Michele Polacsek and Karen O’Rourke present at annual Maine Public Health Association

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor of public health, and Karen O’Rourke, M.P.H., assistant professor of public health, both of the School of Community and Population Health, presented their work as part of a panel discussion titled “Why We Need a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Revolution: The Maine Response.”  The presentation addressed the work they have  done through the Maine Prevention Research Center to conduct a Health Impact Assessment on a Sugar Sweetened Beverage excise tax for the state of Maine. Polacsek is leading the assessment with help from O'Rourke.

The process has involved convening several stakeholder groups, conducting stakeholder interviews, and assessing the existing literature, as well as conducting analyses to help understand the potential health effects and other impacts of such a tax on Maine populations. The purpose of performing this Health Impact Assessment is to improve the quality of public policy decision-making with regards to a potential Sugar Sweetened Beverage excise tax.

A Health Impact Assessment is a collection of procedures and tools through which policies can be evaluated based on their potential effects on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population.

Read more about the Health Impact Assessment.
 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.