Pre-Conference Workshops - Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Four exciting pre-conference training opportunities will be held on Wednesday, February 21. There is no cost for any of these meetings, however,
space is limited and pre-registration is required. Please refer to pre-registration information below.

8:00 am to 12:00 Noon
“Global eHealth Innovation Through Tobacco Control: Lessons Learned from the Web-Assisted Tobacco Interventions (WATI) Initiative”
The Web-Assisted Tobacco Interventions (WATI) Initiative, directed by Drs. Peter Selby and Scott McIntosh, will hold a half-day pre-conference on the use of technology to send health promotion messages and to help smokers quit and stay quit. This growing area of research and practice has been called Web-Assisted Tobacco Interventions. The problem is finding ways to create shared knowledge frameworks when a field is new and those creating the knowledge are physically located all around the globe. This workshop will provide a venue for practitioners, researchers, policy makers and funders to network and exchange knowledge about WATI initiatives and to build capacity for technology-enabled tobacco control. By bringing together experts from different countries, disciplines and interests related to WATI, the workshop has the potential to create a lasting network of knowledge exchange and collaboration that can further advance tobacco control and eHealth capacity. For more information and to register, contact Virginia Chow, Project Coordinator, WATI at virginia_chow@camh.net.

9:00 am to 5:00 pm
“Networking for Global Tobacco Reduction: The Role of SRNT”
Presented by SRNT Global Network Committee. This all-day pre-conference will feature the opening session with Yumiko Mochizuki-Kobayashi, Director, Tobacco Free Initiative, World Health Organization; Prakash Gupta, President 14th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health, and Laurent Huber, Framework Convention alliance. Additional sessions will include “The Bloomberg Initiative: Advancing Science, Advancing Tobacco Reduction in Developing Countries"; “Perspectives on the Role of SRNT in Advancing Science and Facilitating Networking"; “Developing Country Perspectives and Next Steps,” and open discussion. For additional program information, please contact Harry Lando via email at lando@epi.umn.edu. Separate registration is required but it is free. To pre-register, click here.

10:00 am to 5:00 pm
“Increasing Access to Effective Treatments: The Case for More FlexibleRegulatory Policy"
This will be a full-day pre-conference workshop funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute TTURC. This workshop will focus on identifying barriers to the use of evidence-based treatment along with evidence-based solutions to overcome these barriers. The workshop will include presentations on misperceptions of current treatments, consumer attitudes toward treatment, discussion of policy solutions developed by several countries, the preliminary results of a U.S.-based literature review on barriers to treatment, and a discussion of non-evidence based treatments. For more information, contact Matt Barry, Director of Policy Research, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, mbarry@tobaccofreekids.org. To pre-register, click here.

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
2007 Addressing Tobacco in Healthcare National Forum: Innovations in e-Health and e-Technology for Health Services Research
Presented by The Addressing Tobacco in Healthcare Research Network. The Addressing Tobacco in Healthcare Research Network, directed by Dr. Sue Curry and Dr. Michael Fiore and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will hold a half-day pre-conference on innovations in e-health and e-technology for health services research. The draft agenda and registration information will be posted on the ATHC website, www.athc.wisc.edu. For more information, contact Paula Keller, ATHC Deputy Director, pak@ctri.medicine.wisc.edu. To pre-register (separate registration is required), please visit www.athc.wisc.edu.