DHPE Home

History
The Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE) was founded in 1946 (as the Conference of State Directors of Public Health Education) as a joint effort between directors of health education in state health departments and deans of health education in schools of public health. The formation of the Conference was supported by Mayhew Derrybery, then Director of Health Education with the U.S. Public Health Service.

The purpose of the Conference was to strengthen state public health education program goals and objectives and develop a network to share program efforts, ideas, and materials. In addition, Dr. Derrybery was interested in strengthening PHS public health education services through regional offices.

Additional concerns during the early years focused on funding, training health educators, staffing, improving health educator salaries, and other administrative concerns. From 1946 through the early 1980s, the conference had its meeting each year in conjunction with the annual APHA meeting.

In the 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control began sponsoring an annual Health Education/Risk Reduction Conference each May and brought in the Conference membership to participate. With funding and support from CDC, state and territorial health education and health promotion programs greatly expanded. The Conference, renamed the Directors of Health Promotion and Education , changed its annual meeting cycle to coincide with the Health Education/Risk Reduction meeting. In 1990, the area health education directors of the Indian Health Service were added as DHPE members. In 2003, the Association changed its name to the Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE) to better reflect the mission and roles of the membership in promoting health and preventing disease in states and communities.

DHPE's membership reflects a variety of state organizational structures and program emphases. One of DHPE's strengths is its ability to conduct programs in numerous public health areas that emphasize community-based prevention, and health promotion/health education. Policy, programs, training, and resources comprise the main functions for DHPE.

Mission
DHPE's membership reflects a variety of state organizational structures and program emphases. One of DHPE's strengths is its ability to conduct programs in numerous public health areas that emphasize community-based prevention, and health promotion/health education. Policy, programs, training, and resources comprise the main functions for DHPE.

The Association has the following purposes:

To serve as a channel through which directors of health promotion and public health education programs of states and territories may exchange and share methods, techniques and information for the enrichment and improvement of health promotion and public health education programs. To establish position statements which increase public awareness of the necessity of health promotion and public health education. To participate with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) in promoting health and preventing disease. To identify methods of improving the quality and practice of health promotion and public health education. To elicit the cooperation of and coordination with national, public, private and voluntary agencies related to public health programs. To provide a forum for continuing education opportunities in health promotion and public health education.

Back to top

Membership
The Association represents 55 directors of health education/health promotion units of state health departments and the health departments of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa as well as the eleven directors of the health education units of Indian Health Service Area Offices. DHPE also has approximately 300 associate members and members emeritus.

Programmatically, DHPE directors administer a wide range of health education/health promotion-related public health programs including chronic disease prevention, injury prevention, HIV/AIDS, risk factor related programs such as tobacco use prevention, nutrition and physical activity, school, worksite and community health promotion.

Committees
DHPE has six standing committees: Leadership and Management; Legislative; Membership Services; Program Planning; Resource Development; and Education and Training.

Leadership and Management: cultivates and identifies new leadership, assists with Association human resource issues and conducts the annual nomination process in soliciting the slate of candidates for DHPE.

Legislative: addresses policy and legislative issues.

Membership Services: compiles and edits the association newsletter; publishes and distributes association position papers, association marketing documents and resource documents; facilitates and promotes improved electronic communications systems among association members.

Program Planning: plans the annual National Conference on Health Education and Health Promotion.

Resource Development: reviews the budget, expenditures, and fiscal condition of the Association, assists the Treasurer in selection of an independent certified accounting agency to conduct the annual audit of the Association's finances.

Education and Training: develops training plans, overseas continuing education credit hours process, and guides the Public Health Education Leadership Institute.

Other Committees:
Awards: solicits nominations, provides recognition awards and plans the awards ceremony at the annual National Conference on Health Education and Health Promotion Awards Luncheon.

Affiliations/Liaisons
DHPE is an affiliate of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and serves on four of its committees (Tobacco, HIV, School Health, and Injury Prevention). DHPE has formal relationships with 25 national organizations, coalitions and committees working on a wide range of public health issues.

DHPE is a leading advocate for the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant funding for public health prevention and health promotion programs. DHPE is an active partner in the development and implementation of the national strategic plans for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Physical Activity and Nutrition.