By University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office (MISRGO) at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) and the Arkansas Cancer Coalition (ACC) have partnered for a third year to jointly host the 19th Clearing the Air Communities of Color Conference (Clearing the Air) and 23rd Arkansas Cancer Summit (Summit) March 8-9, 2022. The conferences are virtual and open to the public. Full summit and conference details are available at arcancercoalition.org/arkansas-cancer-summit.
The purpose of the Summit, themed “Finding A Way Forward: Mental Health, Screenings and Survivorship,” is to showcase the recent progress Coalition partners have made toward meeting goals and objectives of the state’s comprehensive cancer plan, and to provide opportunities for information sharing, networking, and skill building. Clearing the Air, themed “Finding A Way Forward: Tobacco Control, Mental Health & Disparate Population Groups,” will be a full day of dynamic tobacco control training.
Speakers for these events include: Pebbles Fagan, PhD, MPH, professor and director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Fay. W. Boozman College of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education; Dr. Chris Recinos, CEO and founder of Nurse Leader Network, creator of Tikidas, an educational platform for nurses, and the teen mental health app, Hello, Harmony; Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, FACSM, Distinguished Professor of Public Health Sciences at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Medicine; Natasha Phelps, Director of Equity-Centered Policies at the Center for Black Health and Equity; and Daniel Ament, Founder of Fight4Wellness and a double lung transplant recipient.
“One of the conference highlights will be Daniel sharing his story about vaping as a teenager and his eventual need for a double lung transplant, the first in the world due to vaping,” Dr. Marian Evans, project coordinator of MISRGO, said. “We’re also examining the new menthol ban and what it means for minorities, the continuing void of tobacco and opioid prevention education for youth, and the role tobacco use plays in mental health.”
“This year’s conference provides a platform to discuss the untold stories of our cancer control workforce and the immediate need to discuss and remedy mental health issues,” said Trena Mitchell, executive director of the Arkansas Cancer Coalition. “Our hope is that summit participants walk away with a renewed strength and strategies that will continue to prevent cancer, screen, and/or treat cancer and COVID-19.”
