January 2003

In 1992 the HEDIR (pronounced heater) was created...the brainchild of Dr. Kittleson after discussion with then doctoral student Kathy Hunter (Dr. Hunter is currently on faculty at SUNY Brockport).  The HEDIR was initially created as an email  directory (which still exists--www.hedir.org/directory). At the AAHE conference in Indianapolis in April of 1992, Dr. Kittleson was given 5 minutes at the chairs meeting to ask for email addresses of their faculty.  Starting at that conference, and each month thereafter, Dr. Kittleson would enter names into the directory and electronically send all participants a copy. The directory was actually three directories...one listing individuals alphabetically;  another one listing individuals by state or country;  a third one listing individuals and their work affiliations. Throughout these past ten years Dr. Kittleson has learned two important lessons:  1) how to properly alphabetize a hyphenated last name (i.e., Amy Smith-Brown is listed alphabetically different than Amy Smith Brown), and 2) how quickly email addresses change

However, because of the increasing number of individuals who wanted to be listed in this directory, a quicker mode of sharing this directory was sought after.  Through many failed attempts, Dr. Kittleson sought out the practicality of creating a listserv (or list).

In the fall of 1993 Dr. Kittleson discussed this possibility with information technology specialists at SIU.  It was determined that a list would be the best way to distribute this email directory.  After months of preparation, Dr. Kittleson released the HEDIR list on January 1, 1994.  It took approximately two days for people to realize that this list could be used for more than just the distribution of an email directory.  Within days members started using the list as a mechanism to seek advice, ask questions, or share ideas.

Since 1994, over 20,000 messages have been distributed. It has remained one of the most professional lists for health educators, with heated debates, sharing of ideas, and challenging issues.  Some days messages total over 40, whereas an 'off' day would see 'only' 5 or 6 messages.  Anybody who has asked for help over the HEDIR knows how powerful of a tool this is...individuals often receive 20-30 responses minutes after posting.

Over 2,500 individuals are on the email directory.  It is one of the most comprehensive collections of email addresses among health educators anywhere.  The maintenance of the directory in 2008 is considerably easier than the methodology used in 1992.  Whereas in 1992 Dr. Kittleson would spend literally hours adding people to the directory, today Dr. Kittleson has created a sophisticated data-entry system which takes only seconds to add an individual.

Besides the ease of adding names, many other changes have taken place.  In 1992 Dr. Kittleson was working with an antiquated mainframe system/email, and was doing all work via phone modem from his campus office.  Besides the sheer slowness of this process, it was virtually impossible to connect into the mainframe system during the workday.  It was not unusual for Dr. Kittleson to spend 2-4 hours updating the directory--often after midnight or before 6:00 a.m.  It wasn't until 1996 that his office was wired with a T1 line.

Although Dr. Kittleson received incredible support from his two chairs since 1992 (Dr. Regina Glover and Dr. David Birch) and Fred Hees, the College IT person, Southern provided little, if any, personnel assistance to serve in this endeavor. Thus, most of the work was above and beyond his normal work expectations. 

Today the HEDIR has become synonymous with technology in health education.  The HEDIR has expanded into an annual award to acknowledge those individuals who have contributed their technological skills to the profession.  Esteemed individuals such as Drs. Robert Gold, Billie Lindsey, Vic Strecher, Judy Baker, Alyson Taub, Jim Eddy, Michael Pejsach, Michaela Conley (HPCareer.net), Elaine Auld, Don Chaney, Min Qi Wang,  Mark Tomita, Cristy Jefson, and Valerie Ubbes have been HEDIR Award recipients.  In addition, the HEDIR sponsors a technology seminar in the spring allowing health educators to share their technology expertise with others.  Both the HEDIR Awards and the HEDIR Technology Seminar were initially sponsored by Jones and Bartlett Publishers from its inception until 2002.  In 2003 McGraw-Hill Publishers have sponsored the HEDIR Awards.  For the past 3 years Pearson Publishing has sponsored the awards luncheon.  During these past three years this award joined forces with the American Association of Health Education. 

In 2002 the HEDIR Technology Seminar was absorbed into the national American Association of Health Education's conference in the spring. Since then this particular presentation has been one of the most popular programs at AAHE's conference.

In 1999 the HEDIR entered into an agreement with HPCAREER.net   to serve as its advertising authority.  The HEDIR had developed into one of the premier modes of advertising jobs, and although efforts were continuously made to keep the HEDIR from becoming an advertising-based list, it was clear that individuals were willing to pay for the use of the HEDIR to promote their jobs.  This agreement instantly placed funds for the first time into a HEDIR account to assist in the maintenance of the list.

In April 2001 the HEDIR entered into another agreement with the American Association of Health Education.  This agreement with the largest health education organization in the world provides some financial support, but more importantly it  acknowledged the acceptance of the HEDIR as an important contribution to the profession.  That agreement formally ended December 31, 2006, but the HEDIR still works on a number of projects with AAHE.

It is apparent that the future impact of the HEDIR will lessen as more individuals become more comfortable with the use of technology.  But for one small time in history, the HEDIR is proud to have played a key role, and perhaps served as a leader, in transitioning the profession into a technology focus.

What the next ten years will bring to the HEDIR is unknown.  As for now, Dr. Kittleson will continue to add daily to the list...will also remove individuals on a daily basis.  He will also change individuals' emails on a daily basis, and he will troubleshoot for somebody who can not post a message.  In addition, he archives each days worth of HEDIR messages so that in the future, such messages can be used to observe how the profession of health education dealt with this new and exciting concept of technology.

The history of the HEDIR: One person's view. published in the American Journal of Health Studies, gives more details on the creation of the HEDIR.