Delaware Public Health Association
 

Category: Public Health

Delaware Division of Public Health Releases 2024 Burden of Chronic Disease Report

Dover, Del. (July 1, 2024) – The Delaware Division of Public Health’s (DPH) Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention (PANO) Program released The Burden of Chronic Disease in Delaware 2024 report on June 28, 2024. The report summarizes the current state of chronic diseases and related risk factors in Delaware. It is an update to, and expansion of, Chronic Disease in Delaware: Facts and Figures, published in 2019 by DPH’s Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Section.

Delaware County Health Rankings 2024

Produced by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, County Health Rankings for 2024 contains valuable data and numerous enhancements to make this report even more valuable to planners, public health professionals, funders, policymakers, and others.  Click here for the most updated Delaware data or visit the website for additional information!

 

2020 Affiliate of the Year of the American Public Health Association

The American Public Health Association (APHA) has awarded the Delaware Academy of Medicine/Delaware Public Health Association (Academy/DPHA) with its 2020 Outstanding Affiliate of the Year award. The award was given at the APHA Annual Conference (held virtually this year) Council of Affiliates Reception Saturday evening, October 24, 2020.

The CoA Outstanding Affiliate of the Year Award celebrates an APHA Affiliate that has made significant contributions through innovative programs and activities that impact the public’s health. The Affiliate of the Year Award is given to an APHA Affiliate that provides a model for other Affiliates for work or project(s) of high value to public health such as innovative workforce development programming or impactful advocacy for public health policy within its state.

Tim Gibbs, MPH, executive director of the Academy/DPHA said “Just six years ago we became Delaware’s affiliate to APHA, and it has been an amazing experience which has led us to grow in ways few of us could have anticipated.” Mr. Gibbs was joined in accepting the award by President of the Board, Omar A. Khan, MD, MHS who stated “This means the world to our diverse membership of physicians, dentists, researchers, public health practitioners, community health workers, academics, and student interns.

The Delaware Academy of Medicine ( www.delamed.org ) was founded in 1930 and originally operated as Delaware’s medical library and conference center. In 2006, the Academy moved from its historic location in the City of Wilmington to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. Shortly after the move, Mr. Gibbs was promoted to the position of interim, then permanent executive director, and has overseen the transformation of the Academy into a public health, education, and research organization.

In 2014, after three years of realignment work, the Academy applied to the American Public Health Association to become Delaware’s affiliate and was accepted at the APHA annual meeting held in Boston, MA that fall. Since then, programming and revenue streams to the Academy/DPHA have diversified to include funding from the CDC, and contracts with the Division of Public Health.

In 2015, the Academy/DPHA started publishing the Delaware Journal of Public Health ( www.djph.org ), its signature, peer-reviewed publication. Other programs of the Academy/DPHA include the operation of the Immunization Coalition of Delaware (www.immunizedelaware.org), Student Financial Aid Programs, consumer health education programs, several clinical conferences, and student internship programs.

Partners of the Academy/DPHA include the Delaware Health Science Alliance and its member institutions, the Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association, the Delaware State Dental Society, the Medical Society of Delaware, and the Delaware Stroke Initiative. The Academy/DPHA is a founding member of the Midlantic Public Health Partnership (www.midlantic.org).

The Academy/DPHA, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt membership organization is run by a board of directors, and supported by a public health advisory council, and investment advisory council. Membership in the Academy/DPHA is open to all healthcare provider degrees, public health degrees, researchers, academics, and students. The mission of the Academy/DPHA is “To enhance the well-being through education and the promotion of public health.”

Melissa Alperin, EdD, MPH, MCHES said:

“The CoA Outstanding Affiliate of the Year Award celebrates an APHA Affiliate that has made significant contributions through innovative programs and activities that impact the public’s health. This year we are honoring the Delaware Academy of Medicine/Delaware Public Health Association.

The DPHA is uniquely positioned as an APHA Affiliate embedded within a state medical academy. With this relationship, the Academy/DPHA has provided a model for a seamless partnership between traditional medical communities and public health.

The Academy/DPHA draws together primary care providers along with public health workers including those at the state division of public health, local academic institutions, and non-profits into one community focused on creating a healthier Delaware.

