School Notes: School of Public Health
July/August 2012

The art of public health

Translating abstract health concepts into provocative messages that will resonate with the general public is challenging. At Yale, students from the School of Public Health turned to colleagues at the School of Art to address that challenge, and together they developed visually powerful posters to educate and motivate broad swathes of society about some of today’s pressing health issues. The posters created through this unique collaborative effort were on display at Yale in April in an exhibition titled The Art of Public Health, which is on view in July at the Connecticut state capitol in Hartford.

Some tumors linked to dental X-rays

People who received frequent dental X-rays in the past have an increased risk of developing a meningioma, the most common and potentially debilitating type of noncancerous brain tumor, a recent study led by the Yale School of Public Health found. The study found that individuals receiving bitewing exams (which use X-ray film held in place by a tab between the teeth) on a yearly or more frequent basis were approximately 50 percent more likely to develop a meningioma than their peers in the control group. The researchers also found a link between meningioma risk and the panoramic dental exam (which uses an X-ray outside of the mouth to develop a single image of all of the teeth). For a Yale Alumni Magazine article on the study, see “Dental X-Rays and Your Health.”)

Researchers will train in urban health

A $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health will allow the Yale School of Public Health and three partnering universities to establish a Global Health Training Program to address issues surrounding urbanization and social inequality. The grant creates a consortium between global health researchers at Yale and their colleagues from Florida International University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley. This is one of five consortias that will receive $4 million each over five years, for a total of $20 million, to train global health researchers.