Three Common Ground Health employees presented at the American Public Health Association’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo in Atlanta Nov. 12-15.

Senior Research Associate Sarah Farash, who has a doctorate in social work and social research, presented “Unexpected obstacles: Online public health surveillance survey research in the era of misinformation” about Common Ground’s experience with its My Health Story 2022 survey.

Program Assistant Anika Griffiths presented the poster “ ‘If we don’t…then who will?’: How black nurses shape community health through collective action in Rochester, NY.”

Jenn Beideman, director of Whole Child Health Advocacy, presented the poster “Gauging the impact of a health coalition’s advocacy agenda on racial equity.” In addition to Farash, Griffiths and Beideman, Director of Research Holly Sienkiewicz, who has a doctorate in public health education, and Healthy Communities Project Coordinator Mike Bulger attended the conference.

“It was standing-room only in Sarah’s session, and many people stopped by Anika and Jenn’s poster sessions to ask them about their research,” Sienkiewicz said. “It was great to see that so many people were interested and asking questions about our work.” The team also brought back insights from research and initiatives across the country.

Additionally, Common Ground Health Latino Health Coalition Chair Rudy Rivera was part of a team that created a poster called “Voices of la gente: Opioid recovery in a Latino community in Rochester, NY.” The team also included Ciara McGillivray and Nancy Perini Chin, MPH, PhD.