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The History of Public Health

The Development of Health Education and Health Promotion in State Health Agencies

This project, funded by the Directors of Health Promotion and Education, was undertaken to document the advancement of health education and health promotion departments and programs in state health agencies. While this is by no means an exhaustive or complete documentary of the health promotion and health education movement, it presents the major initiatives that served as a catalyst for the organization and development of this field at the federal and state levels.

The experts interviewed for this project discuss historic epidemiologic research beginning in the 1950s which served as a springboard for the development of behavioral interventions and the subsequent creation of commissions, task forces, agencies, and funding opportunities for state departments of health.

The History of Health Promotion and Education

(32 minutes)
A narration of the history of health promotion and education featuring seven health promotion professionals.
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For extended versions of these interviews and for more information, see the unedited interviews and the additional resources listed below.

Unedited Interviews

Resources

Milestones

Unedited Interviews

 

Don Bishop, PhD

(12 minutes)

Don Bishop

Chief
Center for Health Promotion
Minnesota Department of Health

Discusses the Minnesota Healthy Communities Program, smoke-free communities, and the importance of working with local community planners to enact change for a healthier environment.

Handouts/Resources

Transcript

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Janet Collins, PhD

(5 minutes)

Janet Collins

Director
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Overview of the 20-year history of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion from a focus on individual behaviors to today’s social policy initiatives.

Handouts/Resources

Transcript

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Marshall Kreuter, PhD

(23 minutes)

Marshall Kreuter

Director (former)
Division of Chronic Disease Control and Community Intervention
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Evolution of Health Education-Risk Reduction (HERR) grants as first targeted funding for health education activities, Prevention Block Grants, Multiplier Effect, School Health programs, establishment of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) as a sentinel event to collect baseline data and the beginning of behavioral epidemiology and evaluation, Youth Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (YBRFSS), and Planned Approach to Community Health (PATCH).

Handouts/Resources

Transcript

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Brick Lancaster, MA, CHES

(36 minutes)

Brick Lancaster

Chief
Program Services Branch
Office on Smoking and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Changing focus of health education from 1960s (pamphlets to individuals) to present day priorities of science-based initiatives, policy development, program integration, and cultural change.

Handouts/Resources

Transcript

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Rose Marie Matulionis, MSPH

(4 minutes)

Rose Marie Matulionis

Executive Director (former)
Directors of Health Promotion and Education

Overview of the Directors of Health Promotion and Education including history, membership, community partners and efforts to enact policy change for a healthier workforce.

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Transcript

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Michael McGinnis, MD

(40 minutes)

Michael McGinnis

Assistant Surgeon General (former)
Director (former)
U.S. Office of Disease Prevention

Discusses association between behaviors and chronic diseases, Health Promotion Act of 1976, impact of the LaLonde Report and the Healthy People Report, and the notion of prevention to include behavioral, health protection, and clinical preventive services.

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Transcript

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Dennis Tolsma, MPH

(30 minutes)

Dennis Tolsma

Director (former)
Center for Health Promotion and Education
Associate Director (former)
Public Health Practice
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“Healthy People” development process, LaLonde Report, Horace Ogden, and establishment of Bureau of Health Education, HERR Grants, and the BRFSS.

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Transcript

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Milestones

1948

Framingham Heart Study Begins.

1964

Surgeon General's Report on Tobacco and Health is Published.

1971

President Richard Nixon Establishes Committee on Health Education.

1974

Bureau of Health Education is Established at the Centers for Disease Control.
Public Law 93-641 (National Health Planning and Resources Development Act) is Passed.

1975

Initial Publication of Focal Points.
National Center for Health Education is Established.

1976

Public Law 94-317 (Health Promotion Act) Releases Survey of Adult Use of Tobacco.

1977

Hypertension Screenings Conducted for all CDC Employees.

1978

Sponsored National Conference: Teenage Cigarette Smoking, A National Health Problem.
HERR are funded.

1979

Surgeon General’s Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention is Published.

1981

Marc Lalonde, Canadian Minister of Health, Proposes a New Health Field Concept in the LaLonde Report.

1983

PATCH is Developed.

1984

BRFSS is Established.

2003

STEPS Program Begins.

2008

Strategic Alliance Program Begins.


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Resources

Chronology of the Establishment of the Bureau of Health Education and Some Major Initiatives and Activities (8 pages)
February 18, 1971 - April 18, 1980

Mohan Singh Temple in Cyberspace: In Memoriam of Horace G. Ogden
The Temple of the Spiritual Leader of Health Education and Health Promotion

The Multiplier Effect of the Health Education-Risk Reduction Program in 28 States and 1 Territory (6 pages, 1 MB)
Marshall Kreuter, PhD, Gregory Christensen, PhD, Angela Divincenzo, MS
Public Health Reports
November-December 1982
Vol. 97, No. 6

Planned Approach to Community Health (PATCH)

Public Law 93-641, 1974. (28 pages, 3.5 MB)

STEPS Communities
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Strategic Alliance for Health (SAH) Communities
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

DHPE

This project was produced by the Directors of Health Promotion and Education, 2010. For more information about DHPE, visit The Directors of Health Promotion and Education.


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Page last updated: May 13, 2021