scholarly journals The Road Map to Preparedness: A Competency-Based Approach to All-Hazards Emergency Readiness Training for the Public Health Workforce

2005 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 504-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy L. Parker ◽  
Daniel J. Barnett ◽  
Ayanna L. Fews ◽  
David Blodgett ◽  
Jonathan M. Links
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Competency Based

Facing limited time and budgetary resources, state and local health departments need a practical, competency-based training approach to meet the all-hazards readiness requirements of their employees. The Road Map to Preparedness is a training tool designed to assist health departments in providing comprehensive, agency-tailored readiness instruction to their employees. This tool uses an incentive-based, game-like, experiential learning approach to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's nine core competencies for all public health workers while facilitating public health employees' understanding and acceptance of their emergency response roles. A corresponding evaluation tool, the Road Map to Preparedness Evaluation, yields metrically-driven assessments of public health employee readiness competencies. Since its pilot in 2003, the Road Map to Preparedness has met with enthusiastic response from participating health departments in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition to its public health impact, the Road Map offers future promise as a tool to assist organizational emergency response training in private sector and non-public health first-responder agency settings.

scholarly journals Prioritizing Workforce Development Training in State Health Departments Using TRAIN: Challenges and Opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-179
Author(s):  
Magali Angeloni ◽  
Ron Bialek ◽  
Michael P. Petros ◽  
Michael C. Fagen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
State Health ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Management Platform ◽  
Organizational Features

Objective: The objectives of this study were (1) to obtain data on the current status of public health workforce training and the use of the Training Finder Real-Time Affiliate Network (TRAIN), a public health learning management platform, in state health departments, and (2) to use the data to identify organizational features that might be affecting training and to determine barriers to and opportunities for improving training. Methods: We conducted structured interviews in 2014 with TRAIN administrators and performance improvement managers (n = 14) from 7 state health departments that were using TRAIN to determine training practices and barriers to training. We determined key organizational features of the 7 agencies, including training structure, required training, TRAIN administrators’ employment status (full time or part time), barriers to the use and tracking of core competencies in TRAIN, training needs assessment methods, leadership support of training and staff development, and agency interest in applying for Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation. Results: We identified 4 common elements among TRAIN-affiliated state health departments: (1) underuse of TRAIN as a training tool, (2) inadequate ownership of training within the organization, (3) insufficient valuation of and budgeting for training, and (4) emerging collaboration and changing perceptions about training stimulated by agency preparation for accreditation. Conclusions: Public health leaders can increase buy-in to the importance of training by giving responsibility for training to a person, centralizing training, and setting expectations for the newly responsible training leader to update training policy and require the use of TRAIN to develop, implement, evaluate, monitor, and report on agency-wide training.

Strategic Approach to Assess Training Needs Across a Diverse Region

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 28S-34S ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C. McCormick ◽  
Justine J. Reel ◽  
Melissa Alperin ◽  
Laura M. Lloyd ◽  
Kathleen R. Miner
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Needs Assessment ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Competency Based

The mission of the Region IV (R-IV) Public Health Training Center (PHTC), headquartered at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, is to develop and implement programming to train and educate public health professionals in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region IV. To identify public health workforce development needs, the R-IV PHTC created a systematic process that included the implementation of a variety of strategies, to gain insights from each state within the diverse region. Conducting regular needs assessments is an integral step to ensure trainings are relevant and meet the needs of public health professionals. To this end, the PHTC employed a mixed methods approach to gather information on both competency-based and non–competency-based training needs, as well as training needs within R-IV’s content focus area of infectious disease. In R-IV there is great variability between the structures of the state and local health departments (e.g., some centralized, some decentralized), each of which faces different funding challenges and works with different service delivery models and regulatory authorities. Moreover, states have diverse populations (e.g., races, urban/rural, migrant/refugees, tribal, Appalachian) and face a wide range of public health priority concerns. Health departments were found to be at different stages of readiness to undertake a training needs assessment due to a number of issues, including their stage of pursuing Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation and recent participation in other needs assessment efforts. The R-IV PHTC approach to assessing training needs within this challenging environment is described.

State of public health emergency response leadership training: A multitiered organizational perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-177
Author(s):  
Anthony Salerno, MSc ◽  
Yang Li, MPH, MS ◽  
Xiaohong M. Davis, PhD, MS, MA ◽  
Gail Stennies, MD, MPH ◽  
Daniel J. Barnett, MD, MPH ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Leadership Training ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Emergency Response

Objective: To capture organizational level information on the current state of public health emergency response leadership training.Design: A web-based questionnaire.Participants: This multitiered assessment of health departments included two distinct respondent groups: (1) Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement recipients (n = 34) and (2) local health departments (LHDs) (n = 169) representative of different agency sizes and populations served.Results: Overall, PHEP and LHD respondents expressed a clear preference for participatory learning with practical drills/exercises and participatory workshops as the preferred training delivery modes. Compared with technical and role-specific training, leadership training was less available. For both PHEP and LHD respondents, staff availability for training is most notably limited due to lack of time. For PHEP respondents, a common factor limiting agency ability to offer training is lack of mentors/instructors, whereas for LHD respondents, it is limited funding.Conclusions: Efforts should focus on increasing accessibility and the continued development of rigorous and effective training based on practical experience in all aspects of multitiered public health emergency response leadership. 

