Public Health Nursing Vol. 9 No. 2, p. 40 0737-1209/92/$6.00 0 1992 Blackwell Scientific Publications, Inc.
APHA 1991-Bringing Message Home
the
Donna Tartasky, R.N., Ph.D. A conversation with a friend at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting in Atlanta prompted me to present information on the conference to the faculty where I teach. At my request the faculty development chairperson booked an hour for an informal lunch meeting approximately three weeks after I returned. My presentation was entitled “APHA annual meeting 1991 : Implications for education, practice, and research. Brochures obtained in the exhibit hall were an invaluable resource, as they contained information on registered nurses, health personnel, health status of the disadvantaged, and health status of minorities. Other data obtained included vital statistics, an annotated bibliography on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) for health services research, and information on selected data base files. These data sources were presented as resources for faculty interested in education, practice, or research. For example, data on registered nurses are useful for education planning, whereas those on health status of minorities have specific implications for practice and re search. Most of the conference sessions I attend focused on disability, which is a major public health problem that affects approximately 35 million Americans. Disabilities arise three ways and are considered developmental, injury related, or the result of chronic illnesses and aging. In fact, it is estimated that an infant born today, with a 75-year life expectancy, will have an average of 13 years with an activity limitation (Institute of Medicine, 1991). Yet, despite the fact that disability is a major public ”
Address correspondence t o Donnu Turtasky, assistant professor, College of Nursing, Villanova University, Villanovu, PA 19085.
140
health problem, little has been done to prevent its occurrence. Presenting this information to faculty gave me the opportunity to relate disability as a public health issue to every nursing specialty. Most of the faculty gasped when they heard the number of years they would probably be disabled over the course of their life. Information on the two models of disability that have been conceptualized enabled me to speak to the need for nursing research that examines the disabling process. Information from the National Center for Nursing Research and the Division of Nursing (obtained at public health nursing roundtables) helped me explain the differences between these research offices and also focus on key areas that are of funding interest. I was able to relate almost all areas that have been targeted by the National Center for Nursing Research to disability. Some of these include prevention of low-birth-weight infants, long-term care of older adults, symptom management, and health promotion for children and adolescents. Faculty who were present learned a little more about the who, why, what, when, and how of public health. Bringing the message home also gave me the opportunity to elucidate what an integral part the APHA annual meeting can play in nursing education, practice, and research.
REFERENCE Institute of Medicine. (1991). Disability in America: toward a national agenda for prevention. Summary and recommendations. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
APHA 1991-Bringing Message Home
the
Donna Tartasky, R.N., Ph.D. A conversation with a friend at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting in Atlanta prompted me to present information on the conference to the faculty where I teach. At my request the faculty development chairperson booked an hour for an informal lunch meeting approximately three weeks after I returned. My presentation was entitled “APHA annual meeting 1991 : Implications for education, practice, and research. Brochures obtained in the exhibit hall were an invaluable resource, as they contained information on registered nurses, health personnel, health status of the disadvantaged, and health status of minorities. Other data obtained included vital statistics, an annotated bibliography on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) for health services research, and information on selected data base files. These data sources were presented as resources for faculty interested in education, practice, or research. For example, data on registered nurses are useful for education planning, whereas those on health status of minorities have specific implications for practice and re search. Most of the conference sessions I attend focused on disability, which is a major public health problem that affects approximately 35 million Americans. Disabilities arise three ways and are considered developmental, injury related, or the result of chronic illnesses and aging. In fact, it is estimated that an infant born today, with a 75-year life expectancy, will have an average of 13 years with an activity limitation (Institute of Medicine, 1991). Yet, despite the fact that disability is a major public ”
Address correspondence t o Donnu Turtasky, assistant professor, College of Nursing, Villanova University, Villanovu, PA 19085.
140
health problem, little has been done to prevent its occurrence. Presenting this information to faculty gave me the opportunity to relate disability as a public health issue to every nursing specialty. Most of the faculty gasped when they heard the number of years they would probably be disabled over the course of their life. Information on the two models of disability that have been conceptualized enabled me to speak to the need for nursing research that examines the disabling process. Information from the National Center for Nursing Research and the Division of Nursing (obtained at public health nursing roundtables) helped me explain the differences between these research offices and also focus on key areas that are of funding interest. I was able to relate almost all areas that have been targeted by the National Center for Nursing Research to disability. Some of these include prevention of low-birth-weight infants, long-term care of older adults, symptom management, and health promotion for children and adolescents. Faculty who were present learned a little more about the who, why, what, when, and how of public health. Bringing the message home also gave me the opportunity to elucidate what an integral part the APHA annual meeting can play in nursing education, practice, and research.
REFERENCE Institute of Medicine. (1991). Disability in America: toward a national agenda for prevention. Summary and recommendations. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
