David A. Sleet, PhD, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop K63, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-4699, dds6@cdc.gov

Mayhew Derryberry always stressed that health education must avoid simplistic approaches to changing the complex behavioral, social, environmental and cultural forces influencing health decisions. Health education, which once consisted mainly of inspirational messages on leaflets and posters, became increasingly sophisticated under Derryberry’s leadership at the US Public Health Service, as he began to apply theoretical constructs from the behavioral sciences. His writings on the difficulty of individual and community change resonate to today’s public health challenges. By illuminating the complexity of the behavior change process, he raised not only the specter of what is possible, but also how difficult it would be to achieve. In all of this, he was telling us to pay attention to theory, and to what the study of human behavior in other fields teaches us. Derryberry and those who followed him in federal service left their fingerprints on the Public Health Service. CDC, for example, boasts over 500 research studies on behavioral science and public health and actively supports a Behavioral Science Working Group with representatives from nearly every part of CDC. The fields of Behavioral Medicine, Health Psychology and Behavioral Safety are three outgrowths of Derryberry’s efforts to legitimize behavioral approaches to public health. It may have taken a long time for public health to incorporate Derryberry’s concepts and practical knowledge, but having done so has resulted in enormous advances in public health research and practice.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session attendees will be able to

l) Identify how Derryberry’s legacy has influenced work at the CDC and in the U.S. Public Health Service; and
• Name two health behavior research organizations that have been influenced by Derryberry’s theoretical work in health education.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.