How to Plan Your First Health Fair

Find a location for your fair and book it for your desired date and time. This step may seem obvious, however, it's surprising how many organizations don't do this important step in the early stages. Consider having all or part of your event outdoors if you'd like passersby to attend. For outdoor events, think about what you'll do in case of inclement weather. Will you move indoors or have a previously announced rain date?

Also think about accessibility of the site. Is there adequate parking? Can wheelchair-bound attendees access the site? If the site is unfamiliar to your attendees, provide directions and post signs. Balloons will also help people find your event.

Step 3. Decide on a theme for your health fair. Your theme should be appropriate for your population. For instance, "Get Out, Get Moving" could be the theme of a health fair put on at an office for their sedentary workers.

Considering your audience and your goal are the most factors in deciding your theme. For example, a senior center would focus on the health concerns of the elderly, while an elementary school concentrates on the needs of young children. Following are some sample themes. In parenthesis are the health issues that the theme addresses.

Theme Ideas
Get Up, Get Moving (Exercise/Physical Fitness)
Don't Sweat It (Stress Reduction)
Your Heart Matters (Cardiovascular Health)
Eat to Live (Nutrition)
Your Mind Matters (Mental Health)
Breathe Easier (Smoking Cessation/Lung Health)

Step 4. Consider your budget. Hospitals, clinics and other health care agencies are often willing to send a representative for free, however, some do charge for screenings. Will you need to rent tables, chairs, and/or tents? For outdoor events, you may need generators to provide electricity for sound systems, medical equipment, etc. Providing free food for attendees and staff adds cost but will attract participants.

Step 5. Decide what activities to have at the health fair. Use your theme as a guide. Information booths, health screening booths, demonstrations and exhibits are standard. Keep speaker presentations short, but allow a brief period for questions and answers.

Think outside of the blood pressure screening box. What does your audience really need? Perhaps your office workers need stress reduction.

Don't stop at inviting someone to pass out literature. Get massage therapists to do seated massage. Have an aerobics instructor give an exercise demo. A nutritionist can do a cooking demonstration that shows attendees how to prepare a healthy meal. A cardiologist could speak on the signs of heart disease or what to do in the event of a heart attack. There are lots more possibilities when you consider each healthcare professional from dentists to physical therapists has something to share.

Here are suggestions for the tables (also called booths) at your health fair.
-Blood Pressure Screening
-Ask the Nutritionist
-Glaucoma Screening
-Ask the Nurse
-Diabetes Screening
-Vision Screening
-Ask the Doctor
-Dental Screening
-Seated Massage Therapy
-Lung Capacity Screening
-Booths for local chapters of national health care organizations like the American Heart Association, the Red Cross, or the Black Nurses Association

Invite hospitals, clinics, fitness centers, and other health care providers to partner with you. Look for local chapters of national health organizations, such as the American Diabetes Association. Invite local chapters of health care professional associations, like the National Black Nurses Association.

Partnering with other groups will increase attendance and give your participants access to more information. A phone call is usually best for an initial contact. You can always follow-up in writing later. If you're calling a large organization and don't know whom to speak to, ask for the community affairs or public relations department

Make a checklist to handle logistics. At a minimum, you'll want to assign each participating organization a booth and note how many table and chairs are needed at each booth. Always ask participating groups if their exhibits require access to an electrical outlet.

Publicize your event. Mail flyers four weeks in advance. Add a cover letter asking your partner organizations to inform their members. E-mail your audience the day before the event. Announce the fair in your newsletter. Post flyers in the bathroom stalls for schools and workplaces. Of course, place the event details prominenty on your website.

Make the health fair fun. Put up balloons. Play music. Serve refreshments. And get a massage!

Now that you've done all this work to put on a health fair, keep in touch with the attendees. In other words, collect their contact information as the participants arrive at the fair. Have a registration table at each entrance to the fair. Have each participant fill out a short form or card with blanks that requests all the data you need to track. Keep the form as short as possible but be sure to ask for what you need to stay in touch. For many organizations, the attendee's name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address will be sufificient.

If you're afraid that people will not give out their contact information, provide an incentive. For example, enter each registration form in a drawing for a door prize. Another incentive is to make a completed registration form a requirement to get a ticket for the fair's free food. Or exchange registration for a different desirable freebie.