Patterns of Cross-Sector Collaboration in Local Health Departments: A Cluster Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483992097298
Author(s):  
Alexis K. Grant
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Cluster Assignment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Top Executive

Local health departments (LHDs) are positioned to act as the community health strategist for their catchment area, which requires cross-sector collaboration. However, little research exists to understand how much and what types of cross-sector collaboration occur and its impact on LHD practice. Data from 490 LHDs who participated in the 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments survey were analyzed to identify patterns of cross-sector collaboration among LHDs. In the survey, LHDs reported the presence of collaborative activities for each of 22 categories of organizations. Factor analysis was used to identify patterns in the types of organizations with which LHDs collaborate. Then, cluster analysis was conducted to identify patterns in the types of cross-sector collaboration, and cross-sectional analyses examined which LHD characteristics were associated with cluster assignment. LHDs collaborated most with traditional health care–oriented organizations, but less often with organizations focused on upstream determinants of health such as housing. Three distinct clusters represented collaboration patterns in LHDs: coordinators, networkers, and low-collaborators. LHDs who were low-collaborators were more likely to serve smaller populations, be unaccredited, have a smaller workforce, have a White top executive, and have a top executive without a graduate degree. These findings imply that public health practitioners should prioritize building bridges to a variety of organizations and engage in collaboration beyond information sharing. Furthermore, LHDs should prioritize accreditation and workforce development activities for supporting cross-sector collaboration. With these investments, the public health system can better address the social and structural determinants of health and promote health equity.

scholarly journals Actionable lessons for the US COVID vaccine program

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Freed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Health ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Individual State ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Infrastructure ◽  
Health Infrastructure ◽  
The Us ◽  
Vaccine Distribution

AbstractWhen attempting to provide lessons for other countries from the successful Israeli COVID-19 vaccine experience, it is important to distinguish between the modifiable and non-modifiable components identified in the article by Rosen, et al. Two specific modifiable components included in the Israeli program from which the US can learn are (a) a national (not individual state-based) strategy for vaccine distribution and administration and (b) a functioning public health infrastructure. As a federal government, the US maintains an often complex web of state and national authorities and responsibilities. The federal government assumed responsibility for the ordering, payment and procurement of COVID vaccine from manufacturers. In designing the subsequent steps in their COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration plan, the Trump administration decided to rely on the states themselves to determine how best to implement guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This strategy resulted in 50 different plans and 50 different systems for the dissemination of vaccine doses, all at the level of each individual state. State health departments were neither financed, experienced nor uniformly possessed the expertise to develop and implement such plans. A national strategy for the distribution, and the workforce for the provision, of vaccine beyond the state level, similar to that which occurred in Israel, would have provided for greater efficiency and coordination across the country. The US public health infrastructure was ill-prepared and ill-staffed to take on the responsibility to deliver > 450 million doses of vaccine in an expeditious fashion, even if supply of vaccine was available. The failure to adequately invest in public health has been ubiquitous across the nation at all levels of government. Since the 2008 recession, state and local health departments have lost > 38,000 jobs and spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and spending for local health departments has fallen by 18%. Hopefully, COVID-19 will be a wakeup call to the US with regard to the need for both a national strategy to address public health emergencies and the well-maintained infrastructure to make it happen.

The Public Health Police

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Hoppe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Adherence To Treatment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Treatment Regimens ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Local Health Authorities

As the HIV epidemic wore on in the 2000s, public health authorities became enamored with the idea of “ending AIDS.” That is, if they could just get HIV-positive people to take their pills and stop infecting other people. Health departments began to track HIV-positive clients more closely, aiming to control their behavior and ensure their adherence to treatment regimens. This chapter explores how local health authorities ensure that HIV-positive clients behave in a manner officials deem responsible—and how they catch and punish those who do not. While the state maintains that the work of local health officials is done solely in the interests of promoting public health, their efforts to control HIV-positive clients reveal that they are also engaged in policing and law enforcement.

