ETC 44 - APIC Chapter Develops Successful Strategy to Increase Chapter Member Participation in Monthly Chapter Meetings

Background: An individual Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) chapter values member participation in monthly chapter educational meetings. Following the resumption of chapter meetings after the COVID-19 pandemic-related pause, member participation significantly diminished. The chapter implemented a strategy to increase member engagement at monthly meetings.

Methods: Chapter leaders created a new user-friendly online survey tool at the start of 2022 to determine chapter members’ educational topics of interest, preferred format for educational presentations, and willingness to participate in meeting presentations. Survey data indicated members valued a variety of education presentation styles at chapter meetings. Meeting topics for 2022 were selected based on member interest and a given topic was used for at least two consecutive monthly meetings. Following the initial presentation of a topic, the subsequent month’s meeting began with a brief review, and then three to five chapter members gave short presentations on that same topic, sharing their respective organization’s methods, opportunities, and successes. Members were solicited to present through several engagement methods: recruiting volunteers at chapter meetings, follow-up emails, encouraging peers, and by reaching out to leadership at various facilities in the area.

Results: The new survey tool effectively generated membership involvement, doubling the response rate of previous membership interest surveys. The survey indicated that 50% of respondents were eager to increase their participation in chapter activities. There was a three-fold increase from the prior year in members who volunteered to give short presentations at the meetings using the new meeting style. Feedback to this format was positive. Member-based short presentations also drew chapter-wide interest, increasing monthly meeting attendance by 40%.

Conclusions: Use of an online survey tool helped an APIC chapter identify a strategy to achieve increased member participation in monthly meetings. Improved meeting participation increases the value of chapter membership, promoting professional development.