ATOD Program Development Process for the 2010 APHA Annual Meeting

By Lawrence Brown, Jr, MD

Like many of you, prior to last year I had very little appreciation of the process leading to the development of the superb program developed by the ATOD Section year after year.  For the last two years, the jewel of the ATOD Program has been the Student Poster Showcase.  In the next few paragraphs, I will provide an outline of the process.

During the Business meeting of the ATOD Section at the APHA Annual Meeting, members of the ATOD Section discuss plans for next year’s Program.  These plans ultimately lead to the ATOD Section’s “Call for Abstracts” released in each December. This document provides guidance on the focus for the next year’s ATOD Program of the Annual Meeting with requests for abstracts by a deadline early in February of the following year.

Simultaneously, there is a communication to APHA members, who served as ATOD abstract reviewers in the past.  This communication includes a confirmation of the member’s preference of the types of abstracts (tobacco, alcohol, other drugs, or a combination) they would like to review.  Reviewers provide an invaluable service to the ATOD, APHA and the field and gain an insight as to the direction of the field.

Starting in early February, 3-4 reviewers are assigned to each abstract to assess three areas: 1) importance to practice, policy or advocacy; 2) methodological soundness; and 3) clarity in presentation.  Each area is rated using a scale from 1 (unacceptable or not relevant) to 10 (definitely accept and of the highest priority).  Reviewers complete their assignments prior to early March.  By the way, the ATOD Section needs another 25 plus reviewers to reach its target of 100 reviewers.  So please contact me if you have an interest for this year or for future years.  All you need is a strong dose of motivation along with your APHA membership.

Following receipt of all the reviews, members of the ATOD Section convene at the Mid-Year Meeting, usually in early April for the final stage of the process.  The objective of the final stage is to evaluate the reviews of all the abstracts, converting the approved abstracts into stimulating Oral and Poster Sessions with descriptive and inviting titles. Simultaneously, we begin recruiting ATOD members to serve as moderators for the Oral Sessions.  Should you desire to participate in this final stage, feel free to contact Ann Mahony at agmpublichealth@gmail.com for details about the location and date of the Mid-Year Meeting of the ATOD Section or contact me at Lbrown@ARTCNY.org.  

In summary, the ATOD Program at each APHA Annual Meeting owes its success to this two-stage process, which is re-evaluated annually. More importantly, the future of superb ATOD Programs is dependent upon the continued dedication and leadership of members of the ATOD Section such as you.  So, please feel free to contact me about suggestions or questions.

See you at the Annual APHA Meeting in Denver, if not at the Mid-Year Meeting.

Lawrence S. Brown, Jr, MD

ATOD Program Chair