All these questions – and more – will be addressed at a new conference dedicated to the latest research in public health, organised by the Epidemiology & Public Health Section of the Royal Society of Medicine [1] on Friday November 23, 2012, in association with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, National Heart Forum, and The Lancet.
This multi-disciplinary event will showcase the exceptional talent and creativity in the UK public health research community, with keynote speakers from leaders in public health. Research to be presented at the conference includes:
- A study in Northern Ireland which used an innovative physical activity loyalty card and tracking system – where participants "touched in" when walking along local footpaths or using the gym – to monitor whether workers offered a retail vouchers as an incentive to increase their levels of physical activity were more likely to maintain higher levels of exercise compared to non-incentivised colleagues [2]
- Venoplasty – dubbed the liberation procedure – is a controversial possible treatment for MS, based on a disputed theory called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency – CCSVI. Researchers analysing the content of YouTube videos mentioning CCSVI found that the content of these videos – some of which had been viewed by almost 80000 people – was heavily biased towards positive views of CCSVI, despite the fact that the veracity of this theory is still hotly disputed by scientists, and the researchers warn that their research "highlights some of the tensions that practitioners and policy makers face as patients go online, not only to seek information, but also to share it." [3].
In other presentations and poster sessions, researchers will explain how machine learning can be used to automatically gather patient feedback from social media [4], how adopting a healthy diet in middle age protects against verbal memory decline in later life [5], and whether being concerned about the environment is good for your health [6], with other presentations covering much more besides. Abstracts of the presentations and posters showcased at the conference will be published online in The Lancet to coincide with the meeting.
The conference opens at 9:00am on Friday November 23, 2012, at the Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London, W1. The conference will begin at 9:30am with welcome and introduction given by Dr Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, and Dr Rob Aldridge, RSM Epidemiology & Public Health Section council and University College London. Presentations will follow, covering four themes, with each session Chaired by key leaders in the field: Creativity and innovation in public health science (9.40am – 11:00am); Methodological approaches to public health science (11:45am – 1:15pm); Intersection between public health science and policy (2:15pm – 3:45pm); and Visions for the future of public health science (4:15pm – 5:15pm).
For the full programme, see http://www.rsm.ac.uk/academ/epd01.php
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] The Royal Society of Medicine is one of the country's major providers of postgraduate medical education. It has 56 Sections which each provide a multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and debate. Sections cover disciplines as diverse as epidemiology and public health, medical genetics and clinical hypnosis. As well as providing education, the Society aims to promote an exchange of information and ideas on the science, practice and organisation of medicine, both within the health professions and with responsible and informed public opinion. The Society is not a policy-making body and does not issue guidelines or standards of care. Over 400 academic and public meetings are held at the RSM every year. The Society's library is the second largest postgraduate medical library in the world.
[2] Exploring the use of physical activity loyalty cards for behaviour change in public health: randomised controlled trial, R. F. Hunter et al, see page 4 of abstract booklet
[3] People power or pester power? Multiple sclerosis, YouTube, and the liberation procedure, B. O'Neill et al, see page 20 of abstract booklet
[4] Machine learning and sentiment analysis of unstructured free-text information about patient experience online, F. Greaves et al, see page 10 of abstract booklet
[5] The role of dietary choices in cognitive behaviour: a prospective population-based study, D Cadar et al, see page 8 of abstract booklet
[6] Is being concerned about the environment good for your health?, A A Laverty et al, see page 56 of abstract booklet
Journal
The Lancet