Cross-Cultural & International SIG
Mission: The purpose of the Cross Cultural and International Special Interest Group (CCISIG) is to provide a means by which Section and Association members having a common interest in cross-cultural and international health related issues may meet, advance, and promote these interests.
CCISIG Elections


Please note that you must be a current HPA member in order to participate in the election. You will be prompted for your APTA membership ID number.

CCISIG Elections in Progress

Elections for a CCISIG Program Chair and Nominating Committee members (candidates to begin service February, 2009) are in progress. The deadline for casting your ballot is midnight August 31, 2008. If voting online, you must vote by that date. If submitting a ballot by mail, your ballot must be postmarked no later than August 31, 2008.

About the Candidates - click here to learn a little about each of the candidates for office.
Vote Online - click here to be redirected to the electronic ballot on Survey Monkey. Electronic voting takes two minutes or less.
Download the Paper Ballot - click here to download a paper ballot and instructions for voting by mail

Can't download the ballot? We're happy to provide you with a ballot by email, fax, or snail mail. Just contact the HPA office to request one. 877-636-4408 or by email

IMPORTANT: Whether you are voting online or by paper ballot, you must provide your APTA membership ID number to verify your membership status. Please be sure to have this information ready when you vote.

CCISIG Functions:

  1. Provide programming and opportunities for the exchange of information related to: 1) considerations concerning culture and diversity 2) international and global physical therapy 3) service-learning 4) health disparities 5) other related membership interests.
  2. Serve as a direct resource to the HPA Section on health policy and administrative matters related to cultural and diversity considerations including health disparities.
  3. Network within membership of the SIG, HPA Section, and APTA to develop and publish resources as well as provide forums for communication and discussion of cultural, global, and health disparity physical therapy concerns.
  4. Serve as a liaison to outside organizations sharing similar interests and seek to establish networks and collaborative programs to promote culturally competent physical therapy practices, and promote improving health policy toward and administration of physical therapy within the United States and the world.
  5. Collaborate with physical therapists from other countries to advance physical therapy education, exchanges, and programs.
  6. Encourage physical therapy research and publication in the areas of culture and diversity considerations, international and global physical therapy practice, service-learning, health disparities and other related membership interests.
  7. Provide such services as will further its Purpose.
CCISIG Executive Committee Members

 
Cross Cultural & International SIG Co-Chair

Jill Black Lattanzi, PT, EdDJill Black Lattanzi, PT, EdD
Wilmington, DE
Practice Area: outpatient orthopedics and oncology; Assistant professor at Widener University

 
  • Vice Chair
    • Celia Pechak, PT, MPH, PhD
    Secretary
    • Sue Klappa, PT, MA
  • Nominating Committee
    • Pam Reynolds, PT, EdD
    • Kristin Lefebvre, PT, PhD, CCS
  • Programming Chair
    • Nancy Sharby, PT, MS
CCISIG Service Committees CCISIG Networking Committees

Publicity Committee
Sandy Do, MSPT, DPT

Listserve Moderator
Jeff Hartman, DPT, MPH

Bylaws Committee
Marilyn Gerhard

Cultural Competency Nationally: Considerations for Academia and Clinical Practice
Jill Black Lattanzi, PT, EdD Ronnie Leavitt, PT, PhD

Nancy Sharby, PT, MS

Physical Therapy Internationally
Celia Pechak, PT, MPH

Service-Learning
Pam Reynolds, PT, EdD
Sue Klappa, PT, MA 


Health Disparities
Kristin Lefebvre, PT, PhD, CCS

Disability Studies
Nancy Sharby, PT, MS Jill Black Lattanzi, PT, EdD
CCISIG Member Resources  

        To join the Cross Cultural & International Special Interest Group (CCISIG), you must be a current member of the Section on Health Policy & Administration (HPA). If you are a current HPA member, e-mail your request to join the CCISIG to the Section office. Please include your APTA membership ID number.

