The Social Medicine Portal

Health in Amsterdam & New York: A conference on the 400th Anniversary of Hudson's Visit

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage (let’s not say discovery) up the the river that now bears his name. There will be many celebrations marking this anniversary, but perhaps none as imaginative as the paired conferences organized by the public health communities in Amsterdam and New York City. The first conference was held on April 6th in Amsterdam, the second conference will take place on September 10th in New York. These dates mark Hudson’s departure from Amsterdam and entrance into the Hudson River, respectively.

The joint conferences are entitled the Hudson Year Urban Health Conference in Amsterdam and New York: a Tale of Two Cities in 2009.   We have posted the conference brochure at this link.  As readers can see there is a social medicine focus to the presentations. Here is a description of the conference from the brochure:

Henry Hudson Year
When Henry Hudson set foot in what would become New York, Amsterdam was already a flourishing city. Trade, culture, and social emancipation were the cornerstones of society. The city thrived because immigrants brought their skills and work. Tolerance for diverse religious and cultural backgrounds was born in Amsterdam and was important for the development of New York. In some ways, New York became what Amsterdam once was. Yet both cities have many vulnerable citizens that need care. In this conference, we will take a closer look at the similarities and differences in how they meet this major challenge.

A Tale of Two Cities in 2009
The Hudson Year Urban Health Conference (HYUHC) is a one-day program planned for Monday, April 6, 2009, in Amsterdam and repeated on Thursday, September 10, 2009, in New York. The Amsterdam site is De Duif, Prinsengracht 756, 1017 LD Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The New York site is Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, 1051 Riverside Drive, first floor auditorium, New York, NY 10032. The two programs will be largely identical, with a local emphasis for each city. After morning workshops for health experts, afternoon lectures will be open to all persons interested in urban health, followed by a reception.  The HYUHC will be organized by the Public Health Service of Amsterdam (GGD) in co-operation with Care and Community Services of Amsterdam (DZS), Columbia University, the Montefiore Hospital of NYC, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Themes and Topics
Big cities are inhabited by many groups of marginalized people. The mental illnesses, addiction, and other health problems from which they suffer have an impact on the individual and on society as a whole. Our conference goal is to introduce these problems and to show a broad audience the progress made and the continuing attempts to find solutions. An important purpose is to raise more understanding and tolerance among the people living in these cities.  Each afternoon speaker will present a controversial statement to discuss with the audience. At the morning workshops, health experts will meet and share knowledge to strengthen the already existing work relations between New York and Amsterdam.

At both HYUHC sites, the Dutch photographer Annaleen Louwes will present a series of photographs concerning urban health care in Amsterdam and New York. This visual display will highlight the similarities and differences between the two cities. The organization Niet-Normaal, the Netherlands (www.nietnormaal.com), will invite contemporary artists from Amsterdam and New York to enforce the message of this conference by showing video art works.

Two abstracts

To provide readers of the Portal with  a sense of the conference’s content, here are two  abstracts, one from New York City, the other from Amsterdam:

Chinazo Cunningham, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Title: Sketches from the Bronx–what we see and what we do!

Dr. Cunningham will present two innovative programs that aim to improve access to care among HIV-infected, opioid-addicted, and unstably housed individuals. One program involves close collaboration between an academic medical center and a community-based organization, medical outreach to hotels (that serve as temporary emergency housing), and the delivery of health care outside of traditional medical settings. The other program provides opioid addiction treatment with buprenorphine outside of a traditional drug treatment program. Dr. Cunningham will describe the evolution and sustainability of these programs and present results of program evaluations.

Udi Davidovich, GGD Amsterdam.  Public education on HIV/AIDS by the GGD
Online public campaigning for sexual health: the role of Internet  interventions, their potential and current achievements. Online prevention interventions have been increasingly used by the Amsterdam Health Services to influence health-seeking behaviour and sexual behaviour among different risk groups for HIV and other STD’s. In this presentation we will discuss the present targets, present achievements and the potential of online interventions. The presentation will be illustrated by three ongoing targeted campaigns: an online intervention for the promotion of safe sex among gay steady partners (in www.mantotman.nl), an online internet intervention for the promotion of safe sex and HIV testing among heterosexual youth: www.vrijlekker.nl, and an internet tool for the facilitation of STD screening among gay men (in www.mantotman.nl).

Further Details:

The New York Conference will take place on September 10th, 2009 at  Columbia Presbyterian, 1051 Riverside Drive (& 168th St), Auditorium, first floor, NY, NY 10032.  The morning program (small groups sessions) will run from 8:30-12:00 and the afternoon program (lectures) from 2-5:00. A reception will be held from 5-6:30 PM.  The cost is free. To register visit this website: www.nynjaetc.org

For more information on the NY400 week and the many planned events, check out the official website.

Posted by Matt Anderson, MD