Public Health News
Public health student competes to present sustainable housing design in France
Fast-forward to the year 2050. What will sustainable housing look like? That’s precisely what architecture students Sarah Ritchey ’17 and Emily Greer ’18, engineering graduate student Riley Gourde, and public health senior Kate DeWitte are competing to answer in the international Well Building 2050 competition.
Well Building 2050 is an international design competition, open to students at universities all across the globe, in which teams compete to invent the best model for sustainable, urban housing in the year 2050.
Although this sounds like a job for architects and engineers, the team recruited DeWitte, a public health senior from Falk College. “Without a well-rounded team, it would be impossible to address all the concerns and opportunities surrounding the future of urban housing,” said Greer. “Modern thinking includes not just ideas about good design and sustainable technology, but how these will affect the health and well-being of human occupants and the surrounding environment.”
Although they were not able to release details as the competition is still underway, the team was able to reveal that their project focuses on a multi-family housing complex on the Syracuse South Side.
Environmental health has always interested DeWitte, but this is the first opportunity she has had to investigate these kinds of challenges in such depth. For the project, she is responsible for researching the environmental health issues in Syracuse using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Health Department and Onondaga Health Department. She then brings her findings back to the team and translate them to their 2050 housing plan.
“The biggest challenge is trying to think futuristically. The building that is being designed is to be theoretically built for the year 2050. This is a challenge but can also be fun because it makes for more creativity to think if these health aspects will still be a problem and how we can fix that to better the lives in the community.”
DeWitte explains that working in a multi-disciplinary team has helped her realize the universal nature of public health, as well as sharpened her research and communication skills. “It is my job to tell the rest of the team what I see as an issue with the health of the community, so it is important to make sure I effectively communicate these issues,” said DeWitte.
The team has worked very closely through each step to produce both an imaginative and comprehensive model. “Each design move is carefully analyzed by all team members to ensure it is both beneficial to future residents as well as creative and valid in its mission to ensure the safety and quality of the surrounding environment,” said Greer. And the collaboration has not only strengthened the final product, but the students, as well.
DeWitte said collaborating with her teammates on the project has broadened her perspective. “By working with architects and engineers, I am able to see their perspectives on these environmental issues and we can work together to see how the needs of the community can be met.”
The feeling is mutual. “We wouldn’t have such a strong proposal if it wasn’t for Kate’s insight,” said Greer.
Contestants will submit their projects by October 19. The teams are then invited to the Build & Connect colloquium November 23 in Strasbourg, France, where three prize-winning teams will present their designs. For more information about the competition, visit www.wellbuilding2050.com.
Falk College hosts author, nutritionist Jill Castle October 6
Falk College and its Nutrition program will host the Second Annual Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series featuring childhood nutrition expert and author, Jill Castle, MS, RDN, CDN, on Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. in Grant Auditorium. Her presentation, “Fueling the Growing Athlete: What’s In, What’s Out, & What’s Essential,” is free and open to the public. It will cover:
Appropriate sports nutrition advice for young athletes.
How to understand and avoid the food and feeding pitfalls that commonly plague growing athletes, such as back-loading food intake and unhealthy food environments.
The hierarchy of food and nutrients when it comes to growing strong, healthy, performance-enhanced young athletes.
Castle has practiced as a registered dietitian/nutritionist in pediatric nutrition for over 25 years. She is a national and international speaker, addressing the topic of childhood nutrition and feeding to a wide variety of groups, including medical professionals, allied health professionals, parent, school, and other interest groups.
Castle is the author of Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete, co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School, and creator of Just the Right Byte, a childhood nutrition blog. In addition, Castle has been published in peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, consumer books, and other blogs. She is the nutrition expert at Bundoo.com, and has been a regular contributor to USA Swimming, U.S. Rowing, and About.com.
Ann Selkowitz Litt ’75 (1953-2007) was a nationally known nutritionist who helped children and adolescents with eating disorders and assisted developing athletes in reaching their full potential. The nutrition consultant to CosmoGirl magazine, Litt was the author of The College Students’ Guide to Eating Well on Campus, Fuel for Young Athletes, and the American Dietetic Association Guide to Private Practice. She was the nutritionist for the NFL’s Washington Redskins and served as spokesperson for several media campaigns during her career, including the Got Milk campaign. After her death, the Ann S. Litt Foundation, Inc. was created to support nutrition education. Through a generous gift from this foundation to Falk College, the Ann Selkowitz Litt Distinguished Speaker Series was created at Syracuse University in 2015.
This event is approved for 1.5 CEU credits for Registered Dietitians.
Student Wins Regional Award from University & Professional Continuing Education
When Timothy Bryant graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University through the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program in May 2015, he fulfilled a lifelong dream. Attending SU was a golden opportunity that he embraced with great enthusiasm.
One of Bryant’s latest achievements is being accepted into SU’s Ph.D. program in sociology, with four years of funding. He began the program this semester.Despite the challenges of work, family responsibilities and a limited formative education, Bryant excelled in the academic environment at SU. He not only made the dean’s list every semester on his way to a bachelor in public health, he also received the Chancellor ‘s Award for Public and Community Service—one of the highest honors SU bestows on a student.