  • The CCISIG “Resource Guide for International Service in Physical Therapy Education Programs” is available to members. This resource guide was completed September 2006 and lists physical therapy education programs currently offering service learning experiences internationally. To add your PT program’s international learning experience to the directory, please contact Celia Pechak @ pechak@tyler.net. Members may download a copy here.Members Download Here

  • The CCISIG “Resource Directory for International Opportunities” is available to members. This resource directory is currently being updated and a features a list and descriptions of organizations and agencies that offer international or cross-cultural experiences to PTs and PTAs. To add your organization to the directory for international PT service opportunities, please contact Ronnie Leavitt @ Ronnie.leavitt@uconn.edu. Members may download a copy here.

  • Business Meeting Minutes
  • CCSIG Bylaws
  • Principles of Islam: Applications to Health Care and Physical Therapy

    This excellent hand-out was created by Aliya Navid Chaudry, PT, MBA, JD for CCISIG programming at CSM 2006, and includes practical suggestions for working respectfully with patients whose religion is Islam. Thank you to Aliya for sharing this resource with the CCISIG. Members can download a copy here

  • The CCISIG Reading & Reference Resource List
    • Coming soon for members!

    •  

  • The CCISIG Listserve

    The CCISIG started its own listserv in July of 2005. Information on the listserv can be found at the following website: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ccisig/

    This electronic forum focuses on cross-cultural and international issues of interest to physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and physical therapy students.

    Join the Listserv

    You must be an HPA member in order to join this listserv. To subscribe, send a request to ccisig-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, making sure to include your name, APTA membership ID, and the e-mail address you would like to subscribe.

    Listserv Rules

    Welcome to APTA’s Cross Cultural and International Special Interest Group (CCISIG) Listserv! We are pleased to have you join our new electronic forum for information exchange. We have initiated this Listserv in response to an increasing demand from APTA membership for an efficient means of networking amongst the growing number of individuals interested in cross cultural and/or international issues.

    This Listserv is intended to include clinicians, academics, and students. We expect a wide range of topics to be discussed - from discussion of cross cultural competency to international volunteer opportunities to possible international sites for students to how to get licensed in a foreign country.

    We encourage announcements of available volunteer and/or paid work opportunities in international settings. We will not permit announcements related to jobs in the USA , unless those jobs are directly and primarily related to cross cultural and/or international work.

    We also encourage all announcements for presentations, conferences, resources, and continuing education that are directly and primarily related to cross cultural and/or international issues. This would apply to events within and outside the USA . Because our members are interested in topics that extend beyond our country’s borders, we wish to avoid setting limits that would exclude important information sharing. However, we reserve the right to limit the parameters of future postings if we experience an onslaught of postings that are only tangentially related to our group’s interests.

    To reduce any chance of an electronic virus transmission, we do not permit email attachments. If you have something important to share, please consider including a link to where it can be found. If a link is not available, please contact the CCISIG, and we can review the content to consider if we might wish to consider uploading it to our website.

    We request that you spread the word about our new Listserv to all PTs and PTAs that are interested in cross cultural and/or international issues. We want this Listserv to be a dynamic vehicle for information sharing, and depend on our members to meet its full potential.

    You can choose to receive emails individually or bunched to your email account, and read/respond via your email account. Instructions on managing your listserv subscription can be found on the Health Policy & Administration website, www.aptahpa.org. Select “Members Only”, login, and select “Listserv” from the list. Additional information about the CCISIG is also available on the same website by clicking on the “SIGs” button.

    Thank you for joining our group!
    Celia Pechak, PT, MPH
    Moderator, CCISIG Listserv

SIG History

Ronnie Leavitt and Karen Schumacher co-founded the Cross-cultural and International Physical Therapy Interest Group in 1986. In February 1996, we became the Cross Cultural International Special Interest Group within the Health, Policy & Administration Section. We would love to have you join our SIG where members have numerous resources and networking opportunities in areas related to culture and physical therapy.