“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Selected Events in July 2020

All facilities of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are closed.  All gatherings have been converted to virtual meetings.  Click on each event title below to access meeting details, an agenda, and registration information, or contact the Office of News and Public Information (e-mail news@nas.edu). Reporters should register for all meetings.  More events can be found at https://www.nationalacademies.org/events.

The U.S. Chemical Supply Chain: Vulnerabilities Highlighted by COVID-19

July 2

With an increased demand for chemical products such as isopropyl alcohol for the production of hand sanitizer, COVID-19 has exposed some of the vulnerabilities of the U.S. chemical supply chain. This webinar will explore those vulnerabilities, including inelasticity and the risks posed by the overseas manufacturing of specialty and pharmaceutical chemicals.

Engaging Patients, Families, and Caregivers in Care Settings During COVID-19

July 7

The Culture and Inclusiveness Action Collaborative of the National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Consortium will host this webinar to explore opportunities to engage patients, families, and caregivers in care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Discussions will also focus on innovative system- and policy-level strategies to advance health equity, as well as existing gaps on engagement and equity that are critical to address.

Optimizing Veterans’ Access to Health Care Services: Developing Patient-Centered Methods

July 9 and 10

This workshop will examine strategies to ensure timely access to care for veterans, including the expansion of telehealth and telemedicine, and integration of medical care and social services. Presentations will focus on women veterans and veterans with complex medical conditions. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans’ health organizations, and academia will also consider ways to measure access to care beyond wait times.

Digital Health and Oncology: Opportunities and Challenges for Use

July 13 and 14

Digital health tools are transforming oncology care by improving the precision of cancer treatment methods, increasing access to care, and creating more comprehensive medical records. However, there are many unexplored ethical, security, governance, and payment considerations that come with digital health technology. This workshop will include sessions on novel apps for patients; opportunities to improve data availability for patients and providers; and future regulatory priorities.

Tracking Environmental Changes Due to COVID-19 Through Remote Sensing

July 14

This webinar will feature presentations from scientists who are documenting global changes to the environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including noise reduction, urban pollution, and infrastructure use.

Accelerating Automated Vehicle Acceptance

July 14

To accelerate automated vehicle (AV) technology deployment, practitioners must set, measure, and monitor key AV safety and performance goals. This webinar will explore how to set and measure these goals to ensure public safety. Presenters will share current practices, the progress already made with setting goals for AV technologies, and identify obstacles that still remain to be solved.

Using Biomarkers to Establish the Presence and Severity of Disability

July 21

This workshop will explore the range of impairments for which health care professionals currently use diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers; and their potential for future use for conditions including fibromyalgia, arthritis, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, and chronic pain.

Managing, Reducing, and Preventing Fear of Violence

July 21-23

This workshop will explore the biological impacts of fear and trauma, how fear of violence is influenced by culture and the media, fear of violence at the individual level, and intervention and prevention strategies that can attenuate fear of violence.

Building a More Sustainable, Resilient, Equitable, and Nourishing Food System

July 22 and 23

This workshop will examine how to achieve a food system in 2050 that is environmentally and economically sustainable. Discussions will focus on the food system’s ability to prepare for, withstand, and recover from disruptions and global emergencies; and consumption and production strategies to transform the food system.

Review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Substance Control Act Systematic Review Guidance Document

July 23

A National Academies study committee will hear from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about their data evaluation process and how scoring is applied.

Human Trafficking and Mobility of Indigenous Women

July 29

Thousands of Native American women and girls disappear or are killed each year, many vanishing from tribal lands, rural communities, and cities with no official accounting. This webinar will explore the unique mobility patterns of Native Americans as they travel from rural tribal territories to urban centers. Presenters will discuss current federal Indian laws and tribal guidelines that may affect human trafficking, identify the social determinants and risk factors of murdered and missing indigenous women, and describe the critical issues of human sex trafficking with regards to tribal jurisdiction.

Caring for People with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in Primary Care Settings

July 29

This second webinar in a series will highlight the essential components of care for depression, alcohol use disorders, and opioid use disorders in primary care settings. Speakers will examine issues related to prevention, screening, and case identification for these three conditions. They will also share lessons learned from integration (or collaboration) of behavioral health care with primary care settings, and discuss how lower-resourced practices can realistically achieve integration.

Reports Scheduled for Release in July

Release dates for the following consensus reports and proceedings from the Academies depend on successful completion of the review process and publishing schedules. Reporters who would like to be notified when a report is due for release should contact the Office of News and Public Information (e-mail news@nas.edu) and ask to be placed on the contact list.

Evidence-Based Practices for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response: Assessment of and Recommendations for the Field

State, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) public health agencies routinely make difficult decisions about how to respond effectively to various public health threats — from hurricanes to the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, there has been no national-level, comprehensive review and grading of evidence for common public health emergency preparedness and response practices (PHEPR) — including quarantine and self-isolation, activation of emergency response centers, and information sharing. This report will grade the evidence behind these PHEPR practices and identify future research needed to address critical gaps for policymakers and public health responders.

Feeding Infants and Children from Birth to 24 Months

This report will summarize the current landscape of feeding recommendations for infants and young children to reveal the level of consistency of existing guidance and examine the types of evidence that underpins it. It will also offer strategies for harmonizing feeding guidelines, and communicating and disseminating guidelines to ensure they reach the right audiences.

Guidance for K-12 Education on Responding to COVID-19

This report will provide guidance that states and school districts can use when planning whether and how to safely reopen schools in the 2020-2021 school year, including practices that should be implemented after reopening in order to maintain and monitor the health of staff and students.

Necessity, Use, and Care of Laboratory Dogs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Reviews the care and use of dogs in research funded by or conducted at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and evaluates whether dogs are, or will continue to be, necessary for any type of research directly related to the mission of the VA.

ALSO OF INTEREST

Resources on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Explore the National Academies’ latest news and resources related to COVID-19, as well as consensus studies and workshop proceedings on the subject of pandemic infectious disease. 

Resources on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Across the nation, Americans are calling for an end to police brutality and long-standing racial injustice in the midst of a global pandemic that is disproportionately hitting minorities and other vulnerable communities the hardest. Research in social science, medicine, and other fields can shed light on the factors that drive systemic inequities — not only in society at large but also within the sciences, engineering, and medicine. A range of work at the National Academies explores this research.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS

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