Last Day – 48th APACPH Conference in Teikyo University Tokyo

The last day of the 48th APACPH Conference in Teikyo University was again filled full with activities. There were three more symposiums and three oral sessions in the morning before the closing ceremony. The symposiums were on Developing communities resilient against disasters and public health response; Borderless Environmental Health: Air pollution in Asia; and Decent works: reaching the vulnerable population in the working place. The oral sessions were Maternal and Child Health/Women’s Health 2; Young researchers’ and students’ session 2; and Education for Public Health Professionals.

The closing ceremony was held at the main hall. Mr Yoshihito Okinaga the Honorable Organising Chair of the 48th APACPH Conference and the President of Teikyo University officiated the closing ceremony by delivering his opening remarks. It was followed with remarks and greetings from Dr Masamine Jimba the President-elect of APACPH and Professor of the University of Tokyo, who represented APACPH. After the speeches, Dr Jimba presented awards to the various awards to the winners. The first was for the Young Investigator’s Travel Awards (YITA) which was presented to:

1. Cheng-che Chen from National Taiwan University for his talk on Drunk driving accidents in Taiwan: the association with current problematic drinking, depression, and quality of life from a national survey;
2. Janice Ying-En Ho from The Chinese University of Hong Kong for her poster on Community Patterns of Economical, Health and Environmental Co-benefits in Hong Kong Population;
3. Hera Nurlita from University of Indonesia for her talk on Utilisation of formative research to understand adolescent school girls’ view point and preferences on fruit and vegetables; and
4. Weng Ting Tong from University of Malaya for her talk on What should be considered when implementing a patient decision support intervention? Policy makers’ and healthcare providers’ views.

The Young Investigator’s Award (YIA) was again presented to the winners by Dr Jimba. They were:

1. Anthonia Ginika Uzoigwe from University of Malaya for her paper on Factors Associated with Turnover Intention among Professional Women in Science and Technology: A Study of Work-Family Role Conflict;
2. Sreymom Oy from University of Indonesia for her paper on Food-based Recommendation Developed by Linear Programming Approach to Combat Anaemia among Adolescent Schoolgirls in Malang, Indonesia;
3. Siyan Yi from Touro University California for his paper on Impacts of the Sustainable Action against HIV and AIDS in Communities (SAHACOM) on sexual reproductive health of men who have sex with men in Cambodia;
4. Xiong-Fei Pan for his paper on Fetal macrosomia and obesity in children under three years in China: a cohort study; and
5. Biyaya Kumar Padhi from Asian Institute of Public Health for his paper on Environment Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) During Pregnancy and Risk of Preterm Birth.

The quality of the abstract received for the conference was of such a high quality and the differentiation scores between those who have won the YITA, YIA and the rest of the applicants was very small, the organiser, Teikyo University decided to present additional awards. The winners for the special awards were:

1. Seemoon Choi from Seoul National University for the paper on Effect of Foreign-Born Status on Preterm Birth in Korea 2010-2012;
2. Chin-Lun Tsai from China Medical University for the paper on Developments and applications of a Taiwan diet exposure evaluation model in the demonstration of organophosphate pesticides residues in food matrices;
3. Sho Nishiguchi from Yokohama City University for the paper on Effectiveness of end-of-life care bonus in Japanese nursing homes: an 11-year retrospective longitudinal study;
4. Shogo Shishikura from Teikyo University for the paper on Cost-effectiveness of new generation antidiabetic agents to prevent aggravation in patients with diabetic nephropathy;
5. Mayumi Ohtsu from Jichi Medical University for the paper on The developmental effect of children’s dietary intake of lead and arsenic in Japan and Pakistan – PbAs study;
6. Md Mizanur Rahman from The University of Tokyo for the paper on Progress towards universal health coverage over two decades: a comparative analysis in five South Asia countries;
7. Dhammika Deepani Siriwardhana from University of Kelaniya for the paper on Prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty in low and middle income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis;
8. Emiko Ando from The University of Tokyo for the paper on Association of dog ownership with cognitive decline among community-dwelling older residents in Japan: longitudinal analysis;
9. Rajendra Karkee from BP Koirala Institute of Health Science for the paper on Birth spacing and use of contraceptive by multiparous women in eastern Nepal;
10. Thang Van Vo from Hue University for the paper on Prevalence and Association Factors of Erectile Dysfunction among Married Men in Vietnam;
11. Shu Zhang from Tohoku University for the paper on Combined healthy lifestyle habits and incident disability in an elderly population: The Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study;
12. Siti Fatihah Murtaza from University Putra Malaysia for the paper on Association between psychosocial care, anaemia and parasite infection with cognitive performance among aboriginal children in Malaysia;
13. Chun-Ming Liao from China Medical University for the paper on Effects of Multidisciplinary Care on Utilisation of Emergency Care for Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Large Retrospective and Cohort Study;
14. Kumiko Tsuji Kanatani from Kyouto University for the paper on Ambient desert dust worsens allergic symptoms in pregnant women: A natural experiment in Japan;
15. Zhaixing Gao from Wuhan University for the paper on Association between air pollution and hospital admission for ischaemic heart disease in Wuhan, China;
16. Xiong-Fei Pan from Sichuan University for the paper on Prevalence of low birthweight and macrosomia, and their correlates in four rapidly urbanised areas of Chengdu, China in 2008-2014;
17. You Hwi Song from Teikyo University for the paper on Association between job promotion and mental illness: A cross-sectional study within a Japanese manufacturing company cohort; and
18. Airi Amemiya from Teiko University for the paper on Adverse childhood experiences and functional limitation among Japanese older people results from the JAGES 2013 Project.

