The Constitution and By-Laws were adopted in 1927, and amended occasionally since then. Policies are made by the National Council, composed of elected officers and representatives of each chapter, meeting annually. The annual meeting includes a scientific, as well as a business, program. It is usually held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association.

The principal Delta Omega activities are conducted by each chapter. The chapter elects new members each year from three groups: students who are candidates for a graduate degree in public health, faculty members at the school of public health, and alumni actively engaged in public health work. Election from all three groups is based on outstanding performance -- scholarship in students, teaching and research in faculty members, and community service in alumni.

Election to membership in Delta Omega is intended not only to recognize merit, but also to encourage further excellence in and devotion to public health work.

Since Delta Omega was established in 1924, the meaning and scope of public health have broadened tremendously. While still seriously concerned with problems of environmental sanitation and communicable disease control, public health action has come to embrace all aspects of health and disease in populations. These include the planning, organization, and support of health promotion, disease prevention, and medical care. Basic to modern public health are the social sciences as well as the natural sciences -- both in the United States and internationally.

Membership in Delta Omega reflects the dedication of an individual to quality in the field of public health and to protection and advancement of the health of all people.

The Omicron Chapter of Delta Omega was established at the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health in 1984.