Session: Harm Reduction & Conservative Attempts to Discount Progressive Evidence: Integrating History, Politics of Public Health Data, and Progressive Pedagogy


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

3385.0: Monday, December 12, 2005: 4:30 PM-6:00 PM

Oral

Harm Reduction & Conservative Attempts to Discount Progressive Evidence: Integrating History, Politics of Public Health Data, and Progressive Pedagogy

Starting with the APHA 2002 Conference, the Spirit of 1848 has added a new oral session, in which we integrate the 3 themes of our Caucus. These pertain to the inextricable links between social justice & public health, as embodied in: the politics of public health data, the social history of public health, and progressive pedagogy. The integrative session complements our 3 other oral sessions, which provide opportunities for more in-depth discussion regarding each of our 3 themes. This year’s session will focus on how, despite the rhetoric of "evidence-based" public health, conservatives routinely discount the evidence that harm reduction is an important strategic public health approach regarding unsafe drug use and unsafe sex. We invite abstracts (and will also be soliciting presentations) for this session, on the following three topics (the final panel will include ONE presentation per topic): (a) the social history of drugs, risk reduction and harm reduction as an idea and activity; (b) the pedagogy of teaching about harm reduction (whether to students in classrooms or to persons outside of classrooms who are or may potentially be engaging in unsafe behaviors); and (c) the empirical evidence regarding the strengths - and limitations - of harm reduction interventions. The session will also include a discussant who will reflect on the challenges of harm reduction approaches & "evidence" for progressive public health activities This session will be in the Monday afternoon 4:30 to 6:00 pm APHA time slot.

Learning Objectives: 1) Learn about the social history of drug use and harm reduction 2) Learn about diverse approaches to teaching harm reduction, both in public health curricula and to persons engaging in unsafe behaviors 3) Learn about evidence regarding strengths and limitations of harm reduction interventions

Organizer(s):

Lisa D. Moore, PhD
Nancy Krieger, PhD

4:30 PM

Introduction
Nancy Krieger, PhD

4:35 PM

A brief history of syringe exchange in the United States