APHA Annual Meeting to bring workers together on public health: 12,500 expected =============================================================================== * Lindsey Wahowiak As APHA works to build the healthiest nation, its members and other public health advocates will immerse themselves in the Association’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo in Denver. The Annual Meeting, held Oct. 29-Nov. 2, will play host to more than 12,500 public health practitioners, researchers, leaders, students and advocates at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The meeting will be the place to see the latest public health research and best practices from leaders in the field. This year’s theme, “Creating the Healthiest Nation: Ensuring the Right to Health,” will be the focus of many events, including the meeting’s plenary sessions. “Health should be at the center of everything we do in this country,” APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, told *The Nation’s Health.* “For too many people, making healthy choices is too difficult. By working together at forums such as the Annual Meeting, we can change that and become the healthiest nation.” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards will kick off the meeting’s main events as the keynote speaker during the Sunday, Oct. 30, opening session. Richards, who spoke with *The Nation’s Health* for an exclusive interview in the September issue, will touch on how Planned Parenthood works to ensure access to reproductive health care is available to people around the country. The opening session will also feature welcomes from Benjamin, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and APHA President Camara Jones, MD, PhD, MPH. Jones, research director on social determinants of health at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will address health equity during her address. The Monday, Oct. 31, general session will highlight CDC as “Disease Detectives of the World,” and will feature current CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, as well as former directors Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH; Jeffrey Koplan, MD, MPH; and David Satcher, MD, PhD, FAAFP, FACPM, FACP; in a panel on what it is like to guide the work of CDC, highlighting some of its greatest achievements. The Wednesday, Nov. 2, closing session will also include a panel with Jones; Association of State and Territorial Health Officials President Edward Ehlinger, MD, MSPH; and incoming National Association of County and City Health Officials President Claude-Alix Jacob, MPH; discussing the right to health as a strategy toward becoming the healthiest nation. Incoming APHA President Thomas Quade, MPH, MA, will serve as moderator for the session, after which he will begin his one-year term. ![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/46/9/1.2/F1.medium.gif) [Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/46/9/1.2/F1) APHA’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo will be centered at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center. Photo courtesy Visit Denver Attendees will want to check out the meeting’s nine APHA-sponsored special sessions, held Monday through Wednesday at various times. The sessions cover a range of topics, from session 4011 on the Flint, Michigan, water crisis to session 4209 on Zika as the next pandemic. Hundreds of scientific sessions at the Annual Meeting will count toward continuing education credits. Attendees can also take part in weekend Learning Institutes, half-, full- or two-day courses that give in-depth education and tools to attendees. Students will have multiple opportunities to jumpstart their public health careers throughout the Annual Meeting. Events begin Saturday, Oct. 29, with the National Student Meeting, during which APHA’s Student Assembly will focus its priorities for the year, among other topics. On Sunday, Student Assembly will host a speed mentoring session at 2:30 p.m., and a welcome and orientation at 4 p.m. Student Visit Day offers students the opportunity to explore the Expo Hall on Wednesday until it closes at 12:30 p.m. Afterward, they will be invited to a networking session with APHA leaders from 1 to 2 p.m. and will be able to stay for the closing session at 2:30 p.m. Admission to Student Visit Day is free to all students, even those who are not registered to attend the full Annual Meeting. Both students and public health professionals will want to visit the Public Health CareerMart Career Guidance Center as part of the Public Health Expo, as well as APHA’s membership booth, which will offer free professional headshots. ## Set aside time for Public Health Expo The Public Health Expo is a highlight during the Annual Meeting, as attendees can learn more about public health organizations, schools, vendors and publishers as well as APHA. The expo also offers many opportunities to pick up free items or make public health purchases. The expo opens immediately after the opening session on Sunday, and is open every day until 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Lynn Schoen, exhibits manager with APHA’s Convention Services, said this year’s Industry Expert Theater is a cannot-miss part of the expo. Attendees can visit the theater to get a sneak peek at new and up-and-coming public health products and services in a hands-on setting. In the center of the expo is the revamped Everything APHA, a one-stop shop for attendees to engage with the Association and get more from their memberships. “Everything APHA has a whole new look and many interactive activities,” Schoen told *The Nation’s Health.