A Forum is a membership unit composed of APHA members who are working together on a specific issue that is important to public health, crosses disciplinary and section or SPIG boundaries, requires expertise that may reside in more than one section or SPIG, and supports APHA's mission. Forums are free to APHA members and may be joined at any time.
Click here to join a Forum. Select any link below to view the corresponding leadership roster.
Breastfeeding Forum
The Breastfeeding Forum is a multidisciplinary group with a common interest around breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is an important public health issue, and affects or is affected by many of the sections and SPIGS in APHA. One of our goals is showcase what is important and relevant about breastfeeding outside of its traditional realm in maternal and child health. APHA Policy 200714, A Call to Action on Breastfeeding, highlighted that more work is urgently needed around breastfeeding, especially in the United States. We hope to implement change by collaboration across disciplines in research and advocacy.
Cancer Forum
The APHA Cancer Forum comprises a diverse, multidisciplinary group of professionals representing academia, federal, state and local health departments, private and non-profit organizations engaged in cancer control efforts ranging from discovery to delivery.
Our mission is to:
1.) Create a focus on cancer as a public health issue within the APHA that will engage existing and new members active in cancer prevention and control activities ranging from education, practice, policy, research, and surveillance.
2.) Enable cross-disciplinary interaction that integrates public health principles, engages researchers and practitioners, and advances population-level knowledge and practice relevant to cancer prevention and control, from basic science to population science.
Family Violence Prevention Forum
Promotes the role of public health with family violence prevention and vice versa. Our major activities include helping members find others with similar interest in: child abuse/neglect, intimate partner violence, elder, sibling and other forms of family violence. We have multiple Sections, SPIGS and Caucuses represented and encourage individuals to retain those memberships and build connections to issues of Family Violence Prevention. Click here to learn more about us.
Genomics Forum
Genomics is increasingly relevant to assuring the public's health. Developments in biomedical science and technology are shedding new light on how the "conditions" or environments in which people live, work, and play -- be they physical, chemical, ancestral, psychological, or social -- affect our genomes, the expression of genes, and ultimately our
health individually and collectively.
The Genomics Forum will engage the public health community to promote workforce competency in genomics, including an improved understanding of the relevance and impact of genomics on public health. We will engage public health and health care communities and others in projects and
activities that increase the awareness, knowledge, and skills of genetic services as these services relate to: 1) The ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding genetics/ genomics/ epigenetics; 2) The relationships and relevance of genomics to public health, health care, and health disparities; 3) Professional and public education; and 4) Other areas as generated by Forum members. To learn more about the Forum, click here.
Healthy Communities for Healthy Aging Forum
Healthy Communities for Healthy Aging, a new APHA forum, will focus on encouraging communities to adopt smart growth principles to improve quality of life for older adults. Our goal is to raise awareness within APHA about the importance of building elder friendly and family friendly communities, intentionally created and adapted for people to live, work and play.
The built environment has important implications for public health and aging. We intend to help create healthier communities through fostering collaboration, public health education and advocacy. By focusing on strategies that enhance healthy aging, the education of health professionals and the built environment infrastructure, we propose to be part of a process to plan and implement changes that will have a lasting positive mark on behalf of and for older adults through public health interventions. The Forum will assist public health professionals to address the needs of today’s older adults and tomorrow’s aging populations. In addition, the work of the Forum will help to raise awareness at the local level regarding improving the built environment, increasing transportation and housing options for older adults.
Trade and Health Forum
The forum was created because of widespread interest and concern regarding the adverse impact of international trade agreements (such as NAFTA, CAFTA, and GATS) on public health, both internationally and within the United States. As a Forum, we will work to educate APHA members about the impact of trade issues on public health, and to protect public health priorities in international trade policy. Our goal is to develop and promote policies that advance economic development while sustaining life, healthy societies and the environment, and to advocate for policies that improve access to affordable, accountable vital human services, including health care, water
and sanitation, education and energy.
For more information on Forum criteria, please contact Jessica Murray at jessica.murray@apha.org or by calling 202-777-2461.