About the Academy

The History of AAHB

The Academy was founded April 1, 1997 to transform the health promotion and health education field from a teaching- and service-centered profession to one with a stronger research foundation in which discovery would be valued as a means of improving practice and enhancing public health. The origination of the Academy was based on the belief that the future growth and evolution of the health promotion and health education fields rested on a strong commitment to conducting and disseminating quality research. With a critical eye toward the future, a new course for the field was forged on a distinctive set of conceptual underpinnings:

1. A perceived need to establish a meritocracy that acknowledges the competitive nature of the research environment, challenges members to produce quality research, and recognizes outstanding research contributions.
2. To advance evidence-based practice that is produced from practice-based evidence.
3. The need to mentor new health behavior researchers.
4. The desire to overcome partisan, protective agendas of traditional disciplines by stimulating multi-disciplinary research and learning.
5. The Academy informs and educates scholars about the latest in research innovations and focuses on quality research through its professional meetings and publications.

History of the Academy's first 10 years