Past CHPPD Chair Paul Meissner's e-mail described the September issue with one simple word - “Wow”. The post-Katrina issue had relevant and thoughtful articles.
As you view the charts, it may be helpful to know the acronyms used:
CHW = Community Health Worker, a Special Primary Interest Group (SPIG)
Epi = Epidemiology Section
HA = Health Administration Section
Int. Health = International Health Section
MCH = Maternal Child Health Section
CHPPD newsletter statistics were compared against some of the larger sections.
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| Graph showing number of times newsletter pages were viewed |
The September issue of the CHPPD Section was among the most-read of the APHA section and SPIG newsletters, with 386 pages viewed (opened by viewers) as compared to 91 for the previous issue. Viewers spent about seven minutes on the Spring and Fall issues, compared to about 1 ½ minutes more viewing the Annual Meeting issue. This indicates that at least a couple of news items were of interest to readers.
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| Number of visits per 100 primary section members |
On a sobering note, even the “Wow” September issue was read by about 21 percent (n=1637) of members who identify CHPPD as their primary section. The newsletter statistics combines numbers of readers who click on the newsletter link that does not require a password, and those that do access the newsletter from the members-only page. Hence the number of visitors includes those who may not even be APHA members. At the same time, it is interesting to note that the Community Health Worker June issue of the newsletter was visited by 89 percent (n=173) of members who identify the Community Health Workers as their primary Special Primary Interest Group.
If you are wondering what made September a “Wow” issue, here are some of possible reasons. My hypothesis is timing and member involvment. A CHPPD member survey was sent out and completed in August, and members were told that the results would be posted in the Fall newsletter. A little over 100 members completed the survey. In early August, members were invited to submit articles. Sharon McCarthy, APHA's very efficient section affairs liaison, sent out an e-mail to CHPPD members in the last week of August reminding them about the newsletter submission deadline. About half a dozen members responded to the second e-mail, submitting information about past or upcoming events. A couple of CHPPD members submitted very relevant and substantive articles, e.g. Katrina experiences of EMT staff, book reviews, and commentary on health care access. All these factors played a role in making the September issue the most read.
Sharon McCarthy has said that she will continue to share newsletter statistics on a regular basis with editors, and this information will be published in the newsletter. So, please do submit articles, and if you read something interesting in the newsletter, please send the link to your colleagues. The deadline for the next newsletter is May 12, 2006