Bryant was recently informed by University College Dean Bea González, that he has been named University & Professional Continuing Education’s (UPCEA) Outstanding Student for 2016 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. He will accept his award at the conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in October.
From Eileen Jevis with SU News.
Falk College attends graduate school fairs across New York, U.S. this fall
Falk College will attend many graduate school fairs this fall to connect with prospective graduate students in person and discuss interests and opportunities. This season’s travel schedule will take Falk College graduate admissions staff to many regional events in New York State and to major cities across the United States, such as Philadelphia, Boston, San Diego, and Washington D.C.
Falk College highlights graduate programs at November 4 information session
Syracuse University faculty, staff and current students will welcome potential graduate students interested in Falk College graduate studies in child and family studies, food studies, public health, marriage and family therapy, nutrition science, social work and sport management during its Graduate Program Information Session on Friday, November 4, 2016 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Grant Auditorium in White Hall, part of the Falk College Complex.
The presentation will provide detailed information on Falk College graduate programs in:
In addition, information and advising will be available regarding Falk’s Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programs including child therapy, trauma-informed practice, addiction studies, food studies and global health.
There will be time for a question-and-answer session, as well as a time to meet with faculty, staff and current students. Light refreshments will be served.
Genesis Health Project launches Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia caregivers support program
A $500,000 grant from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) will fund programming to deliver Alzheimer’s Disease and caregiving support to the African American community in Syracuse —including respite care and connections to community resources—as part of the Genesis Health Project. This initiative, led by Syracuse University’s Falk College, is part of the NYSDOH’s Alzheimer’s Disease Program, which implemented a $25 million strategy in 2015 to support people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias and their caregivers.
The goals of the African American Alzheimer’s Dementia Caregivers Support Program (AADCS) are to provide Alzheimer’s and dementia education to inner-city African Americans and increase use of available resources to diminish caregiver stress. The programs include educational seminars and cultural competency training for community-based partners. A 12-Week Healthy Living Program was launched August 13, encompassing Alzheimer’s Disease and nutrition education, exercise sessions and yoga and meditation.
Launched in 2004, the Genesis Project is part of a larger minority health initiative, in partnership with Falk College, corporate donors, government agencies and other regional partners. The multi-year, community-based initiative aims to reduce health disparities and to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans. Targeting underserved populations in the area through a network of health advocate volunteers at local churches, the Genesis Project has focused on health issues such as diabetes prevention and management, obesity, and prostate and breast cancer awareness and education in addition to its newest focus on Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia caregiving.
Under the leadership of Falk College public health professor Luvenia Cowart, Ed.D., R.N., co-founder of the Genesis Project, collaborating with co-investigator Maria T. Brown, L.M.S.W., Ph.D., an assistant research professor at Syracuse University’s Aging Studies Institute, the project will implement multiple strategies, including:
- creating opportunities for partner organizations to offer education, assessments, referrals;
- offering funding to support caregivers’ involvement in GHP;
- supporting community members as they explore and consider available resources and services, and; provide self-care and stress management education for caregivers in African American faith-based communities.
Dr. Cowart’s academic interests are focused on public health and health education among minorities, community partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations, health disparities and mental health issues. Dr. Brown is a social gerontologist who studies later-life experiences of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, women, and racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities.
Falk College now offering MSPH
Falk College is now offering a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH). Available beginning Fall 2016, this degree prepares graduates for research careers in a variety of local, national and international public health settings. Unlike applied training in public health offered by Master of Public Health (MPH) or other health-related master degree programs, the MSPH focuses on research methods and biostatistics competencies in concert with mentored research culminating in a thesis. With the rapid increase in accessible health information and the proliferation of global health initiatives, graduates will be well-positioned for careers in these growth fields.
Public health faculty come from diverse backgrounds with extensive experience in the Caribbean, Canada, East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, offering students valuable exposure to issues and lifestyles of these cultures. The variety of faculty disciplines offers students in-depth knowledge from multiple perspectives. With a deliberate focus on research methods and biostatistics, complemented by mentored faculty research and a thesis project, the 42-credit program will position graduates to meet a research and analytic need that continues to grow.
The program includes two core areas of study. In the public health core, students will gain skill in the development and evaluation of global health programs, examine social and behavioral determinants of health, and apply epidemiologic principles to global public and environmental health issues. In addition to this public health core, a research and statistics core provides students with the tools needed to conduct a mentored independent research project. Additional details about the MSPH are located in the Syracuse University Course Catalog.
Students in the program select one of the following two tracks of study:
The Biostatistics Track involves advanced study of biostatistical tools (e.g., logistic regression, meta-analysis, survival analyses, and geographic information systems) and the application of these tools to a novel research question developed by the student working with a faculty advisor.
The Global Track incorporates some of these analytic skills to the study of global health issues such as cultural health norms and practices, historical experiences of ethnic groups, and culturally determined patterns of dealing with issues of health, illness and disability. Students will complete an independent research thesis under the guidance of a faculty advisor.
