Kansas City, MO, July 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Collaborative to Advance Health Services, housed within the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies, with an approximately $43 million portfolio across 25 federally-funded public health grants, will host the nation’s first Syndemic Solutions Summit. The goal for this July 26-27 event in Kansas City is to discuss approaches to end the intersecting epidemics of HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, substance use disorders and mental health, and pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. The summit will be headlined by Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who leads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) and has been an early voice within the federal government for syndemic approaches.
The Collaborative’s Leadership Team of eight implementation science researchers and public health experts has designed the summit to be a neutral and collaborative space for interdisciplinary public health professionals from government, national advocacy organizations, community-based organizations and research institutions, as well as people with lived experience, to explore innovations and solutions.
The term “syndemic” is gaining traction within the public health workforce as the United States grapples with how to address several intersecting epidemics that concurrently impact vulnerable people and communities. Coined by medical anthropologist Merrill Singer in the 1990s while he was investigating a clustered occurrence of substance use, violence and HIV, a syndemic framework provides a way to view the collective impact of two or more concurrent diseases that interact to worsen the burden of disease in a population. As syndemics disproportionately impact those who already experience systemic oppression and health disparities, a syndemic approach is inclusive of various factors that shape health outcomes, including socially stigmatizing conditions.
“By hosting the nation’s first Syndemic Solutions Summit, the Collaborative’s Leadership Team, which collectively oversees 25 federally-funded grants, aims to serve as a conduit and a facilitator of streamlined conversations among experts across these public health challenges that lead to solutions,” said Kelly Reinhardt, Syndemic Solutions Summit lead and senior research associate at UMKC. “The summit’s day-and-a-half agenda will amplify thought leadership on, and showcase the successful implementation of, innovative syndemic approaches that incorporate funding utilization, program development and community engagement at the national, regional and local levels. Staying true to a syndemic lens, and with valuable input from our prestigious 12-member Advisory Council, the summit will be centered on health equity and trauma-informed approaches that are aligned with social determinants of health.”
Conference participation is $100, seating is limited, and registration will remain open until the event is at capacity.
About the Syndemic Solutions Summit: The 2023 Syndemic Solutions Summit, designed by UMKC's Collaborative to Advance Health Services, will be held on July 26-27 in Kansas City, Missouri. This inaugural event will explore the federal government's approach to the five intersecting epidemics of HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, substance use disorders and mental health, and pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. The summit will bring together an interdisciplinary public health workforce across government, national advocacy organizations, community-based organizations and research institutions, as well as people with lived experience, to discuss integrated solutions. The Syndemic Solutions Summit will be headlined by Dr. Jonathan Mermin who leads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP). Register here: www.SyndemicSolutionsSummit.org
About the Collaborative to Advance Health Service: The Collaborative to Advance Health Services (CAHS) is housed within the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies. The Collaborative was started in 2012 by three public health implementation science researchers/principal investigators who believed their individual grants could be more impactful if they collaborated. Today, the Collaborative’s Leadership Team of eight researchers and public health experts leads a portfolio of approximately $43 million across 25 federally-funded grants. CAHS’ mission is to advance health and wellness by bringing research to practice, supporting organizations through change processes, and providing high-quality training and technical assistance to the health services workforce.
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