Iowa Public Health Association members celebrate their award with a selfie at APHA’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo.
Photo courtesy IPHA
Besides nearly 100 years of services in its state, the Iowa Public Health Association has added another accomplishment to its list: becoming APHA’s Outstanding Affiliate of the Year.
APHA’s Council of Affiliates presented the association with the Affiliate award during APHA’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo in October. The APHA-affiliated public health association was honored for several achievements, including membership growth, board giving and outreach.
“We bill ourselves as an independent voice for public health in Iowa,” Lina Tucker Reinders, MPH, executive director of IPHA, told The Nation’s Health.
The APHA Affiliate, which has more than 550 members across 80 counties, plays a vital role in shaping public health policy in Iowa. Its membership spans a range of educational and professional backgrounds, including students, public health professionals and retirees.
The organization’s extensive statewide participation is a key factor in the success of its outreach efforts, according to Reinder.
“We try to make strong relationships with our local public health departments,” she said. “By working with them and building those relationships, we know what they need and how they need to be supported.”
The association’s annual Day on the Hill event, which includes advocacy training and meetings with legislators at the Iowa State Capitol, is one example of how IPHA champions public health. The event is so popular that the association held it across two days last year, speaking with legislators about vaccine safety and effectiveness, including the HPV vaccine. This year, Day on the Hill participants focused on issues such as mental health and workforce needs.
Some public health workers erroneously believe they cannot engage in public health advocacy because of employment restrictions, Reinders said. But she emphasizes the public health advocacy is different.
“We work really hard to emphasize the fact that advocacy is health education, and it’s all of our roles to do that work,” she said.
Beyond the legislature, the association supports the Iowa Immunizes Coalition, which works with communities to promote immunizations. The coalition works with community-based organizations to develop, translate and target media messages to at-risk populations. In 2023, the coalition held four digital campaigns to remind people of the importance of vaccinations.
“A lot of times it’s just another nudge,” said Elizabeth Faber, MPH, director of the Iowa Immunizes Coalition, told The Nation’s Health.
The coalition also brings together IPHA members and state partners during the Iowa Immunizes Summit to showcase work across the state and share best practices.
“It was just a great opportunity for all of the partners to get together, learn, network and determine what they could do in their communities to help raise our vaccine rates and increase access,” Fabe said.
Central to the success of IPHA is routine giving by the members of its board of directors, something which many nonprofits require of their leadership. Reindeers said the achievement was made possible by placing the power in members hands.
IPHA members set up a display inside the Iowa Capitol for Public Health Day on the Hill.: Photo courtesy IPHA
“We don’t set a minimum for how much the board needs to give,” Reindeers said. “We request our board members give an amount that is significant to them.”
The Iowa association’s excellence in membership growth, outreach and financial security serves as a model for all, according to Michelle Loosli, MS, APHA’s director of Affiliate affairs.
“IPHA exemplifies how an APHA Affiliate can organize and advocate on a statewide level,” Loosli told The Nation’s Health. “They’ve shown how public health advocacy flourishes when partners unite. They are truly deserving of this award.”
For more information on IPHA, visit www.iowapha.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
