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PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
 Visions
Working in health
promotion is one of those fields that can really baffle
people. I don’t know how many times over the past years my
relatives have asked, “So, what is it you really do?” It
sometimes feels like I belong to a secret society, with our special
language, outlooks and work. It’s infinitely easier when
you’re able to name a categorical program.
What is health promotion? Are there clear lines to
delineate between disease prevention and health promotion or are
they inclusive? Is primary prevention the same as health
promotion? These are some of the questions I’ve been pondering
for the past year in my work within the Alaska Division of Public
Health, as well as through the Directors of Health Promotion and
Education.
As I think about it health promotion is an ever evolving
public health function that transcends programs, disease and risk
factors. It once consisted primarily of health education, and
is still commonly referred to by that term. Health education
is an educational process concerned with providing a combination of
approaches to lifestyle change that can assist individuals, families
and communities in making informed decisions on matters that affect
restoration, achievement and maintenance of health. It is now
increasingly recognized that health promotion is broader than just
the educational component. The National Commission for Health
Education Credentialing was established in 1988, and identified
seven specific competency areas, including community development,
assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation competencies
that support the reduction of chronic and infectious disease and
injury impacts and risk factors, while promoting wellness.
More recently, the health promotion profession has been
active in systems change through formal and informal policy
development, and environmental supports that can affect an entire
population, by targeting underlying risk factors for disease and
injury. In a study commissioned by CDC and the Directors of
Health Promotion and Education, “Policy and Environmental Change,
New Directions for Public Health” , it is noted that policy and
environmental change has moved health promotion beyond the more
traditional focus of changing the behaviors of single individuals
and small groups to larger groups and systems simultaneously.
This expansion in the professional capacity of health promotion has
created the need to systematically address the capacity of public
health professionals and organizations to engage in interventions
that affect many people at one time.
A more accurate definition of current health promotion
practice is the combination of education, community development, and
environmental supports for actions and conditions of living
conducive to health. The purpose of health promotion is to
enable people to gain greater control over the determinants of their
own health, while striving to address the inequities of
health. The most effective health promotion incorporates the
four key components of health promotion; health education systems
change, community development, assessment, planning, implementation
and evaluation.
Where does health promotion fall within the continuum of
prevention? It is generally recognized that primary prevention
focuses on the reduction of risk factors associated with diseases
and injuries. Secondary prevention is aimed at early disease
and injury detection, thereby increasing opportunities for
interventions to prevent progression of the disease and emergence of
symptoms. Tertiary prevention reduces the negative impact of
an already established disease and injury by restoring function and
reducing related complications. If the purpose of health
promotion is to give people greater control over their lives, it
stands to reason that health promotion has a role within all three
levels of prevention, while recognizing it is most effective when
associated with the early interventions of disease and injury
prevention, promoting the highest levels of population based health
and quality of life.
Health promotion will continue to evolve as we develop more
evidence of how we can effectively improve the health status of
people. As we continue along this path, it in increasingly
important that DHPE work to strengthen our profession and the
understanding of its role within public health.
Sincerely,
Jayne E.
Andreen
LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE
FY
2009 President's Bush Budget
On February 4th,
President Bush sent his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress
with a total price tag of $3.1 trillion. The budget includes
an increase for defense spending, but freezes domestic discretionary
spending. Overall, 61 percent of spending would be for
mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare, with annual
spending for discretionary programs making up the remaining 39
percent...Read
more. For more details regarding the CDC President Bush
Budget can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/fmo/PDFs/FY09_CDC_CJ_Final.pdf
FY
2008 Budget Process Complete!
Faced
with a continuing veto threat from the President if the
appropriations bills exceeded his total budget request,
Congressional Democrats agreed to reduce the 11 bill omnibus
spending package largely through a 1.5% across the board cut to stay
within the President’s total of $933 billion. The Labor,
Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill received
a 1.74% across the board cut. The House passed the omnibus by
a vote of 253 to 154. The Senate amended the omnibus with an
additional $70 billion in spending for the war in Iraq, and it
passed by a vote of 76 to 17. The House ultimately approved
the additional Iraq funding by a vote of 242 to 142. On
December 26th, the President signed the omnibus into law.
The
original Democratic spending plan called for domestic spending
levels that were $23 billion higher than the President’s budget, and
attempted to pass a compromise bill that was $11 billion more than
the President’s request. Unfortunately, the lack of support
from Republicans and the President for higher spending levels forced
Democrats to cave to the lower Bush spending level...Read
more
As
for DHPE legislative priorities, while none of our programs were
slashed, we did lose ground on our funding increases.
