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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Diane Renzulli, MSPH¹, Nathalie Bartle, EdD², Jessica Riccio¹, and Christiaan Morssink, MPH³. (1) Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 260 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215.985.2537, renzulli@phmc.org, (2) Drexel University School of Public Health, 1505 Race Street, Mail Box 660, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192, (3) Graduate Program in Public Health Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 414 Anatomy-Chemistry, 37th Street and Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6110

In order to reduce duplicative efforts and satisfy funders' requirements for inter-agency collaboration, coalitions are crucial to designing, implementing, and evaluating public health programs in urban settings. In response to these demands, several government, academic, and community-based organizations came together in January 2005 to create Philadelphia Partners in Public Health ("The Partnership"), a coalition designed to foster collaboration and promote Greater Philadelphia's public health sector. The Partnership's first initiative was to create a united, integrated Philadelphia MEGABOOTH Exhibit at the APHA conference—the first time public health interests ever came together to promote their region at APHA. This presentation will describe the development of the MEGABOOTH, a space that held fourteen Philadelphia-based exhibitors and was awarded First Prize in APHA's Nonprofit Exhibit Booth competition. The year-long process, facilitated by staff from a neutral community-based organization, was supported by an evaluation committee, led by representatives from four academic institutions; a raffle committee, led by staff from a local hospital; and a student committee, led by graduate-level public health students. A quantitative evaluation found that 1,500 attendees picked up MEGABOOTH marketing material and 500 job postings at its "Jobs in Philadelphia" wall. A qualitative evaluation conducted by public health students collected positive feedback on the MEGABOOTH and information on ways to improve future efforts. In 2006, the Partnership is expanding its work to create inter-agency collaborations that seek to increase networking among the region's public health students and professionals and improve the health of local residents.

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