APHN 2025 Preliminary Agenda.2.pdf

The 2025 APHN annual conference will explore strategies, roles, and opportunities to improve health for all through innovation in public health nursing practice, education and research.  Conference sessions, in live online and recorded formats, will provide participants with opportunities to engage with colleagues from across the country whose interests focus on public health/population health and the development of innovative public health programs and policies.  Conference participants will include individuals from the public, private and non-profit sectors, as well as public health, academic and community settings.
 
The conference will be held in a blended online format.  There will be live, online keynote and plenary sessions held on May 7, 14, 21, and 28, each running approximately 4 hours. All recorded abstracts will be made available to conference registrants through the conference app.  Additionally, approximately 12 - 15 of the accepted abstracts will alsobe featured in live presentations during the four live online sessions.
 
 
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Join APHN

The Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN) is the professional organization for all practicing public health nurses (PHNs). APHN members serve in the governmental public health system at the local, state, federal, territorial, or tribal levels, and in community-based organizations, clinics/health systems, and academic institutions.

APHN is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, evidenced by our work to become fully representative of the broad spectrum of public health nurses serving at all levels, including both the current and future public health nursing workforce. APHN’s growth and collaboration with national partners makes it the leading resource for supporting public health nurses in the dynamic, rapidly changing public health system through ongoing public health nursing education, mentoring, leadership development, and professional networking.

APHN’s members are actively engaged in local, state, and national collaborative partnerships that promote and improve the public’s health through excellence in public health nursing practice. Today, PHNs remain the largest professional discipline within the governmental public health workforce, and improving their capacity to assure the foundational public health capabilities within health departments is a key strategy to improving population health and a key priority within APHN.

What’s in it for Me?

  • Educational offerings, including an annual national conference and periodic webinars, with reduced registration fees for members.
  • Leadership development opportunities, including opportunities to serve on association committees and workgroups, in state and regional leader roles, as liaisons to other organizations, and in elected positions on the APHN Board of Directors.
  • Opportunities to connect and network with colleagues in public health nursing from across the country and with public health partners to explore and advance common interests.
  • Opportunities to provide or receive mentorship to advance professional skills and connections to prepare for future career roles and opportunities. 
  • Communication about issues of importance to PHN through the APHN newsletter, website, listserv, and twitter.
  • Advancement of policy papers on issues of significance to public health nursing, including roles of PHNs in disaster and emergency preparedness, along with other emerging roles. 
  • Support for PHNs to prepare for CPH (Certified in Public Health) credentialing, including a discount on CPH examination fees. 
  • Advocacy through strength in numbers – Membership gives PHNs a powerful voice in national issues. 
 

APHN's Commitment to Equity, Inclusion, Fairness and Respect

The Association of Public Health Nurses’ commitment to equity, inclusion, fairness, and respect for human dignity are cornerstones of our professional practice.
When issues arise that threaten our ability to promote and protect the health of populations, we work purposefully to resolve them and uphold the principles that guide our work.

The public health emergency of racism is killing, injuring, and disenfranchising people in communities across America. . Racism is a public health emergency that we have a  professional as well as ethical duty to address. We believe that we must address this emergency by working professionally and ethically to dismantle it.

Member Spotlight

Billy W. Wiggins, MSN, RN, CPH, CM 
Director of Clinical Services - CHS
S.C. Dept. of Health & Environmental Control

What do you love most about being a public health nurse?

The opportunity to continually learn and grow is one of my favorite things about working in Public Health. I also, love meeting people where they are and seeing the impact education and knowledge can have on health outcomes. Public health covers so many areas that it is hard to feel you have explored all it has to offer as a professional clinician.

How did you become involved with APHN; what value has it contributed to you?

I became involved with APHN through my agency. APHN has allowed me to create a network with fellow nurses across the nation. This collaboration has helped me, many times, feel that I'm not alone in the battles I'm facing while working in the field of public health.

Please share a fun fact about yourself.

I love photography. I've found the art of capturing a moment in time to be very powerful. Taking, and editing, photos has become a form of therapy for me. Photography is universal; requires no words, yet communicates in a manner that is beyond doubt.

APHN Mission

To advance the practice of public health nursing to promote the public's health.