Online Program

Oral

Our panel of public health professionals will talk about how they’ve amended their public health practice to include voluntary work in the Middle East. A variety of public health professionals have engaged with Palestinians on health issues in the occupied territory. Our aim is to present stories from a selection of public health professionals who have traveled to the West Bank and/or Gaza to offer public health support in the form of medical training for Palestinian clinicians, public clinic interventions, work on water and sanitation, organizing mental health programs, human rights work, and more. The idea is to showcase the results of collective efforts that can span many years of voluntary effort on the part of public health professionals working in this field. Chicago is an interesting setting for our meeting this year, as it offers a warm environment, some might even say a “hotbed,” for activists on this and other issues. We will explore how busy public health professionals find ways to incorporate this sort of activism and volunteerism into their body of work. We’ll describe the various organizational vehicles professionals have used to gain access to the territory, and how others might consider working in this area, as well.

Session Objectives: Describe the various ways in which American public health professionals incorporate international voluntary efforts to promote health, peace and human rights. Map the organizations in the landscape that work to support Palestinian health, including APHA-affiliated entities. Synthesize health outcome data from the occupied Palestinian territory to frame determinants of health related to social, economic and conflict factors. Identify public health opportunities to promote peace through health interventions.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)