ABJ Conference on Health Disparities

ABJ Conference on Health Disparities
January 30-31, 2009
Morehouse School of Medicine

Shuttle will pickup attendants at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta

REGISTER TODAY
www.MyNABJ.org

NABJ will give journalists insight into health disparities affecting the African American community, resulting in significantly higher mortality rates. Learn how to cover major health and medical stories that make an impact. Topics include obesity, heart disease, stroke, HIV/AIDS, mental health and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Thursday, January 29
Reception   TBA
Friday January 30
8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:50 a.m. Welcome

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 Understanding and Covering Health Care Policy
For most, policy is never important until it keeps them from getting something they need. Journalists must understand and be able to report about the development and implementation of health care policy and its impact on the communities of color. Hear from experts who will share insights in covering and deciphering health care policy and trends that are on the horizon.  Learn about new legislation that will impact the health and well-being of citizens. What effect will the new presidential administration have on the health care policy.

Moderator: Andrea King Collier

Invited PRESENTERS:
Brian Smedley, Ph.D Joint Center for Political and Urban Studies  (Invited)
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey M.D. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Invited)
Marsha Lillie-Blanton, Dr.P.H., Kaiser senior advisor on race, ethnicity and health care (invited)
Angela Blackwell Glover-President, Policy Link (Invited)

10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Covering Aging and Health
Today, a baby boomer turns 50 every 7.6 seconds.  By mid-century, the elderly will outnumber young people for the first time in history. How does this impact people of color and their ability to navigate the health care system?
Clinical Trials and African Americans
Reporters and medical experts will discuss moving beyond the Tuskegee Experiment to solid and fair journalistic coverage of clinical trials and their role in underserved populations.  What are the challenges and opportunities in writing about clinical trials?  How do journalists give fair and balanced coverage of clinical trials and the participation of people of color?
Noon – 12:45 p.m Luncheon
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.Mental Health Out of the Closet
For years, people of color have kept their mental health issues in the closet. Depression, Bipolar disease, Schizophrenia and Post Traumatic Stress disorders have all been linked to substance abuse, incarceration rates, domestic violence and unemployment rates in communities of color.  These panelists will discuss coverage of this issues and emerging trends.
PANEL

Dr. Annell Primm, M.D., American Psychiatric Association, Minority Health Initiative
Dr. Claire Xanthos, Morehouse School of Medicine
Darryl Fears reporter Washington Post (Invited)
John Head, author,  Standing in the Shadows (Invited)
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  The Real Story Behind the HIV-AIDS, 25 Years Later
It’s been 25 years since HIV/AIDS became a part of the national reality. People of color are disproportionately affected by the disease. Journalists on the forefront of reporting and dialoguing about HIV/AIDS and its impact in communities of color will talk about the challenges 25 years later.
PANEL:
Moderator, Sherri Williams, Columbus Dispatch
Phil Wilson, Black AIDS Institute;
Gil Robertson, freelance writer, columnist
Hilary Beard, freelance writer
David Malebranche, M.D., Emory University
Kevin Fenton, M.D., Director, CDC National Center for
HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
3:45-5:00 Incarceration and Reentry: Addressing the Health of Those Returning Home
Nearly 2.2 million men and women are incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States and a growing body of evidence points to levels of ill health and inadequate treatment during incarceration.  These factors further exacerbate health disparities present in underserved communities.  This panel will discuss the physical and mental health impacts upon those returning home to their communities and families, and the collateral consequences of reentry.
Moderator: Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell
Reception – TBA

Saturday  January 31

8:30 -9:00 a.m                 Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Children’s Health Town Meeting
Opening   A Conversation with Marian Wright Edelman, Children’s Defense Fund
The Holistic View of Child Health
The roles of housing, school, the economy, and community in the health of our children
Lisa Thornton, M.D., broadcaster
Mary Otto, Washington Post
Infant Health (low birth weight, premature birth, infant mortality, brain development)
James Collins, Medical Director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago
Child Nutrition, Childhood Obesity
Rovenia Brock, Fitness Expert (Invited)
Ian Smith, M.D., Million Pound Challenge  (Invited),
Valeria Smith, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
A partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation
Bryant Terry, Food and Society Policy Fellow (Invited)

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm  LUNCHEON

Health Disparities in Cancer
Linda Blount, Vice President, Health Disparities American Cancer Society
Living with and Covering Cancer
2:15 pm – 4:00 p.m.   SYMPOSIA
Women’s Health
Black women are more likely to die from heart disease, stroke, and cancer than their white counterparts. This panel will address the health issues that impact the health and wellbeing of women of color and how they are being covered in the media
Moderator: Eleanor Hoytt, Black Women’s Health Imperative
Men’s Health
Theodies Mitchell, Centers for Disease Control
Andrea King Collier, Author Black Woman’s Guide to Black Men’s Health
4:00 p.m. -5:30 p.m.   CLOSING SESSION – NABJ Takes a Stand
A roundtable discussion of strategies on covering the health and wellbeing of people of color. How do members move health and health policy stories forward in their publications, news programming and new media efforts? What are we willing to do to help close the gap in health disparities?
Facilitator: Angela Robinson, Host, IN CONTACT
REGISTER ONLINE
www.MyNABJ.org
REGISTRATION RATES
Before January 16, 2009
Members: $59
Non-Members: $99
After January 16, 2009
Members: $99
Non-Members: $179