January 18, 2024, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The term “syndemics” describes the relationship between two or more epidemics which often cluster together (e.g., substance misuse and HIV) and have shared social and environmental drivers. When these epidemics interact, they mutually exacerbate the negative effects of each condition, thereby worsening health outcomes. The syndemics framework recognizes the importance of addressing these interactions and seeks to implement a whole-person, integrated model of prevention and care in collaboration with other health care providers. These services focus on equity by putting people first and providing the services that people express interest in receiving. It also seeks to address shared population-level risk and protective factors that influence the co-occurring epidemics that can lead to health inequities. While the concepts of co-occurring epidemics and social determinants driving health outcomes are not new to the field of prevention, syndemics is an emerging framework that many prevention practitioners may be unfamiliar with. This 90-minute webinar will provide participants with an overview of the syndemics framework and its growing use in the field of prevention. It will explain the relationship between the syndemics framework and a public health approach to prevention, the importance of leveraging policy as a public health tool to address syndemic risk factors, and how to build collaborative partnerships between prevention professionals and other health-focused entities to better address syndemics. It will also review the importance of the social determinants of health to syndemics and recommend strategies to support the prevention workforce in improving health outcomes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
PRESENTERS
Josh Esrick, MPP is the Chief of Training and Technical Assistance at Carnevale Associates, LLC. Mr. Esrick has over ten years of experience researching, writing, evaluating, and presenting on substance use prevention and other behavioral health topics. He is an expert in providing training and technical assistance (T/TA) in substance use, having overseen the development of hundreds of T/TA products for numerous clients, including six of SAMHSA’s ten regional Prevention Technology Transfer Centers (PTTCs), the PTTC Network Coordinating Office, the Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) and Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers (MHTTC), and SAMHSA’s Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT). These trainings and products have covered a wide range of topics, including strategic planning, data collection and analysis, and identifying evidence-based prevention interventions for youth. In addition to T/TA, Mr. Esrick has directly provided many of these services to behavioral health agencies and other entities. He has published several academic journal articles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Public Policy from George Washington University.
Emily Patton, MSc, PgDip holds a Masters of Science in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from Swansea University and a Postgraduate Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Edinburgh. She offers significant professional experience in the fields of public policy development and analysis, criminal justice research, data collection and analysis, program development, and performance management.
Olivia Stuart, MSW supports the training & technical assistance (T/TA) team in the development and delivery of knowledge translation products across multiple projects. In this capacity, she assists with webinars, literature reviews, and infographics on a range of behavioral health topics. Prior to joining Carnevale Associates, Olivia interned with the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center where she supported projects to reduce inequities in the criminal justice system. Olivia also served as a Graduate Research Supervisor at George Mason University and worked for several years in LGBTQ+ advocacy and fundraising. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from George Mason University.
