Our representation at APHA’s annual meeting included:

Kate Hohman, Associate Director of Public Health Practice, was a panelist in the session “Demystifying AI and GenAI with Real-World Public Health Use Cases.” The panelists shared innovative ways public health can and is using artificial intelligence and generative AI to reduce burden and accelerate time to decision-making. Hohman discussed how a custom conversational AI tool, powered by a large-scale language model, might be used to support the chronic disease prevention and health promotion workforce in their jobs.

Mara Galic, Sr. Program Manager, Building Resilient Inclusive Communities, presented “Building resilient inclusive communities through state- and community-level partnerships to advance social connectedness” during the Community Engagement as a Tool to Address Barriers to Health Session. Galic discussed NACDD and CDC’s Building Resilient Inclusive Communities (BRIC) program in particular social connectedness, lessons learned and the role public health can play in advancing this public health priority. Learn more about BRIC and social connectedness at chronicdisease.org/bric.

Marti Macchi, Chief Program Strategy Officer, along with colleagues from the Alzheimer’s Association, and NACDD Board Member David Hoffman, presented “The Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map – Elevating and Expanding Public Health Capacity to Overcome Dementia Challenges.” Macchi discussed how the Roadmap advances health equity. The Road Map is a public health strategy and provides a framework to organize the work of public health to reach multiple populations with different levers for brain health.

Robyn Taylor, VP of the Center for Justice in Public Health, presented at several sessions at APHA. She served as a facilitator in the workshop for the Collaborative for Antiracism & Equity Roundtable. The Collaborative for Anti-Racism and Equity (CARE) is a group of partners supporting the movement to address racism as a public health crisis. Through facilitated roundtable discussions, participants shared policy recommendations and implementation strategies for advancing health, racial equity and anti-racism efforts and connect with partners working on racism as a public health crisis. Launched in 2021, NACDD is a founding member. 

Taylor was also a panelist in the Advocacy & Equity in the Public Health Workforce discussion as part of the Advocacy for Leaders session, which provided attendees with tools they can use to be effective advocates. The session addressed the infrastructure for public health advocacy, engaging in advocacy work in a difficult political climate, and how to advance racial health equity, with examples of current efforts.

In addition, Taylor presented “Taking Action to Increase Partnerships between Public Health, Healthcare, and Community Development Sectors to Advance Economic Inclusion and Community Health” at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta. The session highlighted examples of health infrastructure investments with community voice and community-owned strategies at the center as well as cross-sector collaborations that help address the root causes of racial health disparities, such as neighborhood disinvestment.

NACDD Consultant Jennifer Barnhart presented “Implementing an Equitable Medicaid Benefit: Health Administration Learnings from the National Diabetes Prevention program (National DPP),” during a Health Administration Roundtable Session. Barnhart shared lessons learned from the NACDD Diabetes Coverage Team and CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation around innovative community-based payment models which can support public health practitioners as they consider health equity approaches to Medicaid benefit design for chronic disease prevention and management programs in Medicaid.

Laura Summers, Director of Industry Research for the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah, presented qualitative research about effective technical assistance modalities to support chronic disease prevention programming. NACDD and CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation provide a variety of TA modalities to promote access and utilization of the National DPP lifestyle change program in Medicaid – focusing on building partnerships between public health and Medicaid, assisting states with systems change, obtaining coverage of the program, and increasing program enrollment. Read the white paper.

NACDD also had two presentations in the poster sessions. 

• NACDD Consultant Susan Buell presented “Medicaid coverage for the National Diabetes Prevention Program: National progress to date” during the Health Administration Section Poster Session. Providing the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program to Medicaid beneficiaries is a critical step toward supporting at-risk populations, lowering health care costs, and improving Medicaid beneficiary health and social outcomes. The Coverage Team offers funding and technical assistance to over 10 states through strategies such as Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) pilots, innovative payment models, and umbrella hub arrangements. To learn more about this innovative work and the 27 states and Washington D.C. who offer the National DPP to Medicaid beneficiaries, visit the Coverage Toolkit. 
• NACDD Consultant Joanna DiBenedetto presented the poster of NACDD’s work “Expanding Community Health Collaborations through the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program Enrollment Project” during the Community Health Planning and Policy Development session. Beginning in April 2018, the National DPP lifestyle change program became a covered preventive service for eligible Medicare beneficiaries through the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) — the first preventive service model tested by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Innovation Center (CMMI) to be expanded into Medicare; a landmark for public health. To learn more about this innovative work, visit the suite of resources on the MDPP implementation page of the Coverage Toolkit.  

Videos developed by NACDD in partnership with CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) and other partners screened all week at the APHA Public Health Film Festival Short Films. This included:           

• Bring Your Brave: The Power of Personal Stories to Inspire Lifesaving Conversations – Healthcare providers should fully understand the many social, cultural, and emotional barriers that may be preventing conversations about hereditary cancer. NACDD, with support from CDC, developed a compelling series of videos with women and men from diverse backgrounds sharing their personal stories. Learn more on NACDD and CDC webpages.

• Helping People Live Their Healthiest Lives – All people deserve the fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest lives. However, some people do not have equitable access to resources and opportunities due to unfair policies, practices, conditions, and differential treatment. NACDD partnered with CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to create a video series that elevates how public health and community partner organizations can work together to build healthier communities.

• Burlington, Vermont’s ‘You First Program’ Works Closely with Residents to Diversify and Expand Their Community’s Health and Wellness Programs – For more than 30 years, CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) has provided access to timely breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to women who have low incomes and are uninsured and underserved. With the support of CDC’s NBCCEDP, Vermont’s ‘You First Program’ is a one-of-a-kind, free program that helps anyone with breasts or a cervix get lifesaving cancer screening services. The program partners with local organizations to reach more people in ways that are affirming and culturally appropriate. Watch the video.

Overall, we are so encouraged by NACDD’s collective impact on display during this year’s APHA 2023 Conference in Atlanta! The visibility of NACDD Members, staff, consultants, and partners at the event is a testament to our work and our mission. Congratulations to all of this year’s presenters, and all who contributed to this year’s success.