Public Health Lecture Series: The State of Health in Indiana

A talk by William VanNess, the Indiana State Health Commissioner. 

Dr. VanNess was appointed January 14, 2013 as the Indiana State Health Commissioner. He served as a member of the Executive Board for the Indiana State Department of Health from 2006 to 2012. Prior to his appointment, Dr. VanNess was president and CEO of Community Hospital of Anderson and Madison County. He has worked as medical director at Countryside Manor in Anderson, as well as owner/medical director of Summit Convalescent Center in Summitville and is a former president of the Indiana State Medical Association. Dr. VanNess has 39 years of health care experience in Indiana, including 24 years in active practice as a board certified family physician.

Part of the Public Health Lecture Series at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, the Ruth Engs Lecture will provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities presented by continuing public health issues in the State of Indiana.

When: October 4, 2013, 1pm

Where: Mobley Auditorium (PH C100) at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, 1025 E. 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405

SPH Engage: New opportunity for ALL students

SPH Engage is a leadership development and engagement program for any undergraduate or graduate student with an interest in building their connection to public health through coursework, workshops, and community engagement. In partnership with the Office of Global and Community Health Partnerships, SPH Engage provides a number of individual and group opportunities to assist our students as they transition to the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington for both graduate and undergraduate students.

SPH Engage:

• Assists students transition into the SPH
• Provides connections to SPH and university resources
• Offers thirteen hours a week of drop in office hours Monday – Thursday
• Connects students to engagement in the SPH, IUB and Bloomington community
• Connects students to the SPH Office of Global and Community Health Partnerships 
• Relationships with faculty and staff in the Center for Student Leadership Development
• Holds leadership development workshops for SPH-related student organizations
• Builds linkages between SPH-related student organizations and interested students

SPH Engage have drop in office hours for students:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
• 10am – 2pm PH 394
• 11:30am – 12:30pm PH CO13
• By appointment

Please note that SPH Engage provides leadership development consultation and coursework, connections to other courses, and connections to students for involvement through student organizations. SPH Engage does not advise, counsel, or make recommendations for internships.

For more, visit the SPHEngage website. 

Convenient online classes to help parents, professionals keep up with drug/alcohol trends

Counselors, social workers, teachers, doctors and parents need to stay current on drug trends and effects of substances, but finding a reliable source of information online can be challenging. The Indiana Prevention Resource Center at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington has begun offering free, one-hour online courses designed to address this void -- and to help lower the risks of substance abuse in Indiana and across the country. "It is difficult to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of drugs each day. So much changes over night," said the IPRC's Mallori DeSalle. "Initially we focused on how health care and behavioral health care providers could be trained about drugs and alcohol, but we know the alcohol and marijuana modules, our first classes, will branch out to assist counselors, social workers, teachers and parents too.  I’ve already talked to one mother who plans to go through the online information with her high school daughter, using it as a way to talk about alcohol and drug use." The self-administered, interactive classes can be found on the IPRC website and require a free registration. Read more >>

School of Public Health-Bloomington to offer two online Master of Science degrees beginning January 2014

Two new IU School of Public Health-Bloomington online graduate degrees, one in Parks and Public Lands Management and one in and Recreation Therapy, will be launched for the Spring Semester of 2014. The degrees will be offered through the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer these degrees online to working professionals so that they may access graduate education at the IU School of Public Health without having to leave the field or relocate," noted IU School of Public Health-Bloomington Founding Dean Mohammad Torabi.

The degrees will give students in-depth knowledge about principles, management trends, and issues related to managing parks, public lands, and recreation therapy organizations all through a convenient online delivery mechanism.

Read more >>

Annual Indiana youth survey: Students asked about synthetic marijuana, prescription drugs

Findings from the 23rd Annual Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use revealed that marijuana use in Grades 6 to 12 continues to decrease. This reduction followed a peak in marijuana use from 2008 to 2011. 

While marijuana use is down, it remains more popular than synthetic marijuana.

"Synthetic marijuana is a relatively new drug that is being sold at stores as herbal incense," said Ruth Gassman, director of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University's School of Public Health-Bloomington. 

The center conducted the survey. "The survey results suggest that synthetic marijuana is being used in conjunction with marijuana for youth across grade levels. This indicates that synthetic marijuana is not substituting marijuana, but is being used as an additional drug."

Synthetic marijuana use Synthetic marijuana refers to a wide variety of herbal mixtures -- dried, shredded plant material sprayed with chemical additives that when smoked are responsible for their mind-altering effects. Often marketed as "safe" and "legal" alternatives to marijuana and sold as incense, this wide variety of products has many names, including "Spice" and "K2."

Read more  >>

School of Public Health-Bloomington Fall Career Fair

The School of Public Health will be hosting a large job fair on Wednesday, October 23^rd from 10:30am-1pm in PH 163. Please mark your calendars now for this important event. Students searching for a job or internship will have an opportunity to meet with employers and organization representatives in person. Participants are advised to dress professional for the fair and bring copies of their resumes to share with employers. Those interested in learning more about how to prepare for the fair are encouraged to attend the Career Fair Preparation event the week before the fair (Oct. 16^th) to practice their  introductory pitch and learn how to interact with employers.

Get involved with the #mycareermatters campaign

IU School of Public Health students pursue a wide variety of majors and career paths. As varied as our students’ pursuits are, they are all tied together by the common thread of contributing to society in a way that truly matters.

We want to hear how your career matters! What did you do at your summer internship? Did you land that internship or job? Have you decided on your future career path? Did you get some resume writing help from the IU School of Public Health Office of Career Services? Were you just interviewed for a great position? Are you attending a career event? Join the #mycareermatters campaign and share your story!

 Why Get Involved?

Giveaways!! Swag!! Whenever you utilize the hashtag #mycareermatters to share your #mycareermatters update, you will be entered to win various giveaways and/or SPH swag. Winners will be announced on a rolling basis.

How to Participate

• Tweet your career update or career-related photo to @IUSPHCareers with the hashtag #mycareermatters.
• Post your career update or career-related photo to the IU School of Public Health Office of Career Services Facebook Page with the hashtag #mycareermatters.

Report of Progress toward School Goals and Objectives

The fall 2013 Report of Progress towardSchool Goals and Objectives for the School of Public Health-Bloomington is now available. The release of this report coincides with the initiation of the school’s systematic evaluation and planning process that is led by the SPH Academic Council. 

Being overweight tied to suicidal thoughts

A new study suggests that seeing oneself as overweight or obese may be an important predictor of suicidal thoughts, especially in young girls.

Study's lead author, Dong-Chul Seo, Ph.D., associate professor at the School of Public Health-Bloomington at Indiana University said that understanding the link between body image and suicide is critical.

"The study's findings clearly indicate that overweight perception is an independent predictor for suicidal ideation, the same as depression," the researcher said.

Seo and his colleagues analyzed the responses of 6,504 middle school and high school students surveyed from 134 schools in 50 states.

Participants were asked if they had seriously thought about committing suicide during the past 12 months and how they perceived their body weight.

Read more >>