“Voices” Series Hosts Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Presentation! Dr. Applyrs, MPH, hosts “Voices” Annual MLK Presentation “Voices” Lecture Explores Disparities in Public Health

By Abigail Woosley, Editor-in-Chief

On Wednesday, February 3, HVCC’s Marvin Library began their five-part “Voices” series with a guest speaker hosting their annual Martin Luther King Jr. presentation. Anne Rappaport, the library’s outreach specialist and the coordinator for the Voices lecture series, began the presentation recognizing the Native American roots of the Hudson Valley area, before introducing speaker Dorcey L. Applyrs, DrPH, MPH.

Dr. Applyrs hosted her lecture on “the Politics of Public Health.” Applyrs described her journey as a professional in the medical field, what she learned as a public health professional, and outlined some of the racial disparities minority communities face.

Dr. Applyrs started the presentation with some background on her personal history. 

Applyrs grew up in Washington DC in the 80s, she saw firsthand the implications of drug abuse and violence in her community. “I learned early on the connection between one’s environment and their health… I knew individuals who died of HIV and contracted the virus from sharing needles. This is one of the seeds that was planted early on for me to get into the field of public health because I wanted to help my community and I wanted to help other communities that were struggling with the implications of HIV,” Applyrs said. 

Dr. Applyrs then started work to be in public health. Applyrs completed her undergraduate at Delaware State University whilst engaging in the Minority Access to Research Careers Program offered there. She later completed her Master’s and Doctorate in public health at the UAlbany’s School of Public Health before entering the field professionally.

After introducing herself and explaining her career journey, Applyrs moved on to define public health as “the fulfillment of society’s interest and obligation in assuring the conditions in which people can be healthy.” This definition also consisted of “organized community efforts aimed at the prevention of disease and the promotion of health.” Applyrs also compared her personal definition to those provided by the CDC, APHA and WHO, pointing out flaws in their definitions.

Dr. Applyrs then presented a table listing the differences between public health and Medicine.  The overall theme was that medicine focused on the individual, diagnosis and treatment. However, public health focuses on the population and prevention. Applyrs then introduced the “3 P’s” of public health; preventing disease, promoting health and protecting communities.

Referencing her adolescence, she alluded once again to the HIV/AIDS epidemic Washington DC experienced in the 80s. “In order to address a problem, you have to understand what caused it in the first place, and then develop and test community-level intervention to prevent or control the problem,” Dr. Applrys said. Applyrs used HIV example, demonstrating that taking preventative medication before having sex or using protective barriers such as condoms, limits a community’s exposure to HIV.

Applyrs used the information she had previously demonstrated and then applied these to current events. She demonstrated the importance of public health during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She showed a series of images, including a maskless post-COVID Trump rally, maskless safety officials and George W. Bush standing on Ground Zero after 9/11.

A recording of this live stream can be accessed on the HVCC Streaming Livestream Website and is free and open to the public.