From health reform to H1N1 flu, the latest issues will be on the agenda at APHA’s 137th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia this month.
About 10,500 public health professionals are expected to come together Nov. 7–11 for the APHA meeting, which has an overarching theme of "Water and Public Health: The 21st Century Challenge." With about 1,000 scientific sessions, the meeting will cover the full spectrum of public health topics, from immunizations, prevention and chronic disease to environmental health, transportation policies and global health systems. Meeting sessions related to the theme will explore issues such as waterborne diseases, water treatment, sanitation, shortages and water infrastructure.
"The challenges and opportunities that we are experiencing today are changing the way we approach our public health work," said APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E). "The APHA Annual Meeting is an ideal forum to learn from our peers in the field who are finding unique ways to improve health and apply those lessons in our workplaces and communities."
The meeting will feature hundreds of scientific and educational sessions — including roundtables, poster sessions and panel discussions — and thousands of scientific papers on the latest public health issues. The meeting will also offer networking, career and continuing education opportunities.
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In keeping with the Annual Meeting theme, APHA will be selling a stainless steel water bottle.
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The meeting will include information on public health from internationally recognized leaders such as Mirta Roses Periago, MD, director of the Pan American Health Organization, who will join Celine Cousteau at the opening session on Sunday, Nov. 8. The meeting’s closing session, to be held Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 2:30 p.m., will feature APHA members Howard Koh, MD, MPH, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Yvette Roubideaux, MD, MPH, director of the Indian Health Service, as well as Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, the administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. The meeting events will officially kick off Sunday at noon with the opening general session at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, followed by the opening of the APHA Public Health Expo. The expo will feature more than 700 booths of information, products and services geared toward public health professionals as well as presentations and scientific poster sessions.
Range of scientific sessions on agenda
The Annual Meeting’s hundreds of scientific and educational sessions will continue through Wednesday and encompass the public health field.
APHA’s Innovations Project will be sponsoring almost two dozen scientific sessions designed to improve the work of public health professionals and the health of their communities. On Monday, Nov. 9, the line-up will include session 3010, which will examine Healthy People 2020; three sessions, 3011.1, 3200 and 3297, that will focus on the National Public Health Performance Standards Program; and session 3201, which will look at quality in the public health system. Also on the schedule is session 4009 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, which will highlight core competencies for health professionals; and 4173, which will present information on the development of the national public health accreditation program for health departments.
Health professionals can pick up tips on how to work with the media and advocate for public health during sessions at the meeting. APHA is sponsoring a day-long schedule of sessions on the topics on Monday. Among the offerings will be session 3102, "Media Advocacy: How to Work with Media to Communicate Your Public Health Message," which will be held at 10:30 a.m.; session 3106, "Mobilizing a Campaign Around a Public Health Issue," also at 10:30 a.m.; and session 3199, "Advocacy Law," at 12:30 p.m. APHA members who want to have an impact on advocacy work done by the Association can learn what it takes to create a sound policy for APHA at 8:30 a.m. Monday at session 3008, "How to Write a Good Policy."
APHA leaders and members will also be conducting business during the Annual Meeting. Those that will be at work include the Governing Council, APHA’s body of member-elected representatives, which will hold business sessions on Saturday, Nov. 7, and Tuesday. APHA members are welcome to attend the sessions, which will have seating for the public.
During its meetings, the Governing Council will be considering 15 proposed APHA policies, which if adopted will serve as the Association’s official stances on public health issues. Public hearings on the policies, which address issues such as food crises, border-crossing deaths, asbestos elimination and public health’s role in health reform, will be held Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The hearings are open to any APHA member who wants to comment on the policies, drafts of which can be accessed on the APHA Web site.
Members who are planning to submit late-breaker APHA policy proposals are required to present them in completed, electronic form no later than 6 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, via e-mail to policy@apha.org.
APHA members will also have a chance to hear from candidates who are running for the Association’s highest offices, such as president and Executive Board members, during the Annual Meeting. A "meet the candidates" session will be held Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Governing Council members will vote on the candidates during their Tuesday business meeting.
APHA’s Sections, Special Primary Interest Groups, Caucuses, Forums and Student Assembly will host scientific sessions, business meetings, exhibit booths and poster sessions as well (see Page 5). Other business gatherings include the Committee on Affiliates Leadership Day and Intersectional Council meetings, both on Saturday.
