Yale, UNC work with Thailand university to sponsor Bangkok nursing conference addressing chronic conditions
New Haven, CT — January 30, 2006
Yale University School of Nursing (YSN), The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Ramathibodi Hospital and Mahidol University in Thailand hosted an international nursing conference that addressed prevention and management of chronic conditions.
The conference, "Prevention and Management of Chronic Conditions: International Perspectives," was held Jan. 25 through 27 in Bangkok, Thailand. It was the first conference of its kind to bring together top scholars from throughout Asia, Europe and North America who discussed the role of nursing research and practice in helping families and communities around the world manage chronic conditions.
"Our faculty have been committed to research and practice to improve life for the chronically ill for many years," said YSN Dean Margaret Grey. "The great majority of our work focuses in this area. Thus, this conference provided an opportunity for us to not only share our work but to learn from our colleagues all over the world."
Chronic conditions such as diabetes and cancer represent nearly 60 percent of global deaths and almost one-third of global disease, according to World Health Organization statistics from 2002.
The idea for the conference began several years ago, when Mahidol University nursing school approached Yale and UNC about developing an international faculty and student exchange program to help them build their nursing research capabilities. Then in 2002, after having successfully started that program, Mahidol University invited Yale and UNC to co-host an international nursing conference to focus on chronic conditions worldwide.
The three-day conference focused on topics including the influence of globalization on health, chronic illness across the lifespan, complementary and alternative therapy for chronic illness, family caregiving, and access to and delivery of care in chronic illness. Over 550 delegates from 16 countries were in attendance.
Invited speakers from the Yale School of Nursing included Dean Margaret Grey, Lawrence Scahill, Deborah Chyun, Elaine Gustafson, Patricia Jackson Allen, Katherine Jones and Ann Williams, and YSN staff members Tony Ma and Maryellen Pachler. Also participating were graduates from the YSN doctoral program, including current faculty members at Mahidol University in Bangkok and Dr. Bothyna Murshid, one of the first doctorally prepared nurses in Saudi Arabia. Speakers also included Dr. Linda Cronenwett, dean of UNC School of Nursing, Dr. Kobkul Phanacharoenworakul, Dean of the Mahidol University Faculty of Nursing and Dr. Somchit Hanucharurnkul, Chairperson of the Scientific Program at Mahidol University and Chair of the Conference Organizing Committee (featured above center and right in photo with Dean Grey).
"We feel the conference has been a great success in enabling us to engage our colleagues from all over the world whose backgrounds encompass a broad area of expertise in sharing what each of us is doing to improve the health and quality of life for those living with chronic conditions and their families," said Dr, Somchit.
For more information about this conference contact Ilya Sverdlov, (203) 737-1376 or ilya.sverdlov@yale.edu.
