Looking back at our accomplishments over the past two decades, we have moved from a small caucus to section status and now have a significant, substantive, formal and credible voice in APHA policy and scholarship. As such, we now are at a juncture in our development where we need to take a stand about our role and what we need to enact in order to achieve the goals of full access and inclusion not only within APHA but within the domain of public health.

A recent set of events reveals that we still have a major challenge just within APHA. First, the recently distributed emergency preparedness video by APHA was not captioned, and just yesterday, a public service announcement about the health care needs of American citizens on the Web did not meet basic 508 and WC 1, 2, and 3 access requirements. I am sure that there are many more abrogations of full access. How do we proceed as a Section? I would suggest that we are not the “access police” and should not be willing to accept or be held to that role within APHA given the small and limited scope of such activity that could keep us occupied without broadening our reach and influence beyond organizational boundaries. So how do we balance our role as a Section committed to access and participation of all citizens beyond APHA while still holding our parent organization responsible? We need a conversation, debate and an action plan. I look forward to hearing from you all and to developing a structure and set of processes to do this essential work.

Stephen Gilson

Stephen_gilson@umit.maine.edu