Research on Multiple Women’s Health Topics Drives Symposium
2023 Global Health Day Symposium keynoters Junfeng Zhang (left) and Erin Bell (second from right) with SPHHP Dean Jean Wactawski-Wende and Office of Global Health Initiative Director and Professor Lina Mu.
Women’s health is global health.
This year’s Global Health Day Symposium, organized by UB’s Office of Global Health Initiatives, underscored that notion with researchers focused on the topic. The symposium’s theme, “Women’s Health,” prompted presentations looking at a range of pressing issues that often disproportionately affect women, including the effect of environmental exposures, reproductive health and more.
Keynoter Junfeng Zhang, PhD, professor of global and environmental health at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, showed evidence that women’s exposure to air pollution in a range of countries can affect not only their health, but also the health of their fetuses and children.
The University at Albany’s Erin Bell, PhD, focused on women’s health related to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals used worldwide in products like non-stick cookware and stain-resistant fabrics. They’ve been linked to numerous health problems in males and females. Some health issues, however, are specifically linked to women. For instance, decreased growth in infants and fetuses occurs because PFAS pass through the placenta and through breastmilk.
SPHHP and Jacobs School faculty, SPHHP graduate students and community organizations also offered compelling looks at other women’s health topics, including:
- deaths related to pregnancy, the factors that contribute to those deaths, and the higher risk of death for Black, non-Hispanic women no matter their age or education level.
- interviews with LBGTQ+ people focusing on their experiences of abortion during routine health care, the notion of “identity erasure” they encountered during that care and the importance for community connection that provides support. (Presented by Elizabeth Bartelt, PHD, MPH, clinical assistant professor, SPHHP Department of Community Health and Health Behavior.)
- research using data from the Women’s Health Initiative’s OsteoPerio Study that looked at the complex relationship between periodontal disease and dietary patterns. (Presented by Yihau Yue, PhD student, SPHHP Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health.)
The Global Health Day Symposium is co-hosted by the Community for Global Health Equity