This Friday, Sept. 12, the Behavioral and Social Science Working Group at CDC will host a lecture by Noreen M. Clark, PhD, Director of the Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the University of Michigan. The lecture, “Social Movements and the Public’s Health,” will be available as streaming video on the web from CDC.

Here’s the abstract of the talk:

Significant changes in the health and well being of Americans have resulted from large scale shifts in people’s behavior and transformations of the social environments that influence their behavior. Such sweeping social changes have both improved the public’s health and also created greater threat and vulnerability, which raises questions about what public health workers and other citizens can actually do to shape and foster movements that will better protect the public’s health? In the movement for tobacco control, for instance, a series of events and initiatives led over time to healthier behavior and more supportive social conditions for millions. Thousands of changes affecting the price, accessibility, and attractiveness of cigarettes translated into a profound decline in smoking. Many of the precipitating events were catalyzed by public health professionals–but the overall force of the movement sprang from the contributions of non-professionals as well (e.g., non-smokers demanding clean air in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces).

The past is often prologue. What future health improvements can be expected from changes that are primarily social, economic and behavioral? Attention to American’s physical activity and eating habits may comprise an example of a burgeoning health-enhancing social movement. What is the strength of a social movement toward improved food and fitness? What is the role of the public health workers in such social transformation? How do health professionals traverse the shifting terrain and make their most valuable contribution to positive change?

Log on Friday, Sept. 12, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. to view this lecture.