On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the 12th World Congress on Environmental Health to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, 22-27 May, we would like to remind you that the deadline for abstract submission is 15 February 2012.

If you have not submitted your abstract yet, you are welcome to do it until this date. Please press HERE for on-line registration and abstract submission. Before submitting your abstract please carefully read the submission guidelines.

We would also like to remind you that the registration to the Technical Tours is also available as a part of the main registration. So far, we have five Technical Tours announced:

25 May 2012:

1. National public health surveillance laboratory / The museum of genocide victims
2. National food and veterinary risk assessment institute/ Mol?tai astronomical observatory
3. The radiation protection centre/ Open air museum of the centre of Europe
4. Vilniaus Vandenys (Vilnius Waters)/ Sailing down the Neris river
5. Lithuanian hydrometeorological service/ Visit to Kernav?

More detailed information about Technical Tours can be found HERE.

For additional information about registration and abstract submission please visit Congress website www.ifeh2012.org.

A great deal was achieved in 2011 thanks to the hard work of our staff and the collaborative efforts of our partners and stakeholders. We thank the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, BC Ministry of Health, BC Ministry of Education, BC Vital Statistics Agency, WorkSafeBC, BC Cancer Agency, UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), EduData Canada and the Office of Chief Information Officer of BC for their continued support.

This year the Ministry of Health made a significant commitment to BC’s health research community: guaranteeing a total application to approval timeline of four months for eligible projects using Population Data BC holdings. Please see our website for details.

Achievements in 2011 include:

Data holdings

• Expanded data holdings with the BC Cancer Agency
• New firm level and noise exposure data became available from WorkSafeBC via Population Data BC
• HELP Middle Development Instrument (MDI) Data became available via Population Data BC
• We managed 47 data collections from 17 sources and upgraded our servers to 400 terabytes of storage
• New data agreement with the Integrated Cadastral Information Society (ICIS)
• Linkages approved between internal holdings and external data from Perinatal Services BC, BC Cardiac Services and the BC Centre for Disease Control

Data access

• Approval for our first-ever health-education data linkage
• First training dataset using BC Ministry of Health data authorized for use
• Expanded support services, including instant messaging to Researcher Liaisons and The Doctor Is In — offering methodological help to researchers from an administrative data expert
• We became part of the communication and data access process for PharmaNet data
• Launch of new custom built project tracking software to better track and manage projects

Education & training

• Launch of the Professional Specialization Certificate in Population Health Data Analysis with a cohort of 13 starting the first course, Working with Administrative Data, in September
• Workshops in Statistical Software Package R, Structural Equation Modeling and Bayesian Disease Mapping – Level II were delivered to capacity audiences from universities, health authorities, government ministries and other health organizations
• Customized workshops in Competing Risk Analysis and Introduction for Statistics were developed and delivered in partnership with other organizations

Support

• Expansion of the membership of our Governance Oversight Committee to include Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and the Office of the Provincial Health Officer

Systems & security

• Expansion of the Secure Research Environment including extra high-performance machines, Linux, and the capacity to
• Moved to a new, disk-based backup system

General

• New Research in Action section of website including case studies, video presentations, project listings and related publications

In 2012 look out for …

• February Conference and Workshops on Population Health Data Analysis: From Infrastructure to Innovation
• Access to ICIS data
• Expanded WorkSafeBC data
• Development of online Data Access Request Form
• Launch of MetaData Central, a web-based documentation system that will include data dictionaries, linkage rates, and download links for geospatial data and more
• Formalized policy on Student access and waivers
• Availability of additional training data sets, under specified access conditions

Don¹t miss out on your chance to participate in the upcoming AMMI Canada CACMID Annual Conference taking place on May 3-5 in Vancouver!

The deadline for submitting abstracts, clinical vignettes and innovation academy ideas is January 24th.

Apply to share your most difficult, interesting and head-scratching cases for the Clinical Vignettes. Please submit your Clinical Vignettes to Michael Libman michael.libman@mcgill.ca Tel.: (514) 934-1934 ext 42811.

