Nation’s Public Health and Museum and Science Center Leaders Gather for Historic Meeting

In a significant show of unity and forward thinking, more than 30 leaders from museum and science centers and public health organizations came together today to discuss improving the nation’s health at the inaugural meeting of the National Public Health Partnership (NPHP) held during the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.

With an estimated 16,000 U.S. museums and science centers receiving more than 850 million visits per year, more than all of the country’s professional baseball, football, and basketball sporting events combined, and with recent events driving increased public interest in health issues at an equally rapid rate, never before has the need for effective, informal public health education in museums and science centers been more clear or compelling. The NPHP, generously funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, strives to bridge the gap between public health and informal education in museum and science center settings by advancing the quality of and capabilities to support public health programming in museums and science centers.

Mohammad Akhter, MD, MPH, Executive Director of APHA, and Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP, Incoming Executive Director, welcomed the diverse group of museum and science center and public health professionals to the NPHP Inaugural Meeting and the 130th annual meeting of the APHA. In addressing the importance of the Partnership, Akhter commented that "the public health community has a lot of science on our side, but translating that science in an interesting and innovative way has been challenging. Museums and science centers are skilled at taking complicated information and making it exciting, understandable, and fun – this Partnership is truly unique and has tremendous potential for the future of our country."

In addition to APHA, the NPHP Inaugural Meeting was headed by the American Association of Museums, the Association of Science-Technology Centers, and the National Health Museum, all of which serve as Conveners on behalf of the Partnership. The additional museum and science centers and public health organizations in attendance all serve on the NPHP’s Steering Committee (click here for a complete list of NPHP Partners).

In his welcoming comments to the group, Mark Dunham, Acting President of the National Health Museum, said that "the ultimate goal of the Partnership is to increase the nation’s understanding of the crucial public health issues that impact the American people every day by bringing together national resource-rich public health organizations with a large number of audience-rich community-based museums and science centers."

The two-hour meeting included formal presentations followed by a facilitated group discussion that yielded numerous recommendations about the direction that the Partnership should take. Representatives from the museum and science center community shared examples of previous public health collaboratives and successful public health exhibits and programs, while members of the public health community talked about the importance of fusing the evidence-based findings of public health with the innovative communication technologies employed by museums and science centers.

The successful inaugural meeting was followed by a reception where the NPHP Conveners signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that demonstrates their commitment to work together to advance the mission of the NPHP. More than 300 people attended the reception, including APHA’s executive committee, senior leaders from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a diverse group of public health professionals. After signing the MOU, Akhter told the crowd that "this Partnership is historic and APHA is thrilled to offer our support towards its success".

Prior to the inaugural meeting, the National Health Museum hosted a "Public Health 101" luncheon for all the museum and science center leaders attending the NPHP meeting. The idea for the session sprung from the NPHP discussion that was held during the Association of Science-Technology Center’s annual meeting in October 2002 where several museum and science center leaders expressed interest in a basic tutorial about public health.

Nancy Persily, MPH, Assistant Provost, University at Albany, SUNY and Associate Dean, School of Public Health, conducted the "Public Health 101" luncheon session and prepared a presentation that covered basic public health concepts, such as population based public health practice, great public health achievements, and current issues in public health and associated case studies, including bioterrorism and violence prevention. The presentation was followed by a thoughtful discussion where the challenge of balancing museums and science centers roles’ as information disseminators and educators with the advocacy and behavioral change roles often adopted by public health organizations was debated.

For more information about the National Public Health Partnership, click here, or contact Claudia Menashe, Project Director, National Public Health Partnership.

Mohammad Akhter, MD, MPH, Executive Director, APHA and Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, Vice Chairman, NHM Board of Trustees.

Anne Lubenow, Health Communications Specialist, National Cancer Institute and David Ramsey, MPH, CHES, Associate Director, Health Promotion at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention participate in the NHM exhibitor's workshop at APHA's annual meeting.

Sonbol A. Shahid-Salles, NPHP Intern, in front of NHM’s exhibit booth at the Public Health Expo during APHA’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.

As Conveners of the NPHP, Mohammad Akhter, MD, MPH, Executive Director, APHA, and Mark Dunham, Acting President, NHM, sign a Memorandum of Understanding at the NPHP Reception held during APHA's annual meeting.