In a recent post I noted the liberal-leaning bent of the American Public Health Association. Well, their mid-year conference is over and a few interesting items come to light. Phrases such as: “APHA's successful Midyear Meeting brought hundreds of public health leaders together to help advance health reform implementation…” abound. This sentiment was noted throughout the sessions, as if it were a given that if one were a public health practitioner then one would be for healthcare reform in the form of what is often termed “Obamacare”. There appears to be no room for dissent or discussion. It often reminds me of the climate change debate, where any questioning is considered heresy and the science “settled”. In fact, the two issues were often brought up in tandem in the conference. Many times it is difficult to determine whether one is in a public health meeting or a global warming convention. I’m not going to persuade anyone about the pros or cons of these specific issues, but the APHA appears to be mostly an agenda- driven, policy-based organization that takes its cues from its politics, regardless of where individual members may lie on the political spectrum. It appears to me from the speaker roster here that there isn’t much difference between this organization and any other progressive policy advocacy group. Is there room for conservative voices in public health or is that the ultimate oxymoron?
Dr. K
Whether or not there is room for conservative voices in public health, those voices are still heard from time to time. I recommend to you, Dr. K, the commentary "The Moral Bases for Public Health Interventions" by University of Alabama epidemiologist Philip Cole in Epidemiology, January 1995, vol. 6 no. 1, pages 78-83. It is a stiff dose of medicine for public health uplifters.
Posted by: CaliforniaMD | 09/15/2011 at 01:43 AM
Very, very interesting reading. Thanks for the recommendation.
Dr. K
Posted by: Wade Kartchner, MD, MPH | 09/15/2011 at 08:39 AM
When it comes to guns/climate/race, APHA is glaringly left leaning and skews data to support liberal agenda. As an MPH student it is strongly "recommended" that we join, but I let my membership lapse and will not be renewing.
Posted by: Tucker M. Park III | 10/08/2015 at 11:29 AM
Tucker,
I would tend to agree. This slant has only deepened since I wrote the original post.
Dr. K
Posted by: Wade Kartchner, MD, MPH | 10/13/2015 at 11:48 PM