•
Preventive Health and Human Services Block
Grant. Bush zeroed out this program in his budget,
but thankfully, the omnibus included $97.3 million, which is $2
million less than fiscal year 2007...Read
more
DHPE
takes Prevention Message to Capitol Hill
With the DHPE
Board
leading the way, state and associate members delivered a
well-articulated prevention message to multiple Congressional
offices on November 29, 2007. Participants personally thanked those
offices that voted to override the President’s veto on the FY 2008
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.
Asserting prevention makes good economic sense, which in turn
provides a good return on investment, reduces disparities and
improves quality of life. DHPE members from Alaska, West Virginia,
Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina and
Utah described why funding prevention priorities are fundamental to
sustaining and advancing the well-being and prosperity of our
nation....Read
more
Watch for future advocacy alerts and health
promotion policy training opportunities on the DHPE website.
To join the legislative/advocacy committee, contact Lavell Thornton
at thorntlr@dhec.sc.gov
NEWS FROM
DHPE
 Best Wishes to John Korn, CDC Public Health Advisor who
retired in January 2008. DHPE staff and members extend
our gratitude to John Korn on his many years of service to promote
healthy people and healthy communities...Read
more
Tobacco Technical Assistance
Consortium
Sponsorship by
CDC and several other orginizations, is offering a training
institute July 20-23rd in Phoenix. The Summer Institute 2008 is a
leadership and training forum designed to provide expert instruction
and applied activities in an effort to increase practicable
knowledge, build capacity, and increase competency in the area of
tobacco prevention and control. The main topic is tobacco
control; however, many of the course offerings are applicable to
other subject areas. DHPE's health policy and environmental
change project will be offering a course. More information
regarding course offerings visit http://www.thesummerinstitute.org both Courses are filling quickly
so please act fast!. For either of these opportunities,
contact Pam Eidson at pam.eidson@dhpe.org or
770-314-7765.
Developing Our
Skills to Shape Health Promotion Policy
Health Promotion
professionals are increasingly working on policy, environmental, and
system solutions to health problems. For example, local or
state organizations may plan to reduce childhood obesity by changing
school district policies related to physical activity and
nutrition. Federal and state grants might require working on
these population-based strategies.
But how skillful are we
in these new approaches? Where can we acquire competence in
applying these new strategies? DHPE is breaking new ground
with a set of competencies and a curriculum designed with you in
mind. James Emery, MPH and Carolyn Crump, PhD at the UNC
School of Public Health are developing these new materials.
The competencies are available on our website www.dhpe.org/policytools.htm....Read more. For more information contact Donna Nichols,
DHPE Partnership and Policy Manager at dnichols@dhpe.org or via phone at 512-507-4933.
Worksite Health
Project
At this time
we are recruiting employers and we need your assistance. We
will be providing nine employers each with $2,500.00 to commit to be
on calls and have one additional person to assist (perhaps the Human
Resource person) with project activities...Read
more. For more information please call or e-mail Mariela
Alarcon-Yohe at 202-659-2230 (128) or via e-mail at malarcon@dhpe.org
MEMBERS CORNER
VOTING MEMBERS: DHPE welcomes its new voting members:
Barbara Keir, Texas Department of of State Health
Services, Gloria Latimer, Colorado Dept of
Public Health & Environment.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: DHPE welcomes new associate members:
Cecila Arangure (CA), Michael BeBawi (NJ), Carrie Bridges (RI), Lynn
Chavez (CA), Sally Christ (ME), Holly Dingman, (NE), Jennifer
Fleisch (WA), Brittney Foy (OK), June Gipson, Edilma Guevara (TX),
Carol Hall-Walker (RI), Elizabeth Harvey (RI), Tracy Ingraham (GA),
Debbie Isley (WA), Raganald Ivey (OK), Leonard Jack (LA), Alice
Jaglowski (FL), Jennifer Joseph (DC), Jon Kermiet, Brian
Kolodziejski (HI), Sally Kraus (MA), Annet Kyarimpa (East Africa),
Alia Legaux (NY), Denise Mendonca (NM), Teresa Moore (MD), Lori
Obluck (WI), Jill Oldham (OH), Wes Payne (FL), Sarah Pelarske (DC),
LaVerne Reid (NC), Kimberly Roberts (MS), Ann Thacher (RI), Beth
Topf (DC), Robert Vanderslice (RI), Doris Brown (LA), Pamela Metoyer
(LA), Madrah Starks-Robinson (LA), Avis Richard-Griffin (LA),
Margaret Kilroy (VA).
UPCOMING
STATE CONFERENCES AND PROGRAMS
2008
Health Education Advocacy Summit, Scholarships
available March 15-17, 2008 Embassy Suites Hotel, 900 10th
Street, NW Washington, DC (202) 739-2001. For more information www.healtheducationadvocate.org/Summit/
Are
you interested in participating in this year's Health Education
Advocacy Summit? DHPE will provide funding support to 5 members to
attend the Summit on a first come, first served basis. To
communicate your interest, your first step is to contact Lavell
Thornton, DHPE Advocacy Chair at thorntlr@dhec.sc.gov or to
learn more about the Summit and what to expect, visit http://www.healtheducationadvocate.org/.
