WKU Public Health hosting presentation on April 17

Health policy leaders Marshall Kreuter and Martha Katz will present Those who know stuff do better than those who don’t! on April 17 at WKU.

Martha Katz and Marshall Kreuter will make a presentation at WKU’s Augenstein Alumni Center on April 17.

The presentation, hosted by WKU’s Department of Public Health, will begin at 2 p.m. at the Augenstein Alumni Center’s Robertson-Feix Grand Ballroom.

Using research evidence and their own experience, Kreuter and Katz will focus on four points:

• Public perception of “what causes health” shapes public health action.
• Listening, communicating and engaging others (especially locally) are critical.
• Our commitment to “accountability” must be elevated.
• Policy is a powerful public health tool.

They also will discuss some public health issues in Kentucky, including smoke free ordinances, school health policy plans and accredited health departments.

Throughout his career, Kreuter has been committed to strengthening the engagement of communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health programs. As a professor at Georgia State University, he was the principal investigator on two community-based participatory research projects focused on health disparities in inner-city Atlanta.

As a national health policy leader, Katz provides consultation to national and state health philanthropies and serves as a trustee of the Georgia Health Foundation. She chairs the Board of Directors of the Georgia Health Foundation and the National Advisory Committee for Leadership for Healthy Communities. She is an adjunct faculty member at Georgia State University.

Both Kreuter and Katz have served in leadership positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kreuter was a distinguished scientist and held several key roles for two decades. Katz was deputy director (Policy and Legislation). They live in Atlanta and Bigfork, Mont.

Contact: Dr. Cecilia Watkins, (270) 745-4796.