The American Public Health Association (APHA) was founded in 1872 at a time when scientific advances were helping to reveal the causes of communicable diseases. These discoveries laid the foundation for the public health profession and for the infrastructure to support its work. From its inception, the APHA was dedicated to improving the health of all residents of the United States. The APHA’s founders recognized that two of the association’s most important functions were advocacy for adoption by the government of the most current scientific advances relevant to public health, and public education on how to improve community health. Along with these efforts, the APHA has also campaigned for the development of well-organized health departments at both the federal and the local level.
In the years since its founding, the APHA has continued to search for and support those policies and practices that are most likely to improve the health of the public. The APHA has played a prominent advocacy role on many issues, including assuring the availability of clean air and water, creating a safe and nutritious food supply, guiding people to adopt healthy lifestyles, monitoring the environment for adverse effects on human health, guaranteeing comprehensive and appropriate maternal and child health services, expediting the full immunization of the population against vaccine-preventable diseases, and facilitating the development of safe work environments.
APHA continues its dedication to the resolution of public health issues and concerns as they arise. The association's headquarters, located in Washington, DC, provides ready access to the country's major policymakers for APHA's advocacy and public policy efforts. APHA's 53 state affiliates, including two for Northern and Southern California, New York City and the rest of the state and Washington, D.C., serve to connect it with public health issues at the local level. Included in the APHA membership are all of the fifty currently recognized disciplines that contribute to public health practice. The large majority of APHA members pursue their special interests through one or more of the association's 24 Sections and eight Special Primary Interest Groups.
In 1966, at its 94th Annual meeting in San Francisco, APHA sponsored an initial meeting of delegates from 13 different foreign counterpart associations to discuss and plan for a new international entity. The Executive Board Meeting of February 1967 approved the next step in the process and the the Federation's first meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland in May 1967. In May 1967, during the occasion of the World Health assembly, a group of delegates representing 32 national public health associations convened and established the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) with 16 core member associations. The efforts of Hugh K Leavell, a former APHA President and professor at Harvard University School of Public Health and Ernest Stebbins, Emeritus Dean, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health were instrumental in this formal establishment of the WFPHA. APHA is an active member of, and serves as the executive secretariat for, the WFPHA, through which it is involved in public health concerns of WFPHA's more than 70 member countries. APHA also actively participates in the activities of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization.
In addition to the development of and advocacy for public health policies and programs, the APHA engages in a number of other activities. For example, the APHA supports the enhancement of the scientific base of public health through reports of its members' research activities at its annual meetings.
The APHA has played a major role in providing continuing education for all public health workers through accredited educational sessions.
The Association publishes the American Journal of Public Health, which is a refereed journal, and a number of scientific books and monographs on public health issues. Its members are kept informed about major health-related issues through the news publication, the Nation's Health.
The APHA is currently focusing its efforts on assuring access to health care, eliminating health disparities and building a strong public health infrastructure. The association actively works to enhance collaboration with other professional organizations and develop public-private partnerships to help solve public health problems. Each year in April, the Association serves as the organizer of National Public Health Week (NPHW) and develops a national campaign to educate the public, policymakers and practitioners during the week about issues related to the theme. NPHW is celebrated in every state and APHA creates organizing and outreach materials that can be used during and after the week to advance public health issues.
In 2006, APHA launched the Get Ready campaign to help the public prepare for a potential influenza pandemic and outbreaks of other emerging infectious diseases. The campaign includes a blog, fact sheets and podcasts, accessible through the Get Ready Web site at http://www.getreadyforflu.org.
The campaign is part of the Association’s larger “Protect, Prevent, Live Well” movement that will enable Americans to protect themselves, their families and their communities from preventable, serious health threats. Long-term plans for the Get Ready campaign include grassroots activities, toolkits and community partnerships.
Timeline: Memorable Dates in APHA History
1872: The American Public Health Association (APHA) founded by Dr. Stephen Smith, a physician, attorney and commissioner of New York City’s Metropolitan Health Board, puts forth the concept of a national health service.
1893: APHA and the United States focus on the control of tuberculosis.
1895: APHA publishes the standard methods for the examination of water and sewage.
1900: Walter Reed reports at the APHA annual meeting that mosquitoes carry yellow fever.
1905: APHA publishes the standard methods for the examination of milk.
1906: first Federal Food and Drug Act passed; APHA publishes the American Journal of Public Hygiene.
1908: APHA’s standardized death certificate adopted by the U.S. Census.
1909: APHA publishes the standard methods for the examination of air.
1911: Journal of the American Public Health Association established.
1916: APHA publishes first issue of Control of Communicable Diseases in Man.
1918: APHA postponed its Annual Meeting in reaction to a global influenza pandemic. The Association conducted scheduled discussions regarding the pandemic in December 1918.
1925: APHA creates Appraisal Form for Local Health Work.
1932: President Hoover speaks at APHA’s annual meeting.
1943: APHA sets qualification standards for health educators.
1948: United Nations establishes the World Health Organization with strong APHA support.
1950: APHA member Jonas Salk introduces Salk vaccine for polio.
1956: National Library of Medicine established.
1964: Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health published; President Johnson signs the Medicare/Medicaid Act.
1965: APHA publishes the first Public Health Law Manual.
1970: Congress establishes the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA); the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
1972 APHA celebrates its 100th anniversary with 25,100 members.
1973: APHA cited in Supreme Court decision striking down most anti-abortion laws.
1974: APHA Presidential Citation presented to Rev. Jesse Jackson.
1982: APHA testifies at the first Congressional hearings on AIDS.
1986: Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter speaks at annual meeting.
1994: Medicine and Public Health Initiative established by the APHA and American Medical Association.
1995: Former U.S. president William Jefferson Clinton proclaims the first full week of April as National Public Health Week (NPHW).
1997: APHA celebrates its 125th anniversary with 32,000 members; Presidential Citation presented to Nelson Mandela.
1999: APHA builds its own building in Washington, D.C.
2005: APHA relocates its Annual Meeting from New Orleans, La. to Philadelphia, Pa. following widespread devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.
Timeline: Memorable Issues of APHA Focus
1890s: Water pollution, milk sanitation, hygiene education, bacteriology, infectious diseases
1900-1910s: infectious diseases, municipal health, water, standardization of health data
1920s: local health departments, water, milk, training standards, personal hygiene, infectious disease, close-quartered living
1930s: Communicable diseases, sanitation, laboratories, statistics, food safety, housing, education, poverty, medical care, war
1940s: Professional standards, evaluations of schools of public health, infectious diseases, functions of local health departments
1950s: Push for federal agency solely focused on health and federal health funds for states, health legislation and advocacy, accreditation of public health schools, polio, pasteurization and food safety
1960s: Equality within public health work force, integration, the War on Poverty, birth control, public health training, environmental issues, consumer protection, human rights
1970s: War, global health, drug abuse, new technology, upgraded health facilities
1980s: AIDS, teen pregnancy, nuclear safety
1990s: Clinton Health Reform Plan, Gulf War impacts, tobacco, managed health care, vaccinations, E. coli, AIDS, school safety