Public Lectures

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and School of Public Health Professor Michael T. Osterholm discussed U.S. flu vaccine policy in light of widespread shortages of the seasonal influenza vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine.

They were joined by:

Rob Fulton, Director
Saint Paul - Ramsey
County Department of Public Health

Lucinda Jesson, J.D.,
Hamline University School of Law

Listen to the discussion in its entirety

Michael Osterholm, John R. Finnegan, Sanne Magnan, and Dan O'Laughlin discuss H1N1. September 10, 2009.

It was sponsored by the Global Health Initiative of the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Listen to discussion.
Watch the discussion

Fetal Effects of Maternal Overweight and Obesity

Pat Fontaine, MD, MS
September 9, 2009
Watch the presentation

International Human Rights Advocacy for Persons with Mental Disabilities and the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Eric Rosenthal, J.D., Executive Director, Mental Disability Rights International.
http://www.mdri.org

Listen to Part 1

Listen to Part 2

Watch Forgotten People

Presented April 2, 2009 by Alan Zaslavsky, Ph.D.
Professor of Health Care Policy (Statistics)
Department of Health Care Policy

Download the presentation (PDF)

Listen to Zaslavsky's presentation

Abstract
Data from the Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS(R)) surveys provide insight into healthcare quality as seen from the perspective of the patient's experiences with care. With about two million completed surveys over the past 10 years, the Medicare CAHPS surveys can be analyzed to assess sources of variation in beneficiary experiences.

This talk summarized findings about:
(1) identifying conceptual domains of experiences through multilevel factor analysis,

(2) relative contributions of geographical and organizational factors to various experiences with care,

(3) geographical associations between experiences in Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare, (4) associations of CAHPS-assessed quality with local utilization patterns.

Presented April 1, 2009

The first in a five part series of lectures, every Wednesday in April. Part 1, presented by Bryan E. Dowd, PhD.

A live stream as well as archived presentations for the entire series can be found at: https://umconnect.umn.edu/hpmcausality/

Listen to Dowd's presentation

U of MN faculty and National Children’s Study investigators, Dr. Chuck Oberg and Dr. John Adgate, gave a talk on March 26, 2009 about the epidemiology and consequences of childhood asthma for public health, social service, and other professionals.

Listen to the talk, Childhood Asthma: Potential Causes and Consequences:

• Part 1, Dr. Chuck Oberg: The Epidemiology of Childhood Asthma

• Part 2, Dr. John Adgate: The National Children's Study and Potential Environmental Determinants of Asthma

Presented February 11, 2009 by: Ashis Brahma, M.D.

Listen to Brahma's presentation

Cosponsors: Program in Human Rights and Health, Center for Holocuast and Genocide Studies, Student International Health Committee

What: Health Policy & Management Seminar: "Who Pays for Obesity"

Presented Jan. 27, 2009 by: Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Stanford University

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Listen to Bhattacharya 's presentation

Presented by Rachel M. Werner, M.D., Ph.D.
Dec. 4, 2008

Listen to Werner's presentation

Abstract

Evidence supporting the use of public reporting of quality information to improve health care quality is mixed. While public reporting may improve reported quality, its effect on quality of care more broadly is uncertain.

This study tests whether public reporting in the setting of nursing homes resulted in improvement of both reported and overall quality of post-acute care. Data is from the nursing home Minimum Data Set and inpatient Medicare claims over 1999 to 2005. The research team examined changes in post-acute care quality in U.S. nursing homes in response to the initiation of public reporting on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website, Nursing Home Compare. The research team used small nursing homes that were not subject to public reporting as a contemporaneous control and also control for the changing case mix of patient in nursing homes.

Post-acute care quality was measured using three publicly reported clinical quality measures and 30-day potentially preventable rehospitalization rates, an unreported measure of quality. Reported quality of post-acute care improved after the initiation of public reporting. However, rates of potentially preventable rehospitalization did not significantly improve and, in some cases, worsened.

Rachel M. Werner, M.D., Ph.D. is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Core Investigator with the VA HSR&D Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP).

Werner is a general internist and health economist whose research seeks to understand the role of quality improvement initiatives on provider behavior, the organization and financing of health care, racial disparities, and overall health care quality. Her work has recognized that public reporting of quality information may worsen racial disparities and she has been recognized through numerous awards including the Dissertation Award from AcademyHealth and the John D. Thompson Prize for Young Investigators from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

The School of Public Health has received a major grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the new Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRCs) initiative.

One of only seven centers nationally, this interdisciplinary five-year grant involves collaboration across the Academic Health Center, with Minnesota Department of Health, and with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The focus of U-SEEE's research is enhancing the usefulness and effectiveness of emergency response training, thereby improving individual and system performance in public health emergencies.

