KEYWORDS:
Immunization, education, training

BACKGROUND:
Planners at the state level should strive to make immunization education opportunities current, accurate and easily accessible to health care professionals throughout the state – both in the public and private sectors. One of the methods used by the immunization program in Michigan to reach this goal has been to create a one-day immunization conference and take it on the road to six cities throughout the state every fall. Conference attendance has grown each year by consistently providing up-to-date information in a concise, informative format. In October 2002, these conferences, held annually for the past 9 years, attracted more than 1,200 health care professionals, the majority of whom work in the private sector.

OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this presentation will be to describe the approach and tools used to develop a yearly immunization conference that attracts more than 1,200 health care professionals, the majority of whom are from the private sector.

METHOD:
Lecture and PowerPoint presentation, in addition to sample of conference materials.

RESULT:
A summary of the evaluation results will be provided at the conference.

CONCLUSION:
A large number of health care providers are able to participate in the annual conference for two primary reasons: The conference is limited to a one-day event and it is made available in six strategic locations throughout the state. The locations are chosen based on geographic and population considerations. Because of these two factors, most conference participants do not need to stay overnight in a hotel; in addition, they only need to take one day away from the office or clinic. These conferences continue to grow in attendance every year because they have a statewide reputation for providing immunization information that is accurate and timely.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Participants will learn the strategies needed to develop a successful conference.