It’s National Public Health Week! Show your commitment to preparedness and celebrate public health

National Public Health Week is here, and health advocates around the nation are celebrating.

NPHW is a week filled with fun, informative events to help you and your community get healthy. From providing access to healthy food to strengthening access to health services to helping your community prepare for disasters, there are many ways you can support health this week.

Organized annually by APHA, NPHW is being held April 4-10 around the theme of “Healthiest Nation 2030.” The goal is to help Americans and the nation become healthier by 2030, and you can be part of that change.

Hundreds of events are being held nationwide. It’s not too late to plan your own. NPHW is a great opportunity to share health and preparedness information on campus, at health fairs, in your workplace, at schools and in health facilities. Get Ready makes planning easy with free fact sheets on flu, vaccinations, Zika, weather preparedness and more. And check out our NPHW fact sheets, too.

Join us online for our annual NPHW Twitter chat on April 6 at 2 p.m. EDT. People across the country will be tweeting together about how America can become the healthiest nation. Use the hashtag #NPHWchat to join the conversation.

And for all the students out there, you definitely don’t want to miss our virtual town hall on Friday, April 8, aka Public Health Student Day. You’ll have an opportunity to ask questions about the future of health in America with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

For more ideas on how you can get involved, check out the NPHW website. Thanks for joining with us to create a healthier nation!

Climate change, droughts and health: NPHW emphasizes preparedness

This National Public Health Week — which is going on right now! — we’re focusing on making the U.S. the healthiest nation. Getting there means we need to address a number of issues, including climate change. Climate change and extreme weather are threatening U.S. health, and if we don’t do something about them there’ll be increases in disease, injury and death.

One of the big effects of climate change that scientists are worried about are droughts, which could make water supplies scarce. Droughts can even cause more cases of West Nile virus, research shows.
Both before and during droughts, there are steps we can all take to conserve water:

• Reduce shower times and use high-efficiency showerheads to use less water and conserve energy.
• Use energy-efficient washing machines and make sure to wash full loads of laundry instead of more frequent small loads.
• Turn off your sprinklers when it’s raining. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends checking your lawn by stepping on the grass and seeing if it springs back as an indicator of whether it needs more water. Pay attention to local restrictions on water use during droughts.
• Educate your community about the importance of water conservation and why everyone needs to do their part.

Learn more about climate change and health on the NPHW website, and check out NPHW events being held in your area this week.

Get ready for National Public Health Week

The beginning of April marks an exciting time for advocates of healthier communities. APHA is hosting National Public Health Week, April 6-12. The event is a time to celebrate, learn and tell others about public health. Supporters join together each year to talk about important health topics such as nutrition, health care and even emergency preparedness.



This year’s theme is “Healthiest Nation 2030,” which ties into APHA’s work to make the U.S. the healthiest nation in one generation.  People in the U.S. live shorter lives than residents of many other high-income countries, face more chronic diseases and struggle with obesity. The theme encourages communities to think of ways to improve our nation’s health.



Learn about the many ways to get involved in the week of events:

• Check out the NPHW calendar to see what your local health department, universities or others in your community are planning and attend an event. 
• Attend the NPHW forum “Raising the Grade” or view the live webcast on Monday, April 6, from 1-3 p.m. ET. Health experts will discuss opportunities to create the healthiest nation.
• Talk with other public health supporters during the fifth annual Twitter chat on Wednesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. ET. Follow @NPHW on Twitter and use the hashtag #NPHWchat. RSVP to save the date.

Or plan an event in your community to share simple ways to be prepared in emergencies. The Get Ready campaign offers a wealth of free preparedness fact sheets to share at your health fair, pass out on campus or hang in your office.

Each day of NPHW has something to offer. Take a look at the weekday themes for inspiration:

• Monday, April 6: Raising the grade: The U.S. trails many other high-income countries in life expectancy and other measures of good health, and this holds true across all ages and socio-economic groups.
• Tuesday, April 7: Starting from ZIP: Today, your ZIP code says too much about your health. Within the United States, there are unacceptable disparities in health by race and ethnic group, state by state and even county by county.
• Wednesday, April 8: Building momentum: Influential leaders, companies and organizations are taking important steps in line with creating the healthiest nation.
• Thursday, April 9: Building broader connections: In the work to become the healthiest nation, we can’t do it all on our own. We have to expand our partnerships to everyone that has an impact on our health.
• Friday, April 10: Building on 20 years of success: 2015 is APHA’s 20th anniversary for coordinating National Public Health Week, and the accomplishments of the public health community over the last two decades are significant.

Get tips and tools for your NPHW events online now and share your activities via social media with the #NPHW hashtag.

National Public Health Week is only days away: Help raise awareness of preparedness on April 8

Each year, National Public Health Week is celebrated in April to promote public health. This year, the APHA-led event will be celebrated from April 7-13. Tuesday, April 8, is raising awareness of being prepared for disasters with a focus on “Don’t Panic.”

  

Disaster preparedness starts with community commitment and action — and that’s where you come in. NPHW offers a great opportunity for you to share information and hold events around preparedness. Check out some of the great activities that are planned around the nation already:

• Free webinar: The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health in Rockville, Md., is hosting a presentation on how to create and use disaster health learning tools. 
• Create-a-kit: The Graduate Public Health Association of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte will help participants create a disaster relief kit.
• Zombies!: In Buies Creek, N.C., Campbell University will host a zombie-themed mock disaster scenario and lecture.
• Games and giving back: At APHA headquarters in Washington, D.C., we’ll be hosting a blood drive, a preparedness scavenger hunt and disaster trivia games.

What will you be doing to raise awareness of preparedness? Leave a message in the comments on the Get Ready Blog, and submit your event to the NPHW calendar.
 
And after your event is over, send pictures to The Nation’s Health newspaper to be included in the NPHW round-up in the July issue.

Don’t panic! April 8 of National Public Health Week to focus on preparedness

Each year, communities come together to celebrate National Public Health Week, a nationwide observance organized by APHA. This year, the event will include a day devoted especially to raising awareness of preparedness.
 
Tuesday, April 8, will be celebrated around the theme of “Don’t Panic.” National Public Health Week participants are encouraged to share disaster preparedness tips in their communities so residents can be ready for the unexpected.
 
Luckily, APHA’s Get Ready campaign has a wealth of free fact sheets, resources and tools to help you spread that message. Check out our materials page for information on natural disasters such as tornadoes and earthquakes as well as human-caused emergencies such as chemical spills or radiological disasters. There is also info for special audiences, such as parents, seniors and people with disabilities. You can even add your logo to our materials!
 
A good message to share in your community is the need for residents to have an emergency stockpile. Let everyone know they should have disaster supplies ready, including at least a three-day supply of bottled water and non-perishable foods. A first-aid kit, batteries, flashlights and other supplies are also essential. Not sure what should be in your stockpile? Print out our checklist.
 
Tell us what preparedness events you have planned for April 7-13 during National Public Health Week by sharing them on the event website.