A veteran’s best friend
Humans domesticated the dog thousands of years ago, and the bond is as strong as ever. That’s the rationale behind Dogs2Vets, which provides emotional support to veterans with post-traumatic stress, military sexual trauma, or physical impairments by establishing a reliable relationship between them and a canine companion.
“There are three areas of focus— service dog training, emotional support training, and community training,” says Melissa Spicer, executive director and co-founder of Clear Path for Veterans, the Chittenango, New York-based organization that runs the program. “All options require the veterans, paired with professional trainers, to train their own dogs.”
Dogs are selected from shelters and matched with veterans based on specific needs and interests; some veterans bring their own dog. The program is getting results, says Kate Hannon, program director.
“Veterans have become less isolated and more interactive, less hypervigilant and more physically active,” Hannon says. “We have witnessed their sense of humor reemerging, as their level of anxiety decreases and their trust begins to return. We have seen their confidence levels rise, as they witness the success of their training efforts with their new partner. They have to problem solve and make important decisions with respect to their canine partners, and this spills over into decision making in other aspects of their lives.”
Dessa Bergen-Cico, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition at Falk College, wants to quantify those gains. She’s principal investigator and primary architect of a study that is measuring things like post-traumatic stress, quality of life, and negative thoughts among participants in the program.
“We want to help Clear Path, and organizations like it, establish evidencebased outcomes for programs like Dogs2Vets,” Bergen-Cico says. “There is a lot of personal testimony and observable benefits for these types of programs, but to sustain and fund them requires scientific evidence.”
Preliminary results of the program assessment look good, including a marked decrease in PTSD symptoms and negative thoughts and increased quality-of-life scores—the opposite of outcomes observed in a control group waiting to enroll in Dogs2Vets.
The researchers are working as volunteers. With department colleague Professor Brooks Gump, Bergen-Cico has been able to pay for gift card incentives for the veterans, with funding from a grant Gump directs from the National Science Foundation.
One of the volunteers is Colin Gooley G’17, who’s pursuing his master’s in social work at Falk; Gooley interns at Clear Path. “From what I have witnessed here, and what I know of military culture, the sense of purpose and the goal-oriented structure of the Dogs2Vets program offer something to veterans that not many other programs can offer—where the mission at hand is to work hard alongside the dog and eventually have the dog become certified as a service dog,” he says.
Gooley is gratified he can give back to those who served their country. “U.S. military personnel may endure a lot of traumatic life events,” he says. “Being able to show my support in this behind-the-scenes way—helping with the research—means a lot to me.”
Bergen-Cico appreciates his help and all the volunteers. “I am just the person working on the numbers and research behind the scenes,” she says. “The people at Clear Path and the veterans and volunteers are the stars, the people who are doing the real work.”
Bergen-Cico is an advocate of complementary and integrative strategies that help people suffering with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addictions. Dogs2Vets fits that to a T.
“I have witnessed the profound effect companion and therapeutic dogs can have on people and that people can have on dogs,” she says. “There is a nonverbal bond there. Dogs are the only animal that is naturally attracted to and curious about humans. As a researcher, I want to know how and why we benefit so much from this type of relationship.”
The veterans just know they do. Asked about the benefits of Dogs2Vets, one veteran said, “to have a companion, and someone to always have my back. To help keep me calm, and level, and balanced. To help me do better in public, and be brave and visit more places, and try more and new situations, plus things I haven’t done in years”
Falk College seeks participants for new study examining how vacation impacts physical, psychological health
To demonstrate the potential costly effects of not taking time off from work as well as the beneficial effects that can result from vacationing, Falk College’s Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition is embarking on a new research study funded by Project: Time Off entitled, “The Psychosocial and Physiological Consequences of Taking and Not Taking Time Off.” This study will examine how past and current vacationing behavior impacts psychological and physical health.
“We frequently research the health effects of stressors and negative events. Surprisingly, there is very little research on the potential health effects of positive events and activities. This study will be one of the first to address the question, do vacations affect our health? And, if so, which kinds of vacations?,” says principal investigator Brooks Gump, Ph.D., MPH, the Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health.
Adults who are employed full-time, eligible for paid vacation time, and are planning a vacation in the next one to four months are now being sought. Participants will be compensated with a stipend up to $250.00. The study consists of three appointments at Syracuse University that involve a venous blood draw, questionnaires regarding stress and psychological functioning, a blood pressure and heart rate fluctuation reading, and body measurements (such as waist circumference) as well as a hair sample. Participants will spend approximately two hours on campus over the course of three visits. In addition, participants will fill out weekly surveys online taking approximately 30 minutes weekly.
Seniors present public health poster symposium
Public health seniors recently presented a poster symposium showcasing the internships they held with local community organizations, including: Elmcrest Children’s Center, the Onondaga County Health Department, the Street Addictions Institute and SUNY Upstate Medical University, among many others. Topics included, “Behavioral Intervention with Residential, Court-Placed Youth,” (Mackenzie Hall); “Art and Healing,” (Matthew Stith), and “The Patient Navigator: Redefining the Role in Syracuse Community Organizations to Improve Refugee Outcomes” (Shirel Daniel).
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