Stokes Federal Courthouse – Superior Avenue Bridge – Shoreway Bridge – Cleveland Ohio via photopin (license)Cleveland, home to areas still reeling from the loss of manufacturing jobs, hosts AHCJ’s 2016 conference, which will offer many opportunities for journalists to explore the social determinants of health, from infrastructure to trauma.
Think of Cleveland, as a health reporter, and your first thought jump to the Cleveland Clinic, the group of well-known medical centers rated one of the nation’s most premier hospitals (and one of the hosts for AHCJ’s conference in the city April 7-10.)
Yet the four-day event in the heart of Cleveland will also examine many facets of health care (or lack thereof) for vulnerable populations.
To be sure, the conference will examine innovative care and the latest trends in health care from smartphones to organ transplantation. But we will also dig deeper into a range of growing health care issues that impact health disparities.
Here are some panels touching on social issues related to health:
Thursday:
- “The maternal health gap: How the United States lags in infant and maternal mortality.”
- “Covering the health angles of cities facing crises,” a roundtable discussion with the health commissioners of Baltimore, St. Louis and Cleveland.
Friday:
- “Providing care as society sees a new gender spectrum,” with a panel of healthcare providers for LGBT patients.
- “Covering safety net medical providers and their patients: Super-utilizers and their stories.”
- “Covering the intersection of infrastructure and public health,” a look at the water crisis in Flint, Mich., with Virginia Tech experts.
- “How to understand and cover the opioid epidemic,” featuring Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen.
Saturday:
- “Understanding the dental workforce to reach underserved communities,” focusing on Native American tribes, children and other populations.
- “Trauma’s mental impact from childhood to adulthood.”
- “What is Big Data and how to use it to report on urban health issues.”
- “Beyond HIV/AIDS: Reporting on the LGBT community,” examining the specific health needs of a diverse population.”
- “Taking care of the changing veteran population,” focused on the needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Other panels will also look at finding local story angles, health care delivery, drug costs, aging, obesity, Medicaid and other related issues that can help boost your reporting on the social determinants of health. You can find the full agenda here.
Not yet registered for Health Journalism 2016? The advance registration deadline is past, but you can still join us there. Check here for details.
The Road to Cleveland
- Attending Health Journalism 2016? Go for a walk in Cleveland
- Health Journalism 2016 panel to look at cities tackling health and turmoil
- The Road to Cleveland: Haven’t booked your hotel yet?
- Planning for AHCJ’s annual conference with an eye on disparities
- Take the opportunity to tour a world-class medical history museum
- Share a room or ride in Cleveland
Here’s an interesting article — Cleveland’s recovery never happened report finds — from a local (Cleveland) publication: http://beltmag.com/clevelands-recovery-never-happened-report-finds/
Not surprisingly, since the publication is read by Cleveland’s under 40s thought leaders (and next gen policy makers), the comments section is as enlightening and thought provoking as the article.
E. Beal