193: A New Way to Address Dementia

ROBERT JOHNSON:

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, June 6th, 2022. I'm Robert Johnson.

Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

A workshop planned in July will give public health professionals the chance to learn how to address dementia through the social determinants of health. The event is set to take place just before the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in San Diego.

Chelsea Kline is with the Alzheimer's Association. She tells us about the workshop in today's morning conversation.

Tell us about the workshop in July and what public health professionals might expect if they decide to attend.

CHELSEA KLINE:

Yeah, so we're really excited. The center will be holding a pre-conference workshop in San Diego on July 29th at the 2022 Alzheimer's Association International Conference. So, this workshop will focus on addressing dementia through the social determinants of health—so, looking at the social determinants of health that might be risk factors for dementia, as well as the social determinants of health that are barriers to addressing other modifiable risk factors for dementia.

At this workshop, we're really hoping to bring together public health researchers, public health academics, and dementia researchers to have them hear about the scientific evidence on dementia-related social determinants of health, and also discuss the different ways that public health can act on those social determinants of health related to dementia.

JOHNSON:

How do you hope attendees will turn what they learn at the workshop into action?

KLINE:

Yeah, so, we're really hoping that once folks leave the workshop, they leave with a greater understanding of what social determinants of health related to dementia are and why it is important to address those, especially as it relates to dementia. And we will be talking about different ideas and strategies that public health can act on when addressing social determinants of health related to dementia.

So, we're hoping that people will walk away and go back to their work and start thinking of ways that they can implement these strategies and approaches in their own communities.

JOHNSON:

Is this a new area for public health?

KLINE:

Yeah, so—especially, you know, looking at the relationship between social determinants of health and dementia, it's something that hasn't really been looked at in detail, so we're super excited. This is kind of a first-of-its-kind look at how those things may be interconnected. So, really excited to get experts in the field together and talk with public health professionals and researchers about what can be done in the field.

JOHNSON:

Are you hearing from people in public health about this issue that they want this sort of training?

KLINE:

Yes, definitely a lot of excitement around this topic. Just in working with our researchers as we're reviewing kind of the early stage of evidence surrounding social determinants of health related to dementia, lots of questions popping up, lots of energy. So, we know that people are really excited and there's a hunger to learn more and do more in communities about it.

JOHNSON:

In the end, what do you hope attendees will take away from the workshop?

KLINE:

Yeah, so, I think just, you know, gaining a better understanding of the social determinants of health related to dementia, just knowing kind of what are the key things that public health should be looking for in their communities, and the different ways that they can address things that they might have not connected as being something related to dementia before.

I think kind of sparking those new ideas and new ways of implementing strategies in the communities is something that will come out of this workshop, and I think be really valuable for a lot of public health agencies and researchers and professionals.

JOHNSON:

Get more information about the event and sign up using the link in the show notes.

On Friday, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine told us about the mental health impacts of negative rhetoric on young people in the LGBTQI+ community. She reacted to a recent survey that said almost half of young people who are part of the community have considered suicide.

In the same conversation, we asked her thoughts about June's Pride Month recognition.

RACHEL LEVINE:

National Pride Month means hope to me—so, it means hope for the future, hope for diversity, equity, and inclusion, again, where everyone in America can see themselves in our leadership and can hope for a better future.

JOHNSON:

Hear more of our conversation with Admiral Rachel Levine in Friday's newscast. The report appears immediately before this one in your podcast player.

Strategies to create a health equity culture in state and territorial health department are outlined in a new article in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. ASTHO's Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge and Dr. Marcus Plescia are among the authors.

The article addresses the need to collect accurate race and ethnicity data and examines a CDC tool that helps target limited resources in rural and frontier areas of the country. There's a link to the article in the show notes.

Finally this morning, two North Carolina state health officials tell how they have managed federal public health funds in a new ASTHO video discussion posted on YouTube. Find out how the North Carolina Division of Public Health used partnerships, deployed administrative strategies, and applied metrics to support efficient and effective spending of federal funds before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. There's a link to the video in the show notes.

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information.

I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.