Tell us about your pioneering approach or radical process improvement in any area related to Clinical Medicine, Laboratory Medicine, Infectious Prevention and Control, Antimicrobial Stewardship or Public Health for the John Conly Innovation Academy. Please submit your application to Riccarda Galioto­ manager@ammi.ca

Submit an Abstract related to anything Microbiology and Infectious Disease. Please use the abstract submission site

The AMMI Canada ­ CACMID Annual Conference 2012 is the greatest conference in Canada to expand your learning and share your knowledge. Be sure to take advantage of all the benefits this conference can offer YOU!

Please contact Stephanie Wolkowycki at info@ammi.ca for any further assistance.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

In the SPPH building? Take a few minutes to look at the TV in the lobby - research publications are also broadcast on that screen.

The conference will explore advances in our understandings of how sex and gender influence the health of women, men, and people of diverse gender identities over the lifespan. It will showcase excellence across the full scope of health research, from cell to society, offering a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary learning and exchange. The conference will feature dynamic presentations on new discoveries and innovative interventions, interactive poster sessions, lively discussions and valuable networking opportunities with leaders in the field. It is open to all researchers, policy-makers, health care providers, non-governmental organizations, students and others with a shared interest in gender, sex and health.

For more information, visit: www.genderandhealthconference.com
To view the call for abstracts, visit: http://genderandhealthconference.com/abstracts.html
To submit an abstract, visit: http://www.ighabstracts.ca/

The deadline to submit an abstract is February 15, 2012.

More information: click here

Congratulations to Rosemin Kassam who won a 2011 Commitment to Care and Service Award for Lifetime Service. The Commitment to Care & Service Awards is the national awards program hosted by Pharmacy Practice and Drugstore Canada, Canada's leading pharmacy magazines.

Rosemin recently joined the School of Population and Public Health as an associate professor. Prior to this she was an associate professor in UBC's faculty of pharmaceutical sciences.

Announcement

The Scientific and Organization Committee cordially invites you to submit an abstract and/or attend the Third International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector 'Linking local initiatives with global learning'.

All submissions will be acknowledged on receipt. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within a week, please contact us, and we will verify if we have received your submission.

Abstracts must be submitted in English, and also the conference language will be English for all workshops, papers or posters.

Submission deadline 1st of March 2012
Notification of acceptance / rejection 1st of May 2012
Submission of fuller paper / workshop versions for publication in the conference proceedings 15th of July 2012
Acceptance of presentation, registration and payment for full conference before the 1st of September 2012

The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) works on health literacy and as part of their ongoing efforts, they collect and distribute books for children and youth. The books are distributed to inner-city schools and remote communities in BC.

In their most recent distribution, they donated 300 good quality children's books to Grandview Elementary - one of Vancouver's inner-city schools. The children love the books!

If you have any reasonable quality, unwanted books that you would like to donate, they would be greatly appreciated. A collection box is located outside of Room 425 in the SPPH Building (2206 East Mall).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jim Frankish by email or phone (604-822-9205).

2012 CAHSPR Conference
Innovations for Health System Improvement: Balancing Costs, Quality and Equity
May 29-31 — Montreal, Quebec

New supports for students and new investigators attending CAHSPR

With our abstract deadline (Jan 12th) fast approaching, CAHSPR is pleased to share news of support available for students and new investigators attending the 2012 CAHSPR Conference.

First, the CIHR Institute for Health Services and Policy Research has Travel Awards available for students, postdoctoral fellows, and new investigators to present their own research at national conferences, including the 2012 CAHSPR Conference! Visit IHSPR Travel Awards page for details about applications that are due Jan 30th.

Second, thanks to the support of conference sponsors, CAHSPR is able to offer registration waivers and travel bursaries for selected students to attend the 2012 CAHSPR Conference. Available financial support will be allocated on the basis of financial need and ranking in the abstract peer review process. Applications (available online) are due on Jan 12. Click here

Students and new investigators should not miss out on the 2012 CAHSPR Conference: submit abstracts and applications for travel support today!