Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health (CPH) hosted its ninth annual State of the Public’s Health Conference virtually on January 12, 2021.
The pandemic highlighted the many barriers to health has also illuminated the path for the future work of public health — to focus on social determinants of health, forge new partnerships advancing public health efforts, and to address racial injustice as a public health problem. We did not want to miss an opportunity to share success stories and continue our dialogue on how we can work together to improve health for all in Georgia.
This year’s program featured discussions about racial equity in public health, the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine hesitancy, and the collision of COVID-19 and the opioid epidemic in Georgia. Read our conference wrap-up here. For those who missed out, you can find links to video recordings of all keynote and breakout sessions below. Download the agenda for the full program.
Main Program
Watch presentations from our keynote speakers and special guests:
- Amber Schmidtke, Ph.D., science writer, microbiologist, and public health educator, shares how she is translating data into action through her work making COVID-19 data accessible and understandable to the public;
- SJ Anderson, MSW/MPH alumnae and spoken word artist;
- Renée Branch Canady, Ph.D, MPA, Chief Executive Officer of MPH, broadens the discussion on health equity, cultural competence, and social justice, sharing the insights she has gained as a public health advocate, researcher, educator, and facilitator.
Breakout Sessions
Racial Justice and Health Equity
- Speakers: Nadia Siddiqui, Health Equity Advisor, and Dr. Dennis Andrulis, Health Equity Senior Advisor, Texas Health Institute, presents on the HOPE Initiative and improving health equity in Texas.
- Moderator: Carmelita Marrow, National Network of Public Health Institutes
COVID-19 Vaccinations and Vaccine Hesitancy
- Speaker: Glen Nowak, Director, UGA Center for Health & Risk Communication, presents findings from a new national study.
- Moderator: Dr. Erin Lipp, UGA College of Public Health
Behavioral Health, and particularly the impact of COVID-19 on the ongoing opioid epidemic in Georgia
- Speakers: Jim Langford, Substance Abuse Research Alliance (SARA); Neil Campbell, Georgia Council on Substance Abuse; Dr. Aaron Johnson, Institute of Public and Preventive Health at Augusta University; Kaitlin Merchen, Georgia Prevention Project, presents work on the collision of COVID-19 on the Opioid Epidemic.
- Moderator: Dr. Janani Thapa, UGA College of Public Health
