Binational Conference Focuses on Border Health, Sept. 26-27 Arizona College of Public Health and Rural Health Office Help Organize

Binational Conference Focuses on Border Health, Sept. 26-27
Arizona College of Public Health and Rural Health Office Help Organize

Sept. 24, 2002
From: Vicki B. Gaubeca, (520) 626-7301

"Border Health Information for Action IV Conference," a binational conference that focuses on border health, is set for Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26-27, at the Rio Rico Resort & Country Club, in Rio Rico, Ariz.

Organized and sponsored by several Arizona and Sonora health agencies, including the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, the conference aims to provide information on health risks, health status and health programs addressing major health care issues in the Arizona-Sonora region.

Border health concerns include the general health disparity issues that have been documented throughout Arizona, as well as those unique to border communities. The conference will provide a forum for community organizations, public health programs, community activists and academic researchers from Arizona and Sonora to share their programs, community organization strategies, and research results. Session topics include a broad array of presentations focusing on five major themes:

Community Health
Gender and Health
Adolescent and Children's Health
Environmental Health
Indigenous Health

Keynote speakers include G. Marie Swanson, PhD, MPH, dean of the Arizona College of Public Health, who will address health disparities at the Arizona-Sonora border, and Mauro E. Valencia, researcher at the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, who will address genetic and environmental factors related to obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the Pimas of Mexico and the United States.

Other conference organizers include the Arizona Department of Health Services; the Secretaría de Salud Pública de Sonora; the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission, Arizona Outreach Office; the Comisión de Salud Fronteriza México Estados-Unidos, Oficina Delegacional de Sonora; the Colegio de Sonora; MexFam, Sonora; La Red Fronteriza de Salud y Ambiente, A.C.; and the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC).

Assignment Editors Please Note: Media representatives are welcome to cover this event. For more information or to arrange for interviews, call Vicki Gaubeca, (520) 626-7301.

- - - Established by the Arizona Board of Regents in January 2000, the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health is the first public health college in the four corner states and represents a tri-university collaborative effort among the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. The Arizona College of Public Health's mission is to promote the health of individuals and communities with a special emphasis on diverse populations and the Southwest. Programs concentrate on the reduction of health disparities, the development and maintenance of healthy communities, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

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