Today is Wednesday, the last day of the American Public Health Association meetings. I posted here about the first day of this huge conference of 12,000 folks from every perspective in public health. I’ve spent Monday and Tuesday getting in a lot of steps to and from sessions, visiting the expo to gather up as much free swag as possible, and then listening and learning about what’s important and new (which is a lot!). Here’s some of what I learned:
One: There’s a very interesting new documentary called “Shot in the Arm”, exploring vaccine hesitancy from measles to COVID. It opened in NYC on November 3, and will be screening in various places over the next year. We got to see numerous extended clips of the film, accompanied by commentary by the director, Scott Hamilton Kennedy (no relation to anti-vaxxer politician Robert Kennedy Jr.) The place was packed, which is no surprise. I’m looking forward to seeing it when it’s available.
Two: You’re not going to believe this, but: apparently there’s now a portable device, called the Veggie Meter that is used to measure someone’s fruit and vegetable intake by measuring skin carotenoid levels (I don’t yet understand this well enough to explain it; maybe later?) Suffice it to say that this gadget (not available on Amazon, btw) is an improvement over invasive methods, as it does something something reflection spectroscopy something light-scattering properties of carotenoids and their storage in the upper layers of the skin. The upshot is that the Veggie Meter may make nutrition research easier, cheaper and more accurate. That would be a good thing.
Three: I guess I already knew this, but my belief was revalidated: people will line up for free food and drinks no matter what the quality and what their economic status. At one of the local conference hotels that offered daily 6–7:30pm free drinks and snacks, people had already staked out spots in line and reserved comfy chairs and good tables in the lobby by 5:45pm. I know this because I was among them (with a friend). What can I say? One’s inner grad student still lunges at every passing free meal, even when they are obviously not top-quality.
On a more substantive note: there were tons of sessions about health equity, increasing and improving health services and the lives of those affected by racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and other forms of bigotry. I listened to presentations big and small, from big picture health policy initiatives to results from surveys about the reproductive health experiences of LGBTQIA+ people. All of them share an awareness of systemic breakdown and harms as well as proposals for addressing them in various sectors. Again, I felt proud to be a small part of this group and this work.
I’ll wrap up this weekend with a few more substantive comments on a session I attended on issues of body weight and stigma. But it’s now time to pack up, go to the last sessions and head to the airport. Wish me luck in getting back to Boston on time…
