INSIGHT & INSPIRATION FROM APHA’S 2012 MIDYEAR MEETING

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Survive All In This Friends Prevention, Strategies
& Thrive Together For Health Opportunity & Equity for Health
more people about the power of public health and the need to
speak up on its behalf.
SHARE @PUBLICHEALTH: New technology and communication
tools are already proving transformative for public health.
From Twitter and mobile phone apps to information exchanges
and electronic health records, we’ve only just begun to wield
these new tools on behalf of public health. Learn about how
these tools can help you reach the different communities you
serve. Think about innovative ways to use new and growing
amounts of data to create opportunities for better health
outcomes and quality care. Technology is a powerful tool, but
only if we know how to use it.
E. Winters Mabry, director of health at
Mecklenburg County Health Department
in Charlotte, N.C., welcomes attendees to
his hometown.
DEMONSTRATE VALUE: Our communities will continue to
look toward public health for help, guidance, oversight and
care, but they will also be asking: Is this worth it? The answer,
unequivocally, is yes. But, it’s up to us to make that argument.
That means collecting the data and telling the stories that
illustrate the value of public health in people’s lives. And
not only the value in terms of better health and longer lives,
but in terms of reducing medical spending and preventing
unnecessary and costly hospital care. It is also important to
define what “value” means. In other words, the value of public
health work cannot — and should not — always be measured
in dollars and cents. Surveys show that Americans believe in
and support prevention; let’s capitalize on that momentum.
EMPHASIZE EQUITY: Improving the nation’s health can’t come
about without addressing the health inequities that persist in
our communities. More than a matter of access, health equity
is a matter of justice and fairness. Continue to fight for policies
and resources that create the opportunities for all people to
live healthy and prosper, and shine a light on the disparate
social, economic and environmental conditions that propagate
such inequities. Continue to be a voice for justice.