National Public Health Week events at UC to address sexual health

“Addressing Sexual Health” is the theme University of Cincinnati (UC) graduate students in the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program have set for National Public Health Week, April 1-5. The Gamma Rho student chapter of the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society will host speakers, a volunteer opportunity and social activities to raise awareness of public health issues.

On Wednesday, April 3, a seminar featuring keynote speaker Robert Kirkcaldy, MD, MPH, from the Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) will be followed by a panel discussion addressing the public health state of sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

Kirkcaldy is team leader for the epidemiology research team at the CDC’s national center for HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STD and tuberculosis prevention. His expertise is in the study of antimicrobial-resistant gonorrhea and antibiotic resistance to STDs.

Following his keynote presentation (“The Worsening STD Crisis: Current Landscape and Future Directions”) Kirkcaldy will join a panel discussion featuring researchers, clinicians and health professionals including:

•  Jason Blackard, PhD – associate professor of internal medicine at UC and translational researcher.
• Tavon Hall – medical educator at Caracole, a non-profit AIDS service organization.
• Carolette Norwood, PhD – professor of sociology at UC and a Project Scholar at The Cincinnati Project.
• Eric Washington – program coordinator, Men’s Health Initiative at the Cincinnati Health Department.

A full schedule of the week’s activities is below.

National Public Health Week 2019: "Addressing Sexual Health”

Monday, April 1: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Stop by the Gamma Rho booth in the Medical Sciences Building near the elevators for information about the MPH program, health resources and snacks. Students can also visit the fourth floor of Tangeman University Center for free, confidential HIV testing.  

Tuesday, April 2: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Volunteer to assemble safe sex kits for the Hamilton County Public Health Department in the Kettering Laboratory Atrium. If interested in participating, RSVP to deltaomega.gammarho@gmail.com by March 30.

Wednesday, April 3: 9 a.m. - noon
Keynote and panel discussion

9 - 9:45 a.m.        MPH student and faculty breakfast in the Kehoe Atrium of Kettering.

10 - 11 a.m.         Keynote: Robert Kirkcaldy MD, MPH
11 a.m. - noon    Panel
Kowalewski Hall, Room 140.

For those who cannot attend, a live WebEx feed is available and will be posted after the event at http://med.uc.edu/eh/divisions/publichealth.

Thursday, April 4: 5 - 9 p.m

Social at Kingsgate’s Bearcat Lounge to celebrate the end of National Public Health Week.
Kingsgate Hotel and Conference Center, 151 Goodman Dr.  

National Public Health Week has been an annual event organized by the American Public Health Association since 1995, with the goal to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation.

For questions about any of the events, contact deltaomega.gammarho@gmail.com.