Meeting participants can look up sessions by topic or sponsor now via the online program at www.apha.org/meetings.
Educational credits will be available
The Annual Meeting will also feature more than a dozen pre-convention Learning Institutes on Nov. 7–8, through which eligible participants can earn continuing education credits. The institutes will cover topics such as social media and strategies for helping health departments cope with budget cuts.
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| Events will be centered at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Photo courtesy Pennsylvania Convention Center. |
Annual Meeting registrants can also earn continuing education credits by attending and evaluating certain scientific sessions during the regular meeting. A list of sessions available for credits will be printed in the Annual Meeting final program. More information on credits will be available at the continuing education booth at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Annual Meeting attendees who want to take in sessions they missed or review a session they attended will be able to listen to them online once they return home. APHA’s E-ssentialLearning program allows meeting participants to hear audio from scientific sessions and watch PowerPoint presentations from their own computers after the meeting ends. More information on the program, which requires a registration fee, is available online at www.apha.org/meetings.
Other Annual Meeting highlights include:
* session 3004, at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, which will highlight late-breaking developments in public health, such as H1N1 flu, health reform and the economic recession;
* the APHA Public Health Awards Reception and Ceremony on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.;
* a booth at the Public Health Expo where participants can join up to be part of their APHA-affiliated state or regional public health association;
* Public Health CareerMart at the expo, which will offer information on job openings, career counseling on Monday and Tuesday and a chance to meet with employers; and
* the Everything APHA booth at the expo, with meeting merchandise and APHA publications as well as information on the Association and member services. In keeping with the meeting theme, APHA will be selling a reusable stainless steel water bottle at the Everything APHA booth. The bottle may also be purchased on the merchandise section of APHA’s Web site.
The Annual Meeting’s events will be centered at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Loew’s Philadelphia and Philadelphia Marriott. Shuttle service will be offered for official Annual Meeting hotels, except for those that are within walking distance of the convention center. APHA’s Annual Meeting Web site has detailed information on accessibility during the event.
Participants can register on site for the Annual Meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Registrants will receive a printed copy of the final meeting program with session locations when they check in at the convention center.
For more on APHA’s Annual Meeting, visit www.apha.org/meetings, e-mail comments@apha.org or call 202-777-2742.
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SIDEBAR: Second annual Fun Run to be held Tuesday, Nov. 10, in Philadelphia
For the second year, the APHA Annual Meeting will feature an early morning Fun Run to get attendees up and at ‘em and ready to go.
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| Runners gather for the 2008 meeting Fun Run in San Diego. Photo courtesy Genevieve Dunton |
Organized by the Association’s Physical Activity Special Primary Interest Group, the 5K run and walk will be held Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 6:15 a.m. Participants will meet in the lobby of the Philadelphia Downtown Courtyard at 21 North Juniper St. and progress along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps made famous in the "Rocky" movies. Maps for the event will be available at the start.
For more information on the run, send an e-mail to kkonopack@monmouth.edu.
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SIDEBAR: Keep up on meeting events with APHA social media
APHA’s 137th Annual Meeting will include a wealth of social media tools to keep people informed of the event’s happenings.
Whether at home or in Philadelphia, Web users will be able to use the Annual Meeting blog, Twitter and Flickr sites to access meeting news, activities and photos.
Now in its third year, the Annual Meeting Blog will include coverage of events as they happen, including daily highlights and a photo of the day. APHA’s new Flickr page will feature photos from the event, while its Flickr group will allow meeting attendees to share their own photos with the world.
Twitter users will be able to follow the Annual Meeting in two places: On the official Annual Meeting Twitter and the Public Health Twitter. Twitter users will also be invited to a special "Tweet-up" activity in Philadelphia, details of which will be available only on the APHA Twitters. Meeting Twitterers are encouraged to use the #apha09 hashtag in their posts.
A list of APHA’s social media tools can be found online at www.apha.org/about/rssinfo.
* Annual Meeting Blog: http://aphaannualmeeting.blogspot.com
* Twitters: http://twitter.com/APHAAnnualMtg and http://twitter.com/PublicHealth
* Flickr APHA page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/APHAPublicHealth
* Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/aphapublichealth