The PRC Annual
meeting March 25-27, 2008 Scholarships
available to DHPE members. Identifies adoptable and effective
interventions that have been proven to work. Topic areas include
reducing childhood obesity, teenage smoking cessation, and exercise
for senior adults. Promising interventions in asthma and violence
are also promoted. To find out more about these interventions,
including reading stories resulting from prevention research. To
learn more about this program visit www.cdc.gov/prc/index.htm. For more
information contact Pam Eidson at pam.eidson@dhpe.org or 770-314-7765.
Leadership Training and Coaching Scholarship
Funds Available
Is expanding your own
leadership capacity on your short list of professional goals for
2008? DHPE is pleased to announce the availability of
scholarships for Leadership Training and Coaching for DHPE members,
voting and associate. DHPE dues-paid members seeking
professional development are eligible for these awards. For more
information and the application form, visit the DHPE
website: www.dhpe.org/leaders.htm
FROM THE STATES
Alabama
Obesity
 One health issue that has continued to affect
Alabama's population is obesity. At least two-thirds of Alabamians
are overweight or obese, and these weight issues will cause
premature death rates for decades to come. The Alabama Department of
Public Health helped launch the Scale Back Alabama program in 2007.
Scale Back Alabama encouraged teams of three to five people to lose
weight and exercise. More than 5,000 teams participated in the
contest, representing 46 of the state’s 67 counties, losing a
grand total of 78,000 pounds. The program is being modified and
began again this month....Read more.
California
On July 1, 2007
our Department split in two the California Department of Health Care
Services (CDHCS) with a focus on client-centered services and the
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) with al focus on
population-based prevention. Although the majority of our
health educators are located in CDPH, we now have health educators
in both departments which will increase our ability to work in
concert on cross-departmental issues....Read more
CDPH has
formally established a Coordinating Office for Obesity Prevention
within the Office of the Director. The new Office will
continue to foster cross-program cooperation and capacity building
in this critical arena. For more information, please
contact: Lisa Hershey, at lesliehershey@cdph.org Obesity Prevention.
Florida
Donna Keith, RN was working at the Manatee
County Health Department in February 2002 and received a CDC/State
DOH grant to promote vaccination of adults (primarily seniors)
against influenza and Pneumococcal disease. She was appointed
as the nurse in charge of the program. One of the CDC’s strong
suggestions is that each grant-funded participating county should
have a coalition to support the efforts of the program. There
was a children’s immunization coalition in Manatee County, but it
was ineffectual and lacked community participation....Read
more
Nevada
Health
Promotion in Clark County 2007 Year in Review
In
the September, 2007 issue of The Voice, Jayne Andreen, President of
the Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE), shared
recommendations developed by members of the International Union for
Health Promotion and Education and challenged readers to consider
how these recommendations could be implemented in their
programs. The recommendations included:
The Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) is
the local governmental public health authority serving Clark County
and is the largest public health authority in the state of Nevada,
both in the size of the population served and scope of the
authority. The SNHD Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
(OCDPHP) promotion is staffed by professionally trained health
educators who improve the health of our community by working
collaboratively with community partners to encourage people to get
moving, be safe, eat better, and live smoke-free where they live,
work, learn and play.
Using Technology
for Health Promotion
In order to continue to serve a
rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population, the Southern
Nevada Health District’s Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion has integrated technology into its health promotion
efforts. The ‘Get Healthy Clark County’ website (www.gethealthyclarkcounty.org) includes tips and
resources to help Southern Nevada residents get and stay
healthy.
The Nutrition Challenge
Program is a 12-week, web-based program that provides nutrition
education specifically focusing on the importance of fruit and
vegetable consumption for adults in Clark County, Nevada. While the
goal was to have 500 registered users, there are currently
1,601registered users of the program. An evaluation of the
program utilizing pre and post-program survey responses showed
statistically significant improvements in fruit and vegetable intake
and stage of behavior change among participants (results are
published at (http://www.nphaonline.org/current_issue_v3.htm). The Nutrition
Challenge was one of 29 National Association of County and City
Health Officials (NACCHO) 2007 Model Practice awardees selected from
118 nominations.
