LI Course
CE Hours: 6 contact hours

Partnership: The presenters do not represent any specific Section or SPIG, nor any external organization. We both have extensive experience with APHA and public health organizations nationally and internationally with a professional focus on the disciplines of social marketing, health communication, digital and social futures with an orientation to supporting transformative policy, practice and behavior change to improve public health outcomes.

Statement of Purpose and Institute Overview: This purpose of this course is to help ensure public health leadership in a transforming social future by mastering the practices of social media, social networking, social technology and social engagement. Participants will be able to: EXPLAIN the social future of public health, its building blocks and their practical application to the achievement of public health outcomes. COMPARE how their current skills complement the new skills they must master and will build on those to create strategies for the social future of public health. ASSESS the fundamental elements of the social future of public health in the areas of social media, social networking, social technology and social engagement, DEMONSTRATE how four core building blocks shared in the Learning Institute can be immediately applied to their own specific public health goals. This course presents evidence based practices for accelerating policy, practice and behavior change and improving public health outcomes. Participants will evolve their skills in the work of prevention, promotion and protection for continued viability in the emerging social future. There is a compelling need for this course. Public health must embrace the social future to preserve its leadership role. Mastery of social media, social technology and social engagement is now a core, required competence for global public health professionals. From online communities to social networks, to mobile applications, games and crowdsourcing, public health is “going social” at lightning speed. This new environment is transformative, impacting health beliefs, behavior and policy and putting the “public” into public health in unprecedented ways. In this dynamic, hand-on Institute, we will create a learning environment in which participants can relax, experience, share and learn. Participants will assess current social media and social technology tools; demonstrate storytelling, crowdsourcing, games and other forms of social engagement; compare offline and online social community building and social solution design; describe the social future of public health; and demonstrate the ability to lead their federal, state or local agency or program confidently into it. The presenters are public health professionals and published experts in social marketing, social and digital media. They draw on experience with hundreds of public health organizations ranging from the CDC to grassroots activist organizations. Case material is current and special emphasis is placed on issues of health equity in the social future. They are committed to delivering an engaging and accurate learning experience that meets APHA’s rigorous standards of objectivity, professionalism and value to participants.

Session Objectives: EXPLAIN the social future of public health, its building blocks and their practical application to the achievement of public health outcomes, ASSESS the fundamental elements of the social future of public health in the areas of social media, social networking, social technology and social engagement, DEMONSTRATE how four core building blocks shared in the Learning Institute can be immediately applied to their own specific public health goals.