

I am looking forward to this year and would love to hear any and all thoughts on the ICEHS Section and the Association.

Take good care,
Janet
<janetholden@attbi.com>
(708) 386-7179

Keep your own membership record updated online! Update your own membership information, such as your postal address or e-mail address, and contact fellow APHA members through the APHA online membership directory. APHA wants to be sure that your membership information is correct and up-to-date. You can now personally update and verify your information quickly and easily online at <www.apha.org/intro_private.cfm>. What this directory does for you The online directory allows members to change their own job titles, home or business phone numbers, addresses, Section affiliations and e-mail addresses. The directory also allows members to search for other members and contact them by e-mail. Because this is accessed through the password-protected members only section, you will need your member identification number to log on to the member directory. Your number can be found above your name on your mailing label for The Nation's Health or the American Journal of Public Health. When logging in, two boxes will pop up. Place your member identification number in the first box and in the "password" box, type the first initial of your first name followed by your last name. Example: jdoe If you do not know your membership identification or have other questions, please contact the APHA Membership Department at (202) 777-2400 or <membership.mail@apha.org>.

The Injury Control and Emergency Health Services (ICHES) Section invited abstracts related to the prevention and control of unintentional and intentional injuries and to emergency health services, including service delivery issues in treatment and rehabilitation. Abstracts were submitted via the APHA Web site at <www.apha.org/meetings>.

The deadline for submitting abstracts to the ICHES Section was midnight EST on Friday, February 7, 2003. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and considered for presentation at the 131st Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, to be held November 15-19, 2003, in San Francisco, California. The theme of the meeting is Behavior, Lifestyle, and Social Determinants of Health.

­ Steve Marshall, <smarshall@unc.edu>

Memories from the 2002 Meeting These are photographs taken from the 2002 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. Special thanks to Charlie Branas for his tremendous effort in making our experience successful. These memories reflect both the scientific exchange and the fun had by all in Philly.

Special Event in Seattle
On January 23, 2003, the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington hosted an invited one-day conference, "Behavioral Approaches to Injury Control." The program included nationally renowned experts in health behavior and opportunities to discuss the practical application of behavioral sciences to the study and prevention of injury.

An additional important goal of the conference, however, was to develop a research agenda for the behavioral sciences as applied to injury control. We sought opportunities to develop projects at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center that straddle research frontiers in psychology, public health and injury science.

NHTSA Releases 2001 Data on Rural Versus Urban Motor Vehicle Crashes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recently made a variety of new documents available on its National Center for Statistics and Analysis Web site. Among these reports, available on-line in pdf format, are: the 2001 Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report, State Alcohol Related Fatality Rates Report, Individual State Data Reports and a new 2001 Traffic Safety Fact Sheet: Rural/Urban Comparison. These can be accessed at:
<www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/>.

Visit The Nation's Health Online
Web pages include articles not found in print edition

Visit The Nation's Health online at <www.apha.org/thenationshealth> to view all the articles and job ads from this month's print issue or browse back issues.

The Nation's Health Web pages also include "Web Exclusives," public health articles from The Nation's Health staff that are found only online, at <www.apha.org/journal/nation/tnhwebexclusives.htm>.

Another feature found only online is "Newsmakers in Public Health." Find out what is going on among the movers and shakers of public health, with briefs on promotions, awards and professional news, at <www.apha.org/journal/nation/tnhnewsmakers.htm>.

Activate Your Access to the American Journal of Public Health Today!

The American Journal of Public Health is now available in full on the Web at <http://www.ajph.org/>. Starting in February, APHA members will need to activate their online access. Once your subscription is activated, this exclusive new member benefit will allow APHA members to search for articles by keyword, browse back issues and print articles at no cost.

APHA members and Journal subscribers will have complete access. All others will be charged to download articles.

To activate your member access, log on to <http://www.ajph.org/>. Enter your member number, which can be found on your mailing label above your name on your print copy of the Journal or The Nation's Health. You will then be given password instructions.

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