This week, Dr. Peter Collings will lead our journal club discussion of a recent article by anthropologist-epidemiologist James Trostle and colleagues:
Trostle, J. A., Hubbard, A., Scott, J., Cevallos, W., Bates, S. J., & Eisenberg, J. N. S. (2008). Raising the level of analysis of food-borne outbreaks: Food-sharing networks in rural coastal Ecuador. Epidemiology, 19(3), 384-390.
Earlier this semester we speculated about how social network analysis could shed light on global changes in infectious disease. This article takes up that issue with a study of food-sharing networks in 21 villages in northern coastal Ecuador. It also extends our discussion about cross-fertilization of methods and theory between anthropology and epidemiology.
As usual the PDF is available on the journal club page. We will meet at 11:45 a.m. in 1350 Turlington (Diaspora Room).
There is growing interest in global health across campus at the University of Florida. One sign of that interest is the inaugural Seminars in Global Health, which was funded by a grant from the International Center this fall. Unfortunately, the fall series has already wrapped up, but hopefully it is the start of more cross-disciplinary teaching and collaboration on global health.
Another step in that direction is a new proposed graduate course on Health in Latin America and the Caribbean, offered by the Center for Latin American Studies and the Health Sciences Center. The initiative is being led by Dr. Jorge Hernandez, Professor of Epidemiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Coordinator of the Seminars in Global Health. Details for the course haven’t been worked out yet, but the current proposal is to organize the course around an interdisciplinary journal club and the Bacardi Lecture Series, sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies. There would be five instructors from across campus, including me. We are currently planning the course for Fall 2009. Stay tuned for details.
The third lecture in the History of Medicine Lecture series will take place today, November 13, from 12:00 - 12:50 p.m. in room C1-15 in the College of Medicine. Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig will discuss the history of Native Americans in medicine, in celebration of Native American History Month. Lunch will be served.
This week’s journal club article touches on several themes we’ve discussed earlier this semester, including the relationship between anthropology and epidemiology and crossing the qual-quant divide:
Seeley, J., Biraro, S., Shafer, L. A., Nasirumbi, P., Foster, S., Whitworth, J. et al. (2008). Using in-depth qualitative data to enhance our understanding of quantitative results regarding the impact of HIV and AIDS on households in rural Uganda. Social Science & Medicine, 67(9), 1434-1446.
Meredith Marten will lead our discussion. We will meet, as usual, in 1350 Turlington (Diaspora Room) at 11:45 a.m. The PDF is available from the journal club page.
This week’s journal club focuses on the interface of anthropology and epidemiology, with an article presented by Doug Monroe:
Béhague, D. P., Gonçalves, H., & Victora, C. G. (2008). Anthropology and epidemiology: learning epistemological lessons through a collaborative venture. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 13(6), 1701-1710.
We will meet, as usual, 11:45 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. in 1350 Turlington (Diaspora Room). A PDF version of the article is available from the journal club page.
This week Nikki D’Errico will moderate a discussion of:
Mayhew, M., Hansen, P. M., Peters, D. H., Edward, A., Singh, L. P., Dwivedi, V. et al. (2008). Determinants of Skilled Birth Attendant Utilization in Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional Study. American Journal of Public Health, 98(10), 1849.
As usual, a PDF of the article is available from the journal club page. Due to renovations in our alternate meeting space, we’ll continue to meet in the Diaspora Room (Turlington 1350) for now. Please join us on Friday at 11:45 a.m.—and feel free to leave your comments about the article here.
This week journal club features an article that will appeal to those of you with interests that straddle medical and ecological anthropology—and there are a lot of you. Eric Kightley will moderate a discussion of:
Goldberg, T. L., Gillespie, T. R., Rwego, I. B., & Estoff, E. L. (2008). Forest fragmentation as cause of bacterial transmission among nonhuman primates, humans, and livestock, Uganda. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 14(9), 1375-1382.
As usual, we will meet on Friday at 11:45 in TUR 1350 (Diaspora Room). If the turnout remains as good as it has been so far this semester, we’ll seek out a larger meeting space next week.
The PDF is available on the journal club schedule page.
This week Dr. Alyson Young will lead our discussion of two related articles:
Nyamanga, P., C. Suda, and J. Aagaard-Hansen. 2006. Similarities between human and livestock illnesses among the Luo in Western Kenya. Anthropology & Medicine 13 (1): 13-24.
Mathias, E. 2007. Ethnoveterinary Medicine in the Era of Evidence-Based Medicine: Mumbo-Jumbo, Or a Valuable Resource? The Veterinary Journal 173 (2): 241-42.
As usual, the articles are available from the journal club page; contact me if you need the username and password. We will meet on Friday at 11:45 in 1350 Turlington (Diaspora Room). Please join us for the discussion—and feel free to share your questions or comments ahead of time by leaving a comment here.
This Friday, Sept. 12, the Behavioral and Social Science Working Group at CDC will host a lecture by Noreen M. Clark, PhD, Director of the Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the University of Michigan. The lecture, “Social Movements and the Public’s Health,” will be available as streaming video on the web from CDC.
Here’s the abstract of the talk:
Significant changes in the health and well being of Americans have resulted from large scale shifts in people’s behavior and transformations of the social environments that influence their behavior. Such sweeping social changes have both improved the public’s health and also created greater threat and vulnerability, which raises questions about what public health workers and other citizens can actually do to shape and foster movements that will better protect the public’s health? In the movement for tobacco control, for instance, a series of events and initiatives led over time to healthier behavior and more supportive social conditions for millions. Thousands of changes affecting the price, accessibility, and attractiveness of cigarettes translated into a profound decline in smoking. Many of the precipitating events were catalyzed by public health professionals–but the overall force of the movement sprang from the contributions of non-professionals as well (e.g., non-smokers demanding clean air in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces).
The past is often prologue. What future health improvements can be expected from changes that are primarily social, economic and behavioral? Attention to American’s physical activity and eating habits may comprise an example of a burgeoning health-enhancing social movement. What is the strength of a social movement toward improved food and fitness? What is the role of the public health workers in such social transformation? How do health professionals traverse the shifting terrain and make their most valuable contribution to positive change?
Log on Friday, Sept. 12, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. to view this lecture.
As usual, journal club will meet this week at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, September 12, in the Diaspora Room (Turlington 1350). First-year doctoral student Alan Schultz will lead a discussion of:
Thomas, Felicity. 2008. Indigenous Narratives of HIV/AIDS: Morality and Blame in a Time of Change. Medical Anthropology 27 (3): 227-56.
You can access the PDF from the journal club page or directly from the publisher (subscription required).
If you’d like to share your thoughts about the article or raise questions for discussion before we meet, please leave a comment below.
