Oral

Our twin premises for this session are that: (1) many of the types of health inequities that exist today, in 2008, were also present in 1848 – that is, unjust and unfair differences in health status and health care as caused by inequitable social divisions involving class, racism, gender, and sexuality, within and across countries, and (2) even so, much has changed in the 160 years since 1848. Within many countries, both the absolute rates and leading types of causes of disease, disability, and death have changed. Additionally, new technologies have altered the ability to define and detect disease and to conduct research to describe, explain, and depict the population distribution of – and inequities in – an array of outcomes involving health, morbidity, disability, mortality, and access to care. Examples of such new technologies include: geographic information systems (GIS) and the global positioning system (GPS), new tools for obtaining data (e.g., 24-hr ambulatory monitors, MRIs, genomic technologies, computer-assisted interview methodologies and computer-based tests, etc.), new statistical software for modeling data (e.g., for multilevel statistical analyses), and new technology-dependent approaches to visually presenting data. For this session, we are issuing an open call for abstracts for presentations focused on how new technologies are changing the ability of public health researchers, practitioners, and advocates to analyze and depict the magnitude of health inequities and reveal their societal determinants. Abstracts addressing issues of the politics of public health data in relation geopolitics, immigration, and the very definitions of “borders” (geopolitical and social) are especially welcome!

Session Objectives: Participants will be able to articulate how new technologies are enabling public health researchers and practitioners to better analyze and depict health inequities and their societal determinants.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing