American Public Health Association In Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS -- Several Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute for Health Care researchers are among those who will make presentations to the thousands of public health professionals attending the 125th meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA) in Indianapolis Nov. 9 - 13. Additionally, the newly named editors of Medical Care will hold a "Meet the Editors" session for researchers and writers.

-- Stephen Jay, M.D., assistant dean for Continuing Medical Education and professor of medicine at IU School of Medicine, will join fellow national, state and local experts at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, at the Westin Grand Ballroom for the only APHA event open to the general public. He will participate in "Tobacco: An Indiana Town Meeting ."

-- Charles Clark, M.D., senior research scientist at Regenstrief Institute, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism, and of pharmacology, IU School of Medicine, studies the effect of interventions on quality of care and outcomes of diabetes. He will make a presentation on the joint NIH-CDC sponsored National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) which he chairs. He will focus on barriers to good diabetes care and education in the U.S., public health approaches for addressing these barriers and recommendations for development of the NDEP at 2:15 p.m., Monday, Nov. 10.

-- Daniel Clark, Ph.D., research scientist, Regenstrief Institute; assistant professor of medicine, IU School of Medicine, evaluates the application of preventative health interventions to elderly, vulnerable populations. His primary research interests are in the identification and modification of risk factors for chronic disease and physical impairment among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults. He will be making two presentations on Tuesday, Nov. 11, beginning at 4:15 p.m. The first is "Trends in and Correlates of Disability Among Older Adults" which looks at rates of disability (e.g., difficulty taking care of oneself) in 1982, 1984, 1989, and 1994. Each year the number of adults 65 or over with a disability has declined. The study found correlations only between increases in the education level of the older population and declines in rates of circulatory disease. The researchers concluded that the trend is positive and consistent, but the causes are still uncertain making predictions of the trend in the years to come difficult. His second presentation on "Physical Activity Behavior and Barriers Among Older, Urban Primary Care Patients" provides a look at a research survey of 800 adults, aged 55 or over, who attend an urban primary care center, assessed physical activity levels and barriers to physical activity. Only 10 percent met the Surgeon General's recommended levels of physical activity. Barriers to physical activity were substantial and included knee, leg, and back pain, fear of chest pain or shortness of breath, weather, poor sidewalks, and crime.

-- Kurt Kronke, M.D., senior research scientist, Regenstrief Institute, professor of medicine, IU School of Medicine, will speak from 4:15-4:45 p.m., Monday, Nov. 10. Dr. Kronke will discuss "Beyond Incentives and Report Cards: Actually Improving the Quality of Primary Care." He will share data and insights from a series of recent studies of common symptoms (mental disorders, dizziness and fatigue) seen by primary care physicians. The focus will be on the large numbers of patients for whom traditional diagnostic labels or models are not applicable, and the remarkable mismatch between physicians' training and ambulatory care and diagnostic dilemmas.

-- Emmanuel Lazaridis, Ph.D., research scientist, Regenstrief Institute, and assistant professor of medicine, Division of Biostatistics, IU School of Medicine, collaborates with health services, diabetes, aging and cancer researchers to develop and apply sophisticated analytical tools for the design and analysis of preclinical experiments, clinical trials, and observational studies. A biostatistician, Dr. LazaridisA APHA presentation is entitled "Longitudinal Patterns of Physical Functioning in Older Adults: Identification and Analysis Using a New Methodology." at 2:15 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12. He will discuss new methodology designed to study how different functional limitations manifest as people age. In the past, methodological restrictions have prevented adequate characterization of the variety of disabilities in older adults.

-- William Tierney, M.D., senior research scientist, Regenstrief Institute, and professor of medicine, IU School of Medicine, studies the effect of interventions and system changes on the process and outcomes of medical care. His goal is to use information at critical points in the care process to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. On Monday, Nov. 10, in a session from 4:15-4:45 p.m., Dr. Tierney will demonstrate and discuss the future of the Regenstrief Medical Record System which has been evolving and functioning for a quarter of a century. He will review randomized trials which have shown the effectiveness of computerized data display and order entry guidance. Lessons derived from this experience including problems in implementation, and the computer's role in improving the quality and cost effectiveness of care will be presented.

-- Karen Bruner Stroup, Ph.D., of the Community Education Department at Riley Hospital for Children, will demonstrate the application of Riley's new fiber optic technology to health care education. Participants at the APHA meeting will have the opportunity to visit Riley from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 11 and view a long distance learning broadcast on the consequences of smoking tobacco to the New Augusta Public Academy, a Pike Township elementary school.

MEET THE EDITORS

Morris Weinberger, Ph.D., director of Health Services Research at Roudebush VA Medical Center, senior research scientist, Regenstrief Institute, and professor of medicine, IU School of Medicine, and William Tierney, M.D., earlier this year were named editors of Medical Care. They will hold a Meet the Editors session from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 11. Medical Care is the official monthly journal of the medical care section of the APHA. It is an international medium for publishing articles in the broad field of medical care, with the mission of encouraging progress in the research, planning, organization, financing, provision and evaluation of health services.

Send to: I.U. School of Medicine
Office of Public & Media Relations

INDIANA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

MEDIA
RELATIONS

A STATEWIDE
RESOURCE

Phone
317 274 7722

Fax
317 278 8722