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Closing General Session: Improving the Health of Native People: A Public Health Approach
Closing General Session: Improving the Health of Native People: A Public Health Approach
Wednesday, November 6, 2013: 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Oral
This year’s meeting theme “Think Global, Act Local” provides an excellent opportunity to explore the health of Native people and to learn about strides health advocates are making in Canada’s Aboriginal population. Native people continue to suffer disproportionate rates of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, infant mortality and poor health outcomes, but interventions are afoot.
Our keynote speaker, Evan Adams, MD, MPH, is no stranger to the challenges of improving the health of native people. He was British Columbia’s first-ever Aboriginal Health Physician Advisor (he is a Coast Salish from Sliammon First Nation) and in 2012 was appointed to the position of Deputy Provincial Health Officer for Aboriginal Health. His appointment brings greater Aboriginal perspective to the provincial health system with the goal of raising the quality of life for First Nations and all citizens.
Adams advocates greater access to family doctors and specialists. He also strongly advocates a holistic response for better health. "People's well-being is actually directly tied to their opportunity, their ability to determine their future, their sense of equality, fairness, their access to beauty, family, love, a place to live."
Adams is also an acclaimed actor known to many as “Thomas Builds-the-Fire” from the 1998 movie Smoke Signals. While he still works as an actor, most of his time is spent monitoring the health of the more than two hundred thousand Aboriginal people in the province.
Following Adam's keynote speech, he will be joined by a panel of public health experts to further discuss the lessons we can all learn from his important message.
See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.
Organized by: APHA
Endorsed by: Medical Care, American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Caucus
See more of: APHA