Title: NOTES FROM THE CHAIR
Author:
Section/SPIG: Mental Health
Issue Date:
Greetings
It’s been a tough winter in some parts of the country, and the world news continues to be depressing. I’m pleased to report, though, that Section activities are proceeding along. This is due mainly to the tireless effort of our various committee folks, who seem to be able to rise to occasions promptly and to cope with my general level of tardiness and disorganization. They have my sincere gratitude.
Thanks to all of you who submitted abstracts for the 2004 meetings in Washington, and also to those of who encouraged non-members or students to do so. From my perspective, the scientific program that is the heart of what the national meetings are about, and ensuring that we continue to have good quality sessions that will be well attended needs to be an important focus of our efforts.
In that regard, I want to reiterate a point I made at the final business meeting last fall and that has been reinforced through conversations with a number of persons in the academic research community. At one time, APHA was an important venue for the presentation of new research findings. For many of us it still is, but for some in the academic community it has taken a back seat to other conferences where audiences are larger. This trend has long-term repercussions for the health and viability of our section. When leading investigators bypass APHA in favor of other settings, it’s likely that their doctoral students, post-docs and junior colleagues will do likewise. Ultimately this could adversely affect our membership numbers and. deplete the flow of young, energetic people into the Section.
I would also like to make personal appeals to those of you who once were active in the section but who, for one reason or another, have “lapsed.” We want you back! Many of you were the people who were responsible for reviving the Section in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and your wisdom and energy are greatly missed! (Many of those folks won’t see this, of course, because they are no longer members. Maybe someone could pass it on.)
That said, we don’t want to make our section one that welcomes only academics, and I think that, largely through the efforts of previous section officers and members that is not the case. We want to continue to work toward creating an environment that welcomes consumers, family members and practitioners of all kinds. Again, though, we need to recognize that we are now one of several venues where people who share our interests can go. With that in mind, persons in these sectors of our community should also be encouraging others to think of us as an organization to which they would like to belong.
None of this is to say that we are losing members; in fact, my communications with APHA suggest that, while other sections have seen a decline in membership, we are essentially holding our own. That’s a tribute to all of you who’ve hung in and worked to broaden the scope of our membership. We need to continue these efforts to ensure the future viability of our section.
Thanks again to all the folks who’ve been so enormously helpful in my fledgling term as Section Chair, and best wishes for a great summer!