* “And we’re more interactive than ever before, with a fun quiz game and the chance to share your contributions toward APHA’s goal to create the healthiest nation in one generation.” As part of Everything APHA, the APHA Press booth will offer a wide range of APHA published and co-published titles, as well as this year’s exclusive “I Heart Public Health” T-shirt. It will also play host to several book signings. The schedule includes signings with Michael Marmot, PhD, author of “The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World,” on Sunday and Monday. See the Annual Meeting program for the signings schedule. Also in the expo hall, poster sessions will be held throughout the meeting, giving attendees a chance to learn more about the latest research in public health, as well as talk directly to researchers. Poster sessions start after the opening session on Sunday. Attendees will not want to miss out on the APHA Global Public Health Film Festival, now in its 13th year. The film festival screens shorts and feature-length documentaries and films with public health at the forefront. A full schedule is available in the meeting program. For attendees ready to share their experience at the Annual Meeting with others, there is a wealth of social media opportunities in Denver. Attendees and those at home can be a part of the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and beyond with the #APHA2016 hashtag. APHA’s Annual Meeting Blog, hosted by APHA’s Public Health Newswire, provides in-depth, daily coverage of the Annual Meeting at [www.publichealthnewswire.org/annualmeeting](http://www.publichealthnewswire.org/annualmeeting). For those who want to learn more about social media, there are opportunities for growth. APHA and [AIDS.gov](http://AIDS.gov) are partnering once again to present the APHA Annual Meeting Social Media Lab, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, for short presentations and one-on-one training with social media experts. Attendees can take a break from the hustle and bustle of the meeting by participating in some of APHA’s wellness activities. Morning yoga, held Monday-Wednesday, will help start the day off right. Now in its second year, APHA’s Steps Challenge, held Sunday-Tuesday, encourages attendees to keep moving during the meeting, with fun prizes for those who go the farthest. Monday and Tuesday will also include mini exercise breaks at the Wellness Center, which will also offer self-care opportunities, including coloring and puzzles. APHA is premiering its own public health dance this year, which all attendees are encouraged to be a part of. This year’s dance will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. An instructional video is available online to practice the steps ahead of time, or attendees can learn the dance on-site. Even after leaving the convention center, attendees can still learn more, thanks to APHA TV. The Association is again partnering with WebsEdge, an international film and broadcasting company, to bring APHA TV to this year’s Annual Meeting. APHA TV will broadcast news and interviews from the meeting, which can be viewed in select meeting hotels and via the APHA YouTube channel. With so much happening at the Annual Meeting, attendees will want to use the online program and official APHA Annual Meeting app — available now for Apple and Android devices — to plan their days accordingly. The app includes a scheduler to help attendees plan their time. Attendees can find session locations and times via the app or the on-site printed program. ![Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/46/9/1.2/F2.medium.gif) [Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/46/9/1.2/F2) APHA’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo, which is based at the Colorado Convention Center, will offer hundreds of scientific sessions as well as networking activities, career and educational opportunities and social events. Photo courtesy Visit Denver ## Watch meeting from home with APHA Live For those who are unable to attend the meeting in Denver, a new program, APHA Live, provides an opportunity to watch the meeting from home as it unfolds. APHA Live will stream and videorecord many of the special sessions as well as the opening and Monday general sessions. APHA Live also gives practitioners the opportunity to earn up to nine free continuing education credits. APHA members can get APHA Live access for $99. Group rates are also available. Registration is open online now. To relive even more magic from the Annual Meeting — or just catch up on what was missed — APHA also offers Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations, in which oral presentations from hundreds of scientific sessions are synced with slides. RAMP is available at a discounted rate to presenters and meeting attendees and can be purchased in advance or on-site. To learn more about events or programs featured at the Annual Meeting, visit [www.apha.org/annualmeeting](http://www.apha.org/annualmeeting). * Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association