Listen to a presentation about the kickoff of this grant

Presented by Gregory Stanton, Ph.D., executive director of Genocide Watch, Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, Nov. 19

Listen to Stanton's address

Has the terminology of "ethnic cleansing" made more difficult identifying mass killings as genocidal? Why do certain mass killings receive mass attention while others continue over long periods without registering in media or public consciousness? Gregory Stanton will elucidate these issues reflecting also on research concerning the semantics of mass killing.

Resources

• UMConnect archived proceedings of this address
• Gregory H. Stanton, "The Eight Stages of Genocide."
• The National Security Archive, George Washington University.
  "The US and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994: Evidence of Inaction."
  William Ferroggiaro, Editor
• Discussion Paper, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East/Africa Region, Department of Defense, May 1, 1994. Secret. (Source: Freedom of Information Act release by Office of the Secretary of Defense)

“Challenges and Opportunities in the Evolution from Episodic Healthcare to Community Health Improvement," by Rick Norling (M.H.A. '75, CEO of Premier, Inc.)

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008

Listen to Norling's keynote.

Download the presentation

The University of Minnesota’s Program in Healthcare Administration and the MHA Alumni Association/Foundation sponsored the 3rd event in the James A. Hamilton Lecture Series.

Presented by Jacquelyn Boggess, J.D.

Jacquelyn Boggess is the co-director of the Center for Family Policy and Practice (CFPP). She has worked with the CFPP since its inception in 1995 and is the project director for the Center's Legal Assistance Project. The project is designed to provide legal information and education about child support to low-income parents.

Boggess has expertise in state and federal child support and paternity establishment law and policy, with a particular emphasis on low-income, never-married fathers. She has also developed a Q&A legal resource and co-authored a child support manual for parents and practitioners who have questions and concerns about child support and paternity establishment. Boggess is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison Law School.

Listen to Boggess's presentation.

Joe Kelly

Listen to Kelly's presentation

Joe Kelly has two grown daughters and is the president of the national organization called Dads and Daughters. He is a nationally recognized fatherhood speaker and trainer and the author of Dads and daughters: how to inspire, understand and support your daughter; The pocket idiot's guide to being an expectant father; The pocket idiot's guide to being a new dad; Clean: a new generation in recovery speaks out; and The body myth: adult women and the pressure to be perfect.

Kelly is a co-founder of the award-winning New Moon magazine for girls and has a bachelor of science degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Maureen Reed, M.D.

Maureen Reed has dedicated her career to delivering better health outcomes for Minnesotans and is a former medical director of HealthPartners. Reed is a nationally sought speaker on health care quality, health care improvement, and patient safety.

Reed served on the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents from 1997-2005 (and chaired the Board from 2001-2003). In addition to her clinical and administrative expertise, Reed extended her advocacy and policy skills as Peter Hutchinson’s running mate in Minnesota’s 2006 gubernatorial race.

Reed graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she also completed her residency in internal medicine. She is an adjunct instructor with the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Listen to Reed's presentation

Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Sanne Magnan delivered the 2008 School of Public Health commencement address.

Dr. Magnan was appointed Minnesota Commissioner of Health by Governor Tim Pawlenty on Sept. 28, 2007 and is responsible for directing the Minnesota Department of Health. MDH is the state's lead public health agency, responsible for protecting, maintaining, and improving the health of all Minnesotans. The department has approximately 1,300 employees in the Twin Cities area and in seven offices in Greater Minnesota.

Listen to Dr. Magnan's commencement address.

REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals. All producers, importers, and users of chemicals in the European Union (EU) will be required to register and in many cases seek authorization to produce or use chemicals.

The major feature of this new legislation is that it shifts the burden of proof in the EU from the governmental bodies to the producers and users for generating toxicological data; information regarding the potential occupational, environmental, and public health impacts; recommended exposure limits; as well as specific guidance on how to safely use and dispose these chemicals for each "major use scenario."

This presentation will cover the origin and basics of the EU REACH initiative, explore how it might affect US companies, both those exporting to the EU and those that do not, and also how the REACH initiative has the potential to radically change the practice of EHS sciences worldwide.

Speaker

Paul Hewett, PhD, CIH, is the founder and president of Exposure Assessment Solutions, Inc. Previously, Paul worked for 25 years as an industrial hygienist for the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Respirable Disease Studies, specializing in the measurement of pneumoconiosis-producing dusts. His credentials include a doctorate in Industrial Hygiene from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health (1991). Hewett is also the author of numerous articles and chapters on exposure assessment and statistics for industrial hygienists, as well as a past chair of the AIHA Exposure Assessment Strategies Committee.

Listen to Hewett's presentation

Presented by Margot de Wilde.

Listen to de Wilde's presentation.

Presented on April 17 by Mark Soderstrom, PhD, SUNY.

Listen to Soderstrom's presentation.