Tips on Organizing a Health Fair

A health fair is an event that aims to bring medical information, health screenings and greater health awareness to the public. They are commonly offered through churches, schools, hospitals and corporations. Health fairs are vital for bringing important health information to the attention of the community. Because of their large size and extensive offerings, health fairs are sometimes difficult to plan. Fortunately, there are a variety of tips that can be followed to make organizing a health fair slightly easier.

Committees

• Before organizing a health fair, you will want to divide volunteers into a variety of committees, each of which will have its own function. Not only will this help keep the planning process organized, but it will also allow the work to be spread evenly among participants.

  Although you should form committees based on your group’s own unique needs, the following committee ideas are a good foundation to start with: coordinating, clinical, logistics, procurement, clerical and publicity. The coordinating committee would be responsible for the overall planning of the health fair. Duties include developing the theme, schedule and budget for the fair.

  The clinical committee is responsible for deciding which health topics should be promoted at the fair. This may include setting up health screenings and securing health agencies to present at the fair.

  A logistics committee is responsible for setting up the health fair, which includes the location, booths, parking, food vendors and safety precautions.

  The procurement committee focuses on obtaining items to use or give away during the health fair, such as brochures, door prizes and promotional items.

  The clerical committee is responsible for arranging adequate staff and volunteers for the health fair, along with any clerical duties associated with the event, such as the registration table.

  A publicity committee will focus on publicizing the health fair in the community, with a focus on the target audience.

Clinical Considerations

• When planning the clinical activities of the health fair, a variety of considerations need to be kept in mind. It will be necessary to have medical professionals at the event to properly administer screenings, tests and evaluations. If handling blood, it will be necessary to follow universal precautions to ensure the safety of health fair volunteers and participants. Likewise, it is also important to have proper equipment at the facility for any screenings that are offered. For example, a child or obese adult cannot use a regular adult blood pressure cuff; it will be necessary to have all types of cuffs at the event. Also, it is extremely important to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of participants. All test results must be given directly to the participant and should not be publicly displayed.