The Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community is a national community designed to support the development, maintenance, and expansion of AHD partnerships – formal affiliations of health departments and academic institutions. Established in January 2011 by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages), this learning community facilitates shared exploration of the AHD concept and collaborative learning about AHDs.
The AHD Learning Community brings together public health and healthcare professionals to share AHD-related knowledge and experiences and work collaboratively to create AHD resources and tools. Through the Learning Community, members can participate in meetings and webinars; engage in discussion; access resources and tools; and receive guidance to support AHD efforts.
Membership
Membership in the AHD Learning Community is free and open to all who are involved or interested in AHD partnerships. Learning Community members come from across the United States and include practitioners, educators, and researchers working in health departments, academic institutions, hospitals, non-profit organizations and associations, and other public health organizations. The Learning Community currently has more than 1,100 members.
To join the AHD Learning Community, please contact Kathleen Amos at
kamos@phf.org.
Activities
AHD Learning Community activities support the development, maintenance, and expansion of AHD partnerships across the country. Current activities of the Learning Community include:
- Webinars and Virtual Meetings – The Learning Community hosts webinars or virtual meetings focused on AHD topics. In-person meetings have also been held during annual meetings of the American Public Health Association. These webinars and meetings provide an opportunity for Learning Community members to connect with each other, share information, and learn more about AHDs. Summaries or archives of webinars and meetings are typically available following these events.
- Online Discussions – Exploration of AHD topics also occurs online through the PHF Pulse Blog. Blog posts share questions and advice from Learning Community members, capture meeting discussion for further consideration, and highlight new resources available to support AHDs. Comments on any post are welcome.
- Listserv – The Learning Community operates a listserv to facilitate communication among community members. Members can use the listserv to share AHD-related information and questions, and updates on Learning Community activities are distributed through the listserv.
- Resources and Tools – Learning Community members work together to develop resources and tools to support AHD efforts. Resources and tools are all publicly available, and suggestions for new resources and tools are encouraged.
- Profiles – All Learning Community members are invited to develop online profiles to introduce themselves and share information about their experience with AHDs and their organizations with other community members.
- Technical Assistance – Requests for information about AHDs and questions related to AHDs are answered by email and phone. For assistance, please contact Kathleen Amos.