This brief describes the workshops offered at the 4th Public Health Association of South Africa conference, to be held at the Holiday Inn, Strand Street in Cape Town from the 2nd-4th June. Registration details are available at http://phasa2008.mrc.ac.za Workshop 1 Your life or your liberty. When is it legitimate to limit human rights for the public good? Prof. Leslie London, School of Public Health and Family Medicine Many public health policies are premised on an assumption that the health of individuals and communities is a public good that may justify a limitation of human rights. However, the history of public health has illustrated that such assumptions have sometimes led to adoption of policies that may significantly impair the quality of life of those adversely affected, as well subordinating individuals* rights to a perceived public good. This balancing of individual rights and public interests remains a contested area. This workshop will explore the basis for justifying the limitation of human rights for public health. It will address what are human rights and what is implied by a human rights approach to health, including an elaboration of national and international obligations on states to take action to realise and protect the right to health, and the responsibilities of health care providers. Secondly, it will outline the framework provided by international human rights law to decide whether a policy that limits rights in the interests of the public good may be justified. Lastly, the workshop will explore the application of this framework to different examples of trade-offs of rights in the public health context: the enforced hospitalisation of XDR patients, fluoridation of drinking water, restrictions on private health care. The workshop aims to illustrate a generic approach to critiquing health policies such that they are able to maximise the synergy between health objectives and human rights approaches, and provide public health practitioners, researchers and policy makers with tools to evaluate the human rights impact of public health and related policies affecting vulnerable groups. Workshop 2 Significant differences or significant others? Reconciling qualitative and quantitative research traditions in Public Health Dr. Christopher Colvin, School of Public Heath and Family Medicine, UCT In public health, as in many disciplines, there is often a tension between qualitative and quantitative research traditions. Qualitative researchers occasionally complain, with some justification, that quantitative research gets all the glory-and money-for reducing a rich and complex world down to a mere set of numbers. Meanwhile, quantitative researchers wonder amusedly, again with some justification, just how one calculates the sample size for a set of in-depth interviews. This tension and misunderstanding are surprising given the applied and highly multi-disciplinary character of most public health practice. This workshop aims to highlight both (a) the distinct contributions each tradition makes to public health research as well as (b) the ways in which each tradition actually needs the other to do its work well. This workshop will engage public health researchers and practitioners from both research traditions in a discussion and series of short case study exercises around the relationships-real and ideal-between qualitative and quantitative methods. Workshop 3 Lies, damn lies and statistics? Epidemiology for journalists Prof. Rodney Ehrlich, School of Public Heath and Family Medicine, UCT. Not a day goes past without a new finding from an epidemiologic study being reported. Mercury in vaccines and autism, chemicals in baby products and asthma, cell phones and brain cancer? Plausible? True? Rubbish? How does one decide? This workshop is designed for editors, science and medicine journalists, journalism students and any other interested media people. The focus will be on the questions that one should ask in trying to interpret and report on epidemiologic studies for the public. Some basic statistical ideas and criteria for cause and effect will be introduced through the use of case studies. Workshop 4 If you don't like the news go out and make some of your own Media advocacy and public health. Dr. Sue Goldstein, Executive Director, Soul City. Institute for Health and Development Communication Learn how to use the media for social change. This workshop will give you tools to help you get your issues onto the public agenda. This workshop will build on the years of media advocacy experience that Soul City has been involved in to mobilise support for social change. Media advocacy does not need to cost much, nor is it something only media specialists can do. It is a valuable skill that all public health practitioners should have. Workshop 5 HIV, sexual and reproductive health: understanding and claiming rights Dr. Marion Stevens This workshop will draw on materials developed by IPAS and will be an exploration of how to review HIV/AIDS services through a sexual and reproductive health rights lens. IPAS is an international organization that works around the world to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries The workshop objectives are for participants to: 1. Gain an understanding of what sexual and reproductive rights include; 2. Become aware of international human rights instruments; 3. Gain an understanding of mechanisms that can be used to claim rights; 4.Practice applying human rights principles to case studies of rights violations Workshop 6 Getting the evidence right: Practicing evidence-based Public Health Dr. Taryn Young, Dr. Nandi Siegfried, South African Cochrane Centre Evidence about the effectiveness of healthcare interventions is necessary for informed healthcare decision-making. This is especially important for policy-makers and clinicians working in public health. Unfortunately, decision-makers do not always have the time or the expertise to find, appraise and synthesize relevant research and therefore rely on literature reviews conducted by experts for guidance. Several traditional reviews have however been shown to reach dangerously misleading conclusions as a result of biases in the process used for synthesizing the literature. To address this, the practice of Evidence-based Health Care (EBHC) involves the systematic collection, appraisal and application of relevant, reliable and valid evidence. The South African Cochrane Centre (SACC) aims to promote evidence-based healthcare and policy-making in the African region, and will be convening a workshop to provide participants with a working knowledge and understanding of evidence-based health care, and its particular application to public health. At the end of the workshop, participants will have: *Knowledge and understanding of the principles of EBHC and its application to public health in the African region; *Knowledge of resources for practicing EBHC; *Knowledge and understanding of The Cochrane Collaboration, the SACC, the Cochrane Public Health Review Group and The Cochrane Library; *An understanding of the process of conducting a Cochrane Review and the differences between traditional narrative reviews and systematic reviews; The target audience is health professionals, policy-makers and researchers active in decision-making in the public health arena. The workshop will be limited to 20 participants and will be delivered in an interactive style using small group problem-solving and creative teaching tools, including playing the Evidence-based Reproductive Healthcare Boardgame to test acquired knowledge and understanding. Workshop 7 Task-shifting: second-rate care or opportunity for health systems? Prof. Uta Lehmann, Ms Princess Matwa, Prof. David Sanders, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape Ever increasing care needs, particularly as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and growing shortages of professional health workers have led the WHO to suggest the systematic delegation of tasks to less specialised cadres as one solution to the human resource crisis in the health sector. In January 2008 WHO published recommendations and guidelines on task-shifting, which are now being discussed and assessed by ministries, professional organisations and the media. In this workshop participants will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the rationale and modalities of, as well as experiences with task-shifting in other countries. The workshop will particularly explore the roles of nurses and community health workers in a task-shifting paradigm. We will debate the question whether task-shifting offers second-rate care to poor and under-served communities or whether it offers valid health service solutions for our country. The workshop is aimed at anybody affected by or interested in the task-shifting debate and practices.