GoMRI Research Board Convenes Workshop on Oil Spills and Public Health
– November 12, 2013
(From Fall 2013 Newsletter) The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Research Board – a group of twenty science, public health, and research administration experts – convened a Public Health Workshop on July 30, 2013, to discuss the most pressing needs for future public health-related research. Experts from public health, environmental exposures, oceanography, community research, and socioeconomics attended the workshop. Their goals were to inform future research decisions related to public health impacts of oil spills, develop a portfolio of research important to scientific and lay communities, and facilitate interdisciplinary research that includes public health and oceanography.Guiding the discussion were three overarching perspectives (“one health,” “portfolio,” and “preparedness”) and two levels of focus (community and individual).
Five research themes guide all research funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, with the aim to sponsor research with the greatest possible impact. As a result of this meeting, the Research Board updated Theme 5 to include public health research goals: “Impact of oil spills on public health including behavioral, socioeconomic, environmental risk assessment, community capacity and other population health considerations and issues.” The intent of this revision is to increase proposal submissions that address important scientific gaps and community concerns.
Read more information about this meeting at the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) History page.