The Academy/DPHA uniquely combines a hands-on approach to public health community building with a commitment to science and data. Several activities of note include:

    • The Delaware Journal of Public Health serves as a model for data and information sharing through their Delaware Journal of Public Health.
    • The Academy/Association strengthens the state approach to creating a healthier Delaware through its engagement with the Delaware State Health Improvement Plan; and their Delaware Immunization Coalition program.
    • The Academy/DPHA is committed to providing professional education in the medical, dental, and public health realms.
    • The Academy/DPHA is also strongly committed to providing quality learning opportunities to both young and old which increase awareness and health literacy.
    • They support students and young professionals through their student internship program which is focused on public health opportunities/projects.
    • They work closely with the Pennsylvania and Maryland Affiliates through the Mid-Atlantic Public Health Partnership.
    • And many board and staff of the Academy/DPHA are active leaders within APHA.

NIH All of Us Research Program

ABOUT All of Us

 

Too often, health care is one size fits all. Treatments meant for the “average” patient may not work well for individual people. Health care providers may find it difficult to coordinate care among specialists or to access all of a patient’s health information. Researchers may spend lots of time and resources creating new databases for every study.

All of Us is working to improve health care through research. Unlike research studies that focus on one disease or group of people, All of Us is building a diverse database that can inform thousands of studies on a variety of health conditions. This creates more opportunities to:

  •  Know the risk factors for certain diseases
  • Figure out which treatments work best for people of different backgrounds
  • Connect people with the right clinical studies for their needs
  • Learn how technologies can help us take steps to be healthier
PRECISION MEDICINE

The National Institutes of Health formed the Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the Director in March 2015. The group concluded its work in September 2015 with a detailed report. The report provided a framework for setting up the All of Us Research Program.

Precisionmedicine:

  • Is based on you as an individual
  • Takes into account your environment (where you live), lifestyle (what you do), and your family health history and genetic makeup
  • Gives health care providers the information they need to make customized recommendations for people of different backgrounds, ages, and regions
  • Helps you get better information about how to be healthier • Reduces health care costs by matching the right person with the right treatment the first time

All of Us is part of a new era in which researchers, health care providers, technology experts, community partners, and the public work together to develop individualized health care. Learn more about who is involved.

A DELAWARE PERSPECTIVE

The All of Us research program is transformative as it will generate insightful data encompassing the diversity that comprises our population. I am particularly proud of Tim Gibbs and his colleagues at the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association for their important contribution to this program, particularly because it influences how we develop CRISPR-directed gene editing for human therapy. This breakthrough technology relies heavily on the underlying DNA sequence of an individual genome for effective action so having genomic databases that truly reflect that diversity will help us design tools not for a privileged few, but for…All of Us. The research objective of this wonderful program aligns perfectly with the ChristianaCare mission of a patient-first approach to therapeutic gene editing for cancer and infectious diseases.

Eric B. Kmiec, Ph.D.
Director, Gene Editing Institute Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute ChristianaCare

TAKE ACTION – OUR GOAL

The goal of the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association is to see Delaware’s residents, in all of our diversity, well represented in the All of Us Research Program. During this COVID-19 pandemic the importance of programs like All of Us is highlighted more than ever.

Timothy E. Gibbs, MPH
Executive Director Delaware Academy of Medicine Delaware Public Health Association

Click here to join!

https://participant.joinallofus.org/#/register

A STATEMENT FROM THE NIH – ALL OF US COVID-19 RESPONSE

The All of Us Research Program is dedicated to better health, both in the future and today. We have all watched the increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the U.S. We believe it is important to act in the best interest for our participants, their families, and the All of Us team to protect their health.

To this end, we’re pausing all in-person All of Us appointments and events. We anticipate that this pause will last for at least one month. We will continually assess and make decisions about whether this pause will extend.

It is vital at this moment that individuals, whether they feel sick or healthy, distance themselves from others to help slow the exposure and spread of this virus. In addition, postponing these appointments will help reduce the number of non-essential visits to clinics and other health care providers. We must make sure our health care providers are free to see sick patients first. We’ll continue tracking this situation and will share more updates as needed.

This pause impacts only in-person activities, which include:

  • Clinic appointments to provide physical measurements and donation of biosamples (blood, urine, and/or saliva)
  • Community events, including All of Us Journey tour stops

If you have a clinic appointment scheduled, your local enrollment partner will contact you to reschedule.
People can still sign up and take part in the program online at JoinAllofUs.org. Existing participants can also sign in to their accounts and answer survey questions.

In times like this, health research feels especially important. Together, we can help make a difference in speeding up research and improving the health of our communities.

Please take care of yourselves and your neighbors. For updates on COVID-19 and tips on staying safe, please visit coronavirus.gov.

With thanks,

Josh Denny, M.D., M.S.
Chief Executive Officer All of Us Research Program