Many of the 'counter stories' I have gleaned over the years come from my time with communities. From Jackson, Mississippi to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I have gained the most insights from 'ordinary folks' far wiser than myself... #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters
3/n
Last year, while teaching and conducting research with collaborators at the National School of Public Health, I found myself among an amazing group of Black Women activists on the front lines of anti-racist work in Rio... #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters 4/n
The convener of the meeting was a Black, queer woman by the name of #MarielleFranco-- a fierce human rights advocate and local politician who was committed to speaking truth to power and advocating for the dignity of #BlackLives... #BarberTwitterTakeover
5/n
She did this despite the dominant narrative in Brazil that denies the existence of racism. Even in the face of statistics like this: Every 23 Minutes, a Black Youth is Killed in Brazil... #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters
6/n
She was also someone who inspired young Black Women to 'Move Power Structures' and 'Occupy Every Space'- messages that resonated with a foreign, Southern-Born Social Epidemiologist from the United States... #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters
7/n
The night was life-giving and awe-inspiring to say the least. It was a reminder that despite the systems and structures that seek to destroy us, there is an amazing POWER that exists in collective #resistance... #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters
8/n
I wish the story ended there. Tragically it does not. Just an hour after leaving the event, I received news that #MarielleFranco was killed in a politically motivated assassination. She was 38 years old... #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters
9/n
This Saturday, which marks 500 days since that horrific night, would have been Marielle's 40th birthday and I am recommitting myself to doing scholarship that matters. #BarberTwitterTakeover #BlackEpiMatters
11/n
Now, what exactly is an applied epidemiologist, and why are they needed? In the late 90s- early 2000's there were a series of articles in AJPH, AJE, JECH, and IJE dedicated to answering these questions. I'll focus on Stephen Thacker's review. academic.oup.com/ije/article/30…
He states, “The applied epidemiologist is by definition an activist, moving rapidly from findings to policy, putting epi knowledge to good use. The 21st century epi must do all these things while maintaining a foundation of high-quality epi research and practice.”
Susser warns the field of what he considers “the black box paradigm… the current international focus on risk factor epidemiology.” He advocates for expanding our academic training to include socializing epis to “keep the improvement of the public’s health as a primary value”
Before we get started on our applied epi journey, I want to give honor to a great epidemiologist. Today is the second anniversary of his death, Dr. Bill Jenkins. At one point, it was said that 50% of Black US epis could track their career back to him. I'm one of those.
If Bill has had a positive impact on your career or life, I'd love to hear your #BecauseOfBill story.
Dr. Bill Jenkins started as a statistician in the United States Public Health Service in the 60s. Within 1 yr of working there, he learned of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. He brought it to the attention of his supervisors and was told to drop it.
even if you and your loved ones are healthy and you still have your job and your home, your stress, pain, sadness, frustration, etc. are legitimate! 1/ #epitwitter#BodnarTwitterTakeover
this is not the Olympics of suffering, where only people with the worst situation get to be the ones who are in pain. we are ALL struggling (even if people seem like they have it together)! 2/
we are collectively grieving. Grief requires a lot of energy. Therefore, our mental reserves are low, meaning that “small” stressors that you could handle without so much emotion pre-covid now feel overwhelming. why? 3/
#epitwitter#BodnarTwitterTakeover i've had a few requests to tweet on 'How to Say No." lots of people have published smart pieces on this. doing a google or a twitter search on 'saying no in academia' will help! but i'm happy to share a few things and take any questions! 1/
first, i've gotten undeserved credit for the idea of establishing a No Committee. it was originally written about by Professor Vilna Bashi Treitler at Baruch College and CUNY. i started my own No Committee after someone pointed me to her blog years ago 2/ tinyurl.com/y242d4sj
we all have had the experience of saying yes to what seem at the time like great opportunities and then realizing that we have WAY too much on our plates and becoming super overwhelmed. 3/
Anne Katherine has a couple of great books on setting boundaries. the quotes here are from her book Where to Draw the Line:
'A boundary is a limit. By the limits you set, you protect the integrity of your day, your energy and spirit, the health of your relationships,...' cont. 2/
'...Each day is shaped by your choices. When you violate your own boundaries or let another violate them, stuffing spills out of your life.'
(ok and who wants to lose their stuffing and become one of those stuffed animals with the droopy head b/c you have no neck stuffing??) 3/
Last century saw two very deadly pandemics the #GreatInfluenza of 1918 and #HIV. Is there anything we can learn from these about the future of #COVID19? The obviously parallel is the 1918 pandemic, a respiratory pathogen, though flu and #COVID19 have a lot of differences (1/5)
The #1918Pandemic tells us not to be overconfident after a receding summer wave. Pandemic flu often has a summer wave, followed by a big resurgence in the fall/winter. Is #COVID19 as seasonal as the flu? We don't know, but don't get too comfortable. (2/5) researchgate.net/figure/fig2_56…
...the data from the Southern hemisphere is mixed, and everything is muddled by control and surveillance. But even it is important to remember even if the virus isn't directly climate sensitive, behavior is, and can lead to strong seasonal effects. (3/5) covid19.who.int/?gclid=CjwKCAj…