The next awards was for the 48th APACPH Young Poster Awards, which was awarded to:

1. Hamas Abdul Aziz
2. Airi Amemiya from Teikyo University for paper on Adverse Childhood Experiences and Functional Limitations Among Japanese Older People: Results From the JAGES 2013 Project;
3. Sho Nishiguchi from Southeast Asia University for paper on Effectiveness of end-of-life care bonus in Japanese nursing homes: an 11-year retrospective longitudinal study;
4. Mayumi Ohtsu from Jichi Medical University for paper on The developmental effects by children’s dietary intake of lead andarsenic in Japan and Pakistan -PbAs study;
5. Shogo Shishikura from Teikyo University for paper on Cost-effectiveness of new generation antidiabetic agents to prevent aggravation in patients with diabetic nephropathy; and
6. You Hwi Song from Teikyo University for paper on Association between job promotion and mental illness: A case-control study within a Japanese manufacturing company cohort.

The final awards was for the 48th APACPH Poster Awards, which was awarded to:

1. Mark Conrad Rivero Ravanzo from I am Making A Difference for paper on Community Volunteerism: Shaping A Model for Public Health Delivery in Schools;
2. Akalanka P. Hettihewa from University of Colombo for the paper on Prevalence of radiologically confirmed Knee Osteoarthritis among an adult population in a suburban setting in Sri Lanka;
3. Guat Hiong Tee from the Ministry of Health Malaysia for the paper on Trends of current tobacco smoking among Malaysian adults from 1996 to 2015: A cause to worry?;
4. Kesorn Thaewnongiew from the Office of Disease Prevention and Control Region 7, Khon Kaen for the paper on Incidence and Re-infection rates of Opisthorchis viverrini in upper Northeastern, Thailand;
5. Wicensius Sianipar from University of Indonesia for the paper on The Analysis of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of High Risk Pulmonary TB Community in order to Improve TB Case Detection Rate in Matraman District;
6. Htet Aung Kyaw from Mahidol University for the paper on Risky sexual behaviors among HIV/AIDS vulnerable Myanmar male young migrant workers in Samut Sakhon, Thailand;
7. Yu Kutoba
8. Ratri Ciptaningtya from UIN Syarif Hidayatullah for the paper on Understanding Iron-rich Food Consumption among Adolescent Girls in Indonesia and What Can We Do about It?;
9. Nur Afiaty Mursalim from Alauddin Islamic State University for the paper on Effectiveness Leaf Beluntas Extract (Pluchea indica L) as Biolarvacide Against Aedes aegypti Larvae Instar III; and
10. Buddhika Thilanga Bandara Wijerathne from Rajarata University of Sri Lanka for the paper on Past history of snakebite among Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown origin among patients in Sri Lanka: a case control study.

Dr Kazue Yamaoka the Chair of the local organising committee of the 48th APACPH Conference shared the success of the conference; there were four Pre-conference Workshop, one group discussion, four Plenary, 11 Symposium, one Special Lecture,  20 Oral and 25 Poster session. There were 16 Plenary papers, 52 Symposium papers, 93 Free-papers and 449 poster presentation, with more than 1000 participants from all over.

The Tokyo APACPH Declaration “Create a Healthy Future with Competent Public Health Professionals” was presented to the audience by Dr Eiji Yano the organising chair of the 48th APACPH Conference. And the final closing remarks was also delivered by Dr Yano.

The organiser of the 49th APACPH Conference in Seoul Korea, Yongsei University invited all to join them in Seoul. The theme for the conference is “SDGs, New Approach for Public Health”, which will be held from August 17-20, 2017.