APHA Strategic Plan
The APHA Strategic Plan encompasses a discussion of current status,
a description of future goals, and a detailed plan for achieving
those goals.
Priority Issues
Short-Term
Priorities: 2-3 years
1. Create a
professional identity for the field within APHA and the public
health community as a legitimate and science-based field
2. Recruit new members and involve new and existing members in HCWG
activities
3. Support implementation and action towards the Healthy People 2010
objectives
4. Develop program content for the annual meeting
Long-Term
Priorities: 4+ years
1. Advocate
for health communication as a core component for all public health
programs
2. Explore certification standards for health communication
practitioners
3. Stimulate professional development and training opportunities
4. Create quality assurance standards and a code of ethics for
health communication research, practice and training
Structure
The Health
Communication Working Group will be led by a Steering Committee with
at least 9 members. It is key to keep the number odd for voting
purposes. The Steering Committee will consist of a Chair (to
facilitate meetings), a Chair-Elect, a
Secretary/Treasurer (to record discussions/decisions of meetings),
the Past-Chair, the Past-Secretary/Treasurer, the chair of each
subcommittee, and the NCA/ICA liaison and interested HCWG members.
If more than one person is interested in the Chair position, an
option of establishing a Co-Chair or Vice-Chair is possible.
Subcommittees will actively pursue HCWG priorities related to their
subcommittee. The subcommittees are: Membership/Communication,
Annual Meeting, and Healthy People 2010. As special interests or
projects are identified, ad hoc committees may be formed to address
these.
Steering
Committee Members
Requirements
Responsibilities
-
Attend monthly steering committee meetings
(telephone conference calls)
-
Lead and/or actively participate in a
subcommittee or in strategic planning activities
-
Report progress of the subcommittee they lead (if
applicable)
-
Participate in other APHA section activities as
appropriate
Chair
Requirements
-
Be committed to nurturing and enhancing the
mission and vision of the health communication working group
-
Be a member of APHA
-
Have PHEHP as his/her primary APHA affiliation
-
Have been a member of the Steering Committee for
at least one year prior to term as Chair
Responsibilities
-
Lead/facilitate phone conference calls with
steering committee members (1x/month)
-
Coordinate HCWG strategic planning activities
-
Attend the APHA annual conference
-
Attend the PHEHP business meetings at APHA's
annual meeting
-
Participate in PHEHP section conference calls
(once a month)
-
Foster participation of health communication
professionals in the PHEHP section
Chair-Elect
Requirements
-
Be a member of APHA and have PHEHP as his/her
primary affiliation
-
Attend the APHA annual conference
-
Be committed to nurturing and enhancing the
mission and vision of the Health Communication Working Group
Responsibilities
-
Lead/facilitate steering committee conference
calls (1x/month) when the Chair cannot
-
Assist in coordinating HCWG strategic planning
activities
-
Serve on one PHEHP committee
-
Participate in PHEHP section conference calls
when the Chair cannot (1x/month)
-
Foster participation of health communication
professionals in the PHEHP section
Secretary/Treasurer
Requirements
-
Be committed to nurturing and enhancing the
mission and vision of the health communication working group
-
Be a member of APHA
-
Attend the APHA annual conference
-
Have served on a subcommittee or the Steering
Committee for a least one year prior to the term of service
Responsibilities
-
Attend monthly steering committee meetings
(telephone conference calls)
-
Record discussions and key decisions of steering
committee meetings
-
Participate in other APHA section activities as
appropriate
-
Track how the HCWG spends money and how much is
left
-
Be the point person for contacting PHEHP/APHA for
the release of funds
Decision Making
The Steering
Committee will make decisions based on consensus and majority vote.
The Chair will break ties whenever necessary. The committee is
empowered to make decisions on behalf of the entire Health
Communication Working Group between annual meetings, but will make
every effort to solicit input from Health Communication Working
Group members throughout the year.
Communication
As the HCWG
is membership-driven, it is important that we seek input from our
membership and keep them informed of our activities. This will be
accomplished by:
-
soliciting member input, feedback, and comments
via the listserv
-
sending regular reports from each steering
committee meeting and subcommittee meeting to the listserv
-
announcing upcoming calls on the listserv
-
maintaining a current HCWG Web site
-
holding a business meeting at the Annual Meeting
at which the year’s activities will be summarized
Committee and Subcommittee
Responsibilities
Steering
Committee
The primary
responsibility of the steering committee is to coordinate the
activities of the HCWG and to conduct strategic planning.
Ongoing
responsibilities include:
-
Meet by telephone monthly to review HCWG
activities and progress toward meeting objectives
-
Identify areas where progress is not being made
and address them
-
Review the strategic plan annually and revise as
needed
-
Assist subcommittees in strategic planning
-
Coordinate with the PHEHP leadership
-
Develop and maintain relationships with health
communication organizations and individuals outside APHA
Membership/Communication Subcommittee
Objective 1:
Recruit new members to the HCWG and involve new and existing members
in HCWG activities.
Short-term
activities (2001-2002):
-
Define what it means to be an HCWG member (how do
we identify who is a member and who is not, what are the benefits
and responsibilities, are there different levels of membership?)
-
Develop and implement a strategy for identifying
and tracking current members, communicating regularly with them,
involving them in various levels of HCWG activities, and meeting
their needs (e.g., providing networking opportunities)
-
Research and follow up on the possibility of
getting a check-off on the APHA membership application form
-
Coordinate with the PHEHP membership committee
Long-term
activities:
Objective 2:
Develop and implement a strategy for increasing HCWG’s visibility in
APHA and
PHEHP and
maintaining formal mechanisms for networking among members and the
larger organization
Short-term
activities (2001-2001):
-
Simplify the Web site address and keep the site
updated
-
Review the HCWG material on the PHEHP Web site to
ensure it is correct
-
Write content about the HCWG for every PHEHP
quarterly newsletter
-
Write material to submit to The Nation’s Health
about the HCWG
Long-term
activities:
-
Research the possibility of having working groups
listed on the APHA home page
-
Develop and distribute an HCWG newsletter to
members
-
Identify health communicators in other sections
and establish regular communication with them
-
Attend other section’s health com sessions and
relevant business meetings and publicize HCWG
Objective 3:
Solicit funding to support the HCWG
Annual
Meeting Committee
Objective:
Develop program and other content for the annual meeting
Short-term
activities (2001-2002):
-
Collaborate with the PHEHP program committee to
solicit abstract submissions, recruit reviewers, develop sessions,
assign moderators
-
Develop, submit, and organize one solicited
session to PHEHP each year
-
Organize the HCWG social event
-
Develop and disseminate publicity materials
related to programs and events
Healthy
People 2010 Committee
Objective: Support
implementation and action towards the Healthy People 2010 objectives
