Policy Statements

In addition to APHA’s 25,000 members, the organization represents another 25,000 individuals who are members of our affiliated state and regional public health associations and others who are committed to creating a health global society.  APHA members and staff work closely with Members of Congress, regulatory agencies and other public health organizations to ensure that public health is priority in the legislative and policy-making process.

The policy statement development process for the Association is designed to be open to full participation of the membership and to ensure careful review by appropriate APHA boards, committees and other membership entities. Policy statements adopted through this process provide a record of the Association's stance on a variety of public health issues and reflect the diverse interests of the APHA membership. For more information, email policy@apha.org.

WHAT'S NEW?:

• 2011 New Approved Policy Statements: A total of 23 policy statements (including 3 latebreakers) were approved by the APHA Governing Council in November. The policy statements are currently going through the copyediting process and will be posted online in the APHA policy database as they are finalized.
• Governing Council Update to Policy Statement Development Process Policies and Procedures: The Governing Council also made updates to the "Guidelines for Preparation, Submission, Review, Revision, Consideration, and Adoption of Proposed Policy Statements." The major revisions include removing the distinction between a resolution and a position paper; and moving up the deadline for latebreaker policy statement submissions. All members interested in participating in the policy statement development process (as a reviewer or author) should read this document!!!
•  Instructions to Authors : The Joint Policy Committee and APHA Staff have been working to streamline the instructions for authors of proposed policy statements so all the essential information is together. All members submitting a policy statement should follow these instructions!   

2012 Policy Cycle:

• Policy Gaps- updated for 2012
• Policy Process Calendar- updated for 2012
• 2012 Joint Policy Committee Roster

2011 Policy Cycle:

• List of the Approved 2011 Policy Statements
• Findings on the 2011 Proposed Policy Statements-  from Joint Policy Committee & Science Board Spring April 2011 Policy Review Meeting

Additional Resources:

• Model Policy Statements
• Policy Statement Roadmap
• Policy Development Presentations  
• Webinar: "How to Write a Good Policy"(from 2010) 

Policy Review and Archiving Process