Lafayette Journal & Courier

Purdue faculty, students to visit China

October 10, 2006

THE NEWS

Representatives from Purdue University's communication faculty and student body will be traveling to China later this week to take part in the first China Public Health Communication Conference.

WHERE AND WHEN

Held at Tsinghua (pronounced Ching-zu) University in Beijing, the conference takes place Friday through Sunday.

AGENDA

The conference will focus on research in China into health issues and also will honor journalists who cover the area within the country.

In addition to the conference, the Purdue participants will tour health care facilities and meet with health care leaders and officials, as well as representatives from the Chinese offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

IMPACT

Howard Sypher, professor and head of the department of communication at Purdue, said the trip will give communication students a chance to learn about how journalists in other countries disseminate vital health information to the public.

"This is an incredible opportunity to see the inside of a different health system that handles things in a much different way and, until recently ... was not very consumer-oriented," Sypher said.

THE PLAYERS

Twelve faculty members and 13 graduate students will attend.

In addition to members of the communication department, a professor of health sciences and the director of Purdue's Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, will go on the trip.