Featured News

The Partnership for Urban Health Research is pleased to announce 38 new Affiliated Faculty from Georgia State University. [September 19, 2008]
The new faculty have appointments in the Colleges of Health and Human Sciences, Law, and Arts and Sciences, and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

New Affiliated Faculty include Page Anderson, Brenda Blackwell, Jeremy Crampton, Daniel Crimmons, Marci Culley, Dean Dabney, Sarita Davis, Daniel Deocampo, James Emshoff, Frank Floyd, Yuki Fujioka, Amy Glass, Cynthia Hoffner, Jan Ivery, Heather Kleider, Gabriel Kuperminc, Kelly Lewis, John Lutzker, James Marton, Catherine McCarroll, Susan McCombie, Diedre Oakley, Brian Payne, Inas Rashad, Charity Scott, Shannon Self-Brown, Wendy Simonds, Tracie Stewart, Leslie Taylor, Brent Teasdale, Griff Tester, Volkan Topalli, Roderick Watts, Daniel Whitaker, Cassandra White, Rihana Williams, Alexander Zelikovsky, and Yanqing Zhang. Joining the 15 core faculty already in place, the Urban Health Affiliate faculty will have opportunities for collaboration with core and affiliate faculty members on various research endeavors, both within the University and in the greater Atlanta community. PUHR faculty will participate in shaping the future of urban health research.

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The City of Atlanta’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan [July 16, 2008]
The City of Atlanta is developing a comprehensive transportation plan. The goal of this plan, titled Connect Atlanta, is to help the city provide efficient, effective and affordable transportation to city residents and visitors. Part of Connect Atlanta plan will include an analysis of bicycle and walking facilities, and the city would like input from community members to help establish areas in need of improvement and appropriate funding strategies.

You can provide the City of Atlanta with important information about how to improve transportation issues by answering a 10 minute online survey. The survey can be found at http://www.connectatlantaplan.com/survey.html. Questions gather information regarding commuting methods, transportation options, and areas in need of improvement.

As public health advocates and stakeholders , it is important for us to raise awareness of issues related to commuting, transportation, pedestrians and bicyclists. This plan will result in a list of prioritized transit, roadway and alternative transportation improvements, and it is necessary that all public health representatives have the opportunity to participate in this important project.

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PUHR Research Assistant Wins First Place

The Georgia Psychological Association (GPA) held its annual meeting from May 29 –June 2, 2008 in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Thanks to support from the Partnership for Urban Health Research (PUHR), Georgia State University graduate student Tiffany Young presented her research. A Master’s degree candidate in the Gerontology Institute, Ms. Young presented a poster entitled “The Utilization of Q-sort Methodology to Develop a Measure of Women’s Response to Intimate Partner Violence.” Ms. Young's poster won first place in the Women Issues Research Division. The prizes included a division membership, workshop invitation, and a check.

Currently, as a research assistant under the mentorship of Ann Pearman, Ph.D., Ms. Young's interests are in evaluating community agencies and developing programs that serve the needs of older adults.

Congratulations to Tiffany Young, one of PUHR’s best and brightest students. To review the abstract and learn more about her research, click here.

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Urban Health Group Visits DeKalb County Jail

On June 10th a group of Georgia State University faculty and students visited Georgia’s largest government building - the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and jail in Decatur. The tour brought visitors face to face with inmates and security personnel as they toured the jail’s intake area, a typical cell block, medical care area, education center, and food service department.

County jails are intended to hold individuals sentenced to one year or less. Individuals serving longer sentences are typically kept in state prisons. The jail in DeKalb County has an average daily population of almost 3,000 inmates and the average length of stay is 24 days, although some individuals may stay for several years (for example, individuals serving consecutive sentences may stay longer than 12 months). The jail averages 40,000 bookings annually. Considering that DeKalb County’s population in 2006 was estimated at 723,000, it is evident that the jail has an important, large impact on the county.

The health of inmates was of particular interest to the group. The group discovered that all inmates receive medical evaluation and may receive treatment during their time in the jail. A general medical evaluation is given to each inmate upon booking. Several chronic care clinics are offered to control and monitor individuals with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and those receiving kidney dialysis. Additionally, a medical infirmary and mental health infirmary are available to patients who require specific care and monitoring. Health care services for individuals staying longer than a year, such as annual physicals and eye care, are provided on an individual basis since jails are set up for short term stays. If hospital or emergency medical services are needed, inmates are transferred to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. Preventive services, such as HIV screening and routine immunizations, are not offered to the jail population.

Facts about the DeKalb County Jail
• The DeKalb County Jail is the largest government building in Georgia.
• The jail has beds for 3,700.
• The jail books 40,000 people annually.
• The average length of stay is 24 days.
• In 2003, 600 inmates received mental health treatment.
• The annual budget of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s office is more than $63 million
• 2,000 inmates have received their GED while in the jail.
• Inmate workers help with facility cleaning, laundry, and packaging and delivering meals within the jail.
• Web site: http://www.dekalbsheriff.org/ .

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Students Tackle Urban Health Issues
The Urban Health graduate course (PH7300) at Georgia State, offered by the Institute of Public Health, explores the urban context and health from a multidisciplinary approach, involving public health, psychology, sociology, criminal justice, urban planning, and other disciplines. More >>>

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Georgia State expects to play a significant role in the seventh annual International Conference of Urban Health, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, October 29-31, 2008. Georgia State is a co-sponsor of the event. At least six faculty members are planning to attend and to share their research with other researchers and practitioners from around the world.

You may find extensive information about the conference, including registration and the preliminary program, at http://www.icuh2008.com/.

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On November 16, 2007, Georgia State University College of Law hosted the Atlanta event for the National Briefing Day on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The program was attended by over 170 people, including lawyers, educators, judges, social workers, health care professionals, academics from various disciplines, NGO representatives, and a group of 20 youth from Carver High School, a public school in Atlanta. The event featured three speakers. Professor Jonathan Todres of GSU College of Law provided an overview of the CRC and the key issues with respect to the U.S. position. Following that, Tom Rawlings, Director of the Office of the Child Advocate, State of Georgia, spoke about the CRC’s provisions on health and welfare of children and the CRC’s relevance to children in Georgia. Karen Baynes, Associate Director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, then focused on juvenile justice issues and how U.S. ratification of the CRC would affect juvenile justice in Georgia. The panel’s presentations were followed by an extended period of questions from the audience and a lively discussion about the CRC and the U.S. stance vis-à-vis the Convention and children’s rights in general. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s lead editorial on Friday, October 23, 2007, featured a report on the Atlanta briefing on the CRC and called for U.S. ratification of the CRC.