Innovative Health Promotion
Partnerships to Address Disparities
The Southern Nevada
Health District (SNHD) Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion developed a Spanish-language health education media
project called Viva Saludable. The project uses a multimedia
campaign to reach the target population using culturally and
linguistically appropriate interventions and includes television,
radio and print media...Read more
Addressing the Health Impacts of the
Built Environment
The Southern Nevada Health District
was a sponsor of the Open Space and Trails Summit held in Las Vegas,
Nevada on October 18, 2007. The Summit, the first of its kind
in the area, provided an opportunity for more than 200
representatives from planning departments, developers, elected
officials, decision makers, recreation staff, conservation experts,
health and safety officials and local, state and federal
governmental agencies dealing with land use to come together and
initiate a dialogue about the opportunities and challenges to
preserving open spaces and in developing an interconnected trail
system in Southern Nevada....Read more
South Carolina
2007 Statewide Health Education
Conference - Policy, Politics
& Prevention: Working Towards Improving Health
Outcomes....Read more
Utah
Cancer Control
Program Hits A New Milestone
Since 1994, the Utah
Department of Health (UDOH) Utah Cancer Control Program (UCCP) has
provided more that 95,000 breast and cervical cancer screenings to
Utah women statewide.
A grant from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) enables the UCCP to offer free screenings to
women ages 50 – 64 at more than 45 locations across the state.
Low-cost screenings may also be available to qualified younger women
ages 40 – 49. Eligible women receive the following free screening
services: Pap test, pelvic examination, clinical breast examination,
instruction on self-breast examination, and a voucher for a free
mammogram....Read more
Cancer Surviorship
Summit
In September 2007, the Utah Cancer Action Network
(UCAN) hosted Utah’s first Cancer Survivorship Summit. More than 220
cancer survivors, family members, friends, and caregivers joined
UCAN member organizations to share ideas and learn about valuable
resources available to cancer survivors in Utah. Participating
organizations included local hospitals and healthcare organizations,
the Utah chapters of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and American
Cancer Society, the Utah Cancer Foundation, the Utah Department of
Health, and local cancer-related nonprofit
organizations....Read more
Low-Cost HPV Vaccine Available for
Women
Many
Utah women will receive life-saving education and vaccines to
prevent Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) thanks to a $1 million donation
from Utah Industrialist Jon Huntsman, Sr.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted
infection in the U.S., causing genital warts and up to 70 percent of
all cervical cancers. The vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in June 2006 and is effective against the four
strains of the virus that cause the majority of health
problems...Read more
West
Virginia
 In
October Senator Tom Harkin and Senator Lisa Murkowski joined with
the New America Foundation to schedule a panel presentation at the
U.S. Senate on "Obesity and Child Well Being". Tom Sims, the DHPE voting member from West
Virginia, was invited to participate on this panel. He was
accompanied to the session by Jim Cummings (DHPE) and Lauren Ackil
(Cornerstone Government Affairs). Tom addressed the obesity
problem among children in West Virginia and was also asked to
discuss "how the federal government has helped or impeded
work at the state level".... Read more
FROM OUR
PARTNERS
Partnership for Prevention®
has developed a new tool, Smoke-Free Policies: Establishing a
Smoke-Free Ordinance to Reduce Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in
Indoor Worksites and Public Places—An Action Guide, to help public
health professionals maximize the beneficial impact of smoke-free
laws. Rooted in The Guide to Community Preventive Services: What
Works to Improve Health?(Community Guide), this tool translates an
evidence-based recommendation into practical implementation
guidance. Web links to additional resources and tools are provided
to assist with planning and implementing a smoke-free ordinance. For
more information visit www.prevent.org/actionguides to order a hard copy or download for
free.
UPCOMING
EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Creating
a Strong Sustainable Public Health Program
American
Cancer Society, Denver CO, March 11th, 2008 ....Read
more. For more information contact Heather Mortenson
at (303) 650-0909 or heathermortenson@hotmail.com
.
RWJF Active Living
Research Conference: Connecting Active
Living Research to Policy Solutions, April 9-12, 2008, Washington,
DC. http://www.activelivingresearch.org/
CDC CORNER
Grant Opportunities
USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is
soliciting grant applications from State
agencies to expand and
enhance training programs that incorporate and
implement the 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans in meals served under
child
nutrition programs....Read
more http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=40422"http://www07 or
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/grants/2008app.html.
For more information contact Leslie Byrd at leslie.byrd@fns.usda.gov
.
ABOUT THIS
NEWSLETTER
The Directors of
Health Promotion and Education (DHPE) is a 501(C)(3) association
based in Washington, DC and is an affiliate of the Association of
State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).
DHPE is organized specifically to provide leadership in
health promotion, programming, practice, training, technical
assistance and policy developments
DHPE makes every effort to present
reliable and accurate information in this newsletter; however, DHPE
does not endorse, certify, approve or guarantee accuracy, timeliness
or completeness of such information. Therefore,
any references to a program, service, process or system do not imply
or constitute endorsement or recommendation by DHPE, unless
expressly noted. Past issues are archived on-line at http://www.dhpe.org/
Any comments
or suggestions regarding this newsletter should be directed to csomers@dhpe.org. If you wish to remove your name from future
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