Application for Public Health Accreditation Among US Local Health Departments in 2013 to 2019: Impact of Service and Activity Mix

2020 ◽  
pp. e1-e8
Author(s):  
Jonathon P. Leider ◽  
Jessica Kronstadt ◽  
Valerie A. Yeager ◽  
Kellie Hall ◽  
Chelsey K. Saari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Profile Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Funding Support

Objectives. To examine correlates of applying for accreditation among small local health departments (LHDs) in the United States through 2019. Methods. We used administrative data from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) and 2013, 2016, and 2019 Profile data from the National Association of County and City Health Officials to examine correlates of applying for PHAB accreditation. We fit a latent class analysis (LCA) to characterize LHDs by service mix and size. We made bivariate comparisons using the t test and Pearson χ2. Results. By the end of 2019, 126 small LHDs had applied for accreditation (8%). When we compared reasons for not pursuing accreditation, we observed a difference by size for perceptions that standards exceeded LHD capacity (47% for small vs 22% for midsized [P < .001] and 0% for large [P < .001]). Conclusions. Greater funding support, considering differing standards by LHD size, and recognition that service mix might affect practicality of accreditation are all relevant considerations in attempting to increase uptake of accreditation for small LHDs. Public Health Implications. Overall, small LHDs represented about 60% of all LHDs that had not yet applied to PHAB. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print December 22, 2020: e1–e8. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306007 )

scholarly journals ASPHER V4 Working Group supports the road map for professionalising the public health workforce

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Petrakova ◽  
R Otok ◽  
V Prikazsky ◽  
M Dlouhy ◽  
Z Prazanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Current State ◽  
Public Health Profession

Abstract Background The ASPHER V4 Working Group (WG) was established in 2016 and officially launched during the 9th European Public Health Conference in Vienna. One of the key objectives of the WG is to strengthen public health capacity development in V4 countries. The WG supports the implementation of the recently reviewed European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities (EAP). The EAP’s review highlighted the need to focus further action on four enabling Essential Public Health Functions (EPHOs) including human resources for public health. This is why the WG is heavily involved in the recent development of a new Road map for professionalising the public health workforce, one of the products of the recently established Coalition of Partners (CoP) that was convened by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in close cooperation with ASPHER and Maastricht University. Objectives Supporting the WHO CoP with a focus on development and further implementation of a new Road map for professionalising public health workforce in V4 countries. Using a new rapid assessment tool to evaluate the state of the public health profession in the Czech Republic. Sharing the report on the current state of public health professions in the Czech Republic with the WG and using it as a comparison of the current state in all V4 countries. Results Key strengths and weaknesses of the first rapid assessment of the current state of the public health profession in the Czech Republic are presented. Key actions are proposed for the WG: a) Preparation of a grant proposal to the International V4 Fund and b) Continuing active involvement in CoP activities. Conclusions The rapid assessment tool for evaluating the state of the public health profession was successfully implemented in the Czech Republic with the close cooperation of academia, researchers, policy makers and practitioners. The summary confirms that further work on the professionalization of the public health workforce is needed. Key messages ASPHER V4 WG is strongly involved in the development of a new road map for professionalising the public health workforce, coordinated by the WHO CoP, ASPHER and Maastricht University. Summary of the first rapid assessment of the current state of the public health profession in the Czech Republic confirms the importance of further action in this area of work.

Exploring young professionals’ hesitation to joint German public health service – a mixed method study

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Stratil ◽  
L Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Public Health Service ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Local Health Authority ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Public Health Department ◽  
Young Professionals

Abstract Background The “Öffentliche Gesundheitsdienst (ÖGD)” is the central public health institution in Germany. The ÖGD comprises of all public sector institutions responsible for protecting and monitoring the population health on the federal, state, county and municipal level. Its key functions contain identifying and addressing public health threats, and promoting the heath of the general population. Despite the important role, the ÖGD has not been successful in attracting and recruiting young professionals; a situation aggravated by an expected wave of retirements. We aimed to identify barriers and discuss solutions to promote the attractiveness of working in the German public health service among young professionals. Methods Firstly, we conducted a theory-based online-survey of medical and public health students enrolled in Germany. Secondly, we conducted key-informant interviews with a purposive sample of former public health students meanwhile working at the local health authority or a public health department as well as leading persons in the same institutions. Results In the survey of more than 2400 students, among others identified barriers included: students not being aware of the ÖGD and its activities, negative images of the ÖGD, and unattractive job profiles. In the interviews, some participants expressed or experienced a strong preference within the ÖGD to attract medical students to the detriment of public health students. A lack of appreciation and strictly hierarchical work contexts were identified as further obstacles. Conclusions The survey and interviews identified several potential barriers and obstacles for young professionals to join the public health workforce in Germany. Likely, major reforms within the ÖGD as well as in the education of medical and public health students is necessary to overcome this challenge. The results of the qualitative study identify several potential solutions for improvement. Key messages We conducted a mixed-method study of medical and public health students and young professionals to explore the challenges of the German public health service to attract young professionals. Our study shows that major reforms are likely necessary to increase the attractiveness of the German public health service.

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