by Abby Arcuri
CHER members attend APHA 2023, the American Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting and Expo, to present their research and view the work of other attendees.
Some CHER members told us about their experiences.
Our Research
Several CHER members attended the conference this year, and they all were able to showcase their research.
From Abacus Evaluation, CHER’s program evaluation organization, two members of the RADx-UP project attended. Lisa Maria Cross and Taylor Baldwin presented their research on the “Evaluation of behavioral determinants of at-home testing and socio-behavioral mechanism of COVID-19 community transmission within the radx-up initiative.”
Breanna Williams, part of CHER’s Co-LEARN project, presented work on “Examining organizational partnerships among organizations interested in implementing evidence-based cardiovascular disease programming in rural African American communities.”
Others from CHER’s Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) Evaluation Advisory Group (EAG) team hosted events. PHIG EAG members Naomi Carbrey, Erika Redding and Catalina Ramos Gomez held a meet and greet.
Redding also conducted an oral presentation on “Assessing the impact of county-level structural racism on domestic violence protection order outcomes in North Carolina.”
Members from a North Carolina-based team of the Community Engagement Alliance (NC CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities gave presentations as well.
Anissa Vines, Tianduo Zhang, Lisa Paulin and Courtney McMillian from NC CEAL presented “A history informed message design to improve trust in clinical trials among black people in NC.” Another NC CEAL member, Kacia Vines, showed her work on “Perceived barriers and opportunities to participate in clinical trials related to COVID-19 among black and latinx communities in the United States.”.
The Experience
Other than their presentations, attendees also learned from and enjoyed other parts of the conference.
Lisa Maria Cross, from CHER’s RadxUp project, said many kinds of sessions were available. Some included roundtable discussions and oral presentations.
Cross’ research assistant, Taylor Baldwin, enjoyed attending these extra sessions. Baldwin said she loved the informational sessions on human rights and women’s rights.
There were also several opportunities to network with colleagues and meet future collaborators. Cross and Baldwin both said they liked seeing new faces and connecting with other attendees.
Last Thoughts
With fun and informational extra sessions, the APHA conference served as a networking and learning experience for many.
CHER members attend APHA 2023 to present their research after putting in substantial effort, which was well deserved.
The next APHA conference will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from October 27-30, 2024. Be on the lookout for more information, and save the date!