de Beaumont has a host of offerings for this year’s APHA Annual Meeting and Expo, including the first-ever Disrupt sessions.
Like thousands of public health professionals this fall, here at de Beaumont, we’re counting down the days until the APHA 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo in Minneapolis.
This year’s Annual Meeting theme, “Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science,” is especially pertinent in the current climate of heightened politicization, misinformation, and fearmongering. de Beaumont initiatives like the Infodemiology Training Program and resources from the Public Health Communications Collaborative are helping public health professionals overcome distrust and ideological divisions to focus on what’s most important: advancing health equity so that all communities can thrive.
These and other pressing topics will be explored in depth on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Disrupt: a full day of sessions that convene leaders across disciplines to ask the questions that others won’t, provoke thoughtful discussion, and drive solutions to transform our nation’s health.
There’s plenty in store — start filling out your schedule with these can’t-miss events:
Sunday, Oct. 27:
APHA events and sessions:
- Book Signing: Strategic Skills in Public Health Practice series
- Policy Engagement with Shelley Hearne 1-2pm | Exhibit Hall
- Systems and Strategic Thinking with Michael Fraser 2-3pm | Exhibit Hall
- Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC) Academy: The Importance of Community Engagement for Effective Communications 5-5:15pm | Hilton Symphony Ballroom 2
Pro tips:
- After the Opening General Session, make your way to Booth #1023 in the Expo Hall. Chat with de Beaumont staff, learn about de Beaumont’s programs and initiatives, and grab some swag to bring home. We’ll be at the booth through Tuesday afternoon.
- The newest title in the Strategic Skills for Public Health Practice series, Systems and Strategic Thinking, will be available at APHA! Purchase a copy on site at a discounted price, then get it signed by the author, Michael Fraser. Shelley Hearne, co-author of Policy Engagement, will also be signing copies of her book.
Monday, Oct. 28:
APHA events and sessions:
- Rebuilding Trust through Collaboration: Investing in Public-Private Partnerships to Address the Health Impacts of Climate Change 2:30-4pm | Room 101I
- The Invisible Shield: Clips & Conversation 4:30-6pm | Exhibit Hall E
Tuesday, Oct. 29:
APHA sessions:
- Designing Measurable Social Media Campaigns to Strengthen Public Health Communications 8:30-8:45am | Room 103C
- Special Session: Better Data for a Better Future: Modernized Anti-Racist Data Ecosystems 2:30-4pm | Room M100A
Disrupt sessions:
- Empathy in Action: Transforming Public Health Messaging in a Polarized Era 8:30-10:00am | MCC Auditorium | Effective public health communication requires thinking differently about our approach, prioritizing empathy and accessibility and demonstrating competence and compassion. Hear from leading researchers, science communicators, and public health practitioners about how our communications need to shift to meet this moment and what you can do to build trust with the communities you serve.
- Making Data Equity and Justice Real: Community-Led Efforts to Transform Data Ecosystems 10:30am-12pm | Room 200CDGH | Public health organizations must interrogate and change the power they wield when it comes to who defines data, why data are collected, and who benefits. Hear from four communities that are co-creating local data ecosystems and structures to govern and connect their data, prioritizing the voices of those who have been oppressed by structural racism to ultimately drive just and equity-centered decision making.
- Good Health is Good Business: Engaging Business for the Public’s Health 12:30-2pm | Room 200CDGH | In this session, business and public health leaders will discuss the private sector’s role in tackling challenges like the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the health impacts of climate change, and the nation’s mental health crisis. Achieving the “double bottom line” helps us all advance health equity, and finding alignment between business and public health is not only possible, but essential.
- Policy as Medicine: How Health Commissioners Navigate Politics while Promoting Health 2:30-4pm | Room 200CDGH | In cities and counties nationwide, health departments are using policy to address challenges from food insecurity to homelessness to mental health. In this session, learn how former health commissioners partnered with local elected officials to adopt upstream, equitable policies that can benefit everyone in a community. Public health leaders will share tips to navigate political dynamics while balancing and centering community needs.
- Power, Impact, and Change: Building Community-Centered Partnerships 4:30-6pm | Room 200CDGH | This session explores how to build community-centered, cross-sector partnerships to advance health equity. Drawing on the experiences and learnings of the 68 BUILD Health Challenge collaboratives across the country, local practitioners will discuss best practices, concrete resources, and inspiring examples of what’s possible by working together and elevating community voice.
Pro tip: Pick up a Disrupt passport that you can redeem for a prize once completed!
