Goldie Keynote at PVRI Congress

Sue J. Goldie, CHDS Faculty Director and the Roger Irving Lee Professor of Public Health, kicked off the global health track at the 16^th Annual Congress of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (PVRI) with a keynote address titled “Conceptualising Pulmonary Hypertension through a Global Health Lens.” This year’s congress revolved around the theme “The Next 50 Years of Pulmonary Hypertension – A Global View.” The theme honored the 50-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s first symposium on pulmonary hypertension.

Goldie’s keynote began with the question: “What do we mean by public health, international health, and global health?” The goal of the keynote was educational rather than technical: to expose population-level thinking and analysis needed to solve global health problems. Goldie presented a conceptual framework for thinking about global health challenges that considers the health problem, the context, and the ways we can respond, both from within and outside the health sector. The types of metrics needed in global health priority setting and monitoring were also introduced.

Sketch used by Goldie to walk through the conceptual meaning of Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY)

Goldie’s keynote used sketches to illustrate the main points discussed. “I elected to not use classic slides,” Goldie shares, “but to sketch the ideas as if we were talking around a table and simply sketching on a napkin.” Using visuals alongside learning content not only helps to engage the participants, but it also boosts retention. By providing a simple and memorable overview of global health, the program aimed to equip participants with the tools needed to think about pulmonary hypertension at the population and global levels for the rest of the congress.

The global health track included three sessions, each with multiple talks and a panel discussion. The first session focused on “Pulmonary Hypertension as a Global Health Issue,” with Goldie’s keynote address and other presentations on the challenges of existing classification systems, what is known and not known about the epidemiology of pulmonary hypertension, and information about specific data sources. The session “The Many Faces of Pulmonary Hypertension” showcased a diverse set of speakers representing regional variation in disease burden and influential social determinants. The final session, “Tackling Pulmonary Hypertension in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs),” began with a keynote from Harvard Chan School’s Rifat Atun, who’s presentation focused on how to think about value-driven health systems, service delivery platforms, and implementation with a global lens.

Beyond her contributions to teaching and learning, Goldie is renowned for her scholarship in decision science and commitment to policy translation. In addition to CHDS, Goldie also serves as Faculty Director of the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University.

About the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (PVRI)

The PVRI is a charity and research organization based in the United Kingdom. The organization is focused on pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular disease, which refer to high blood pressure in the lungs and the progressive blockage of lung blood vessels. PVRI holds a yearly congress for experts, researchers, industry and charity partners, drug regulators, and patients to learn about the latest research and efforts on pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular disease.

Learn more: Watch the video of Goldie’s keynote presentation