Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice

American Public Health Association

Public Health Innovations Project
In September, 1997, the American Public Health Association (APHA) held a workshop on "Effective Communication of Public Health Data and Information: Skills for the Changing Public Health Environment." The workshop was a collaborative effort among APHA, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, the Association of Schools of Public Health and the Pennsylvania Public Health Association, and was supported by APHA’s Public Health Innovations Project, a cooperative agreement funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) The goal of the Innovations Project is to provide public health practitioners with the tools, information and skills necessary to help them respond effectively to changes in the public health practice environment.

The workshop focused on translating data into useful information, and communicating that information to different audiences. Topics included: how to communicate with legislators and the media; how to work with local boards of health and the hospital community; and how to craft a communication strategy. Several "tip sheets," based on the workshop materials are available on the innovations project website: http://www.apha.org/ppp/science/tips.htm

APHA is working with the Saint Louis University School of Public Health to develop a comparable workshop in Missouri. In addition, staff are developing an audioconference to supplement the workshop, and a discussion group to obtain feedback from practitioners on the 10 Essential Public Health Services. For more information, contact Annette Ferebee, Innovations Project Director, (202) 789-5629; e-mail: annnette.ferebee@apha.org.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant
APHA has received nearly $1.2 million in grant funds from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to strengthen the alliance with the American Medical Association. The grant extends the work begun by the Medicine/Public Health Initiative in 1994. It will provide the means to institutionalize the APHA/AMA alliance and a framework for that alliance to develop: 1) the leadership to direct and manage change; 2) a network to supply technical assistance to state and local medicine/public health initiatives; 3) a yardstick to measure success; 4) a website to share resources and insights; and 5) a strategy to enhance understanding and ensure future collaboration between medicine and public health.

126^th Annual Meeting
APHA’s annual meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. on November 15 - 19, 1998. The meeting will provide a forum for the discussion and examination of issues related to public health and managed care.