scholarly journals Regional Consortia

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110027
Author(s):  
Renée M. Ned-Sykes ◽  
Michael Pentella ◽  
Lorelei Kurimski ◽  
Susanne Zanto ◽  
E. Matt Charles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Federal Programs ◽  
Public Health Programs ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
And Control ◽  
Positive Effect

Public health laboratories (PHLs) provide specialized testing services for programs focused on the prevention and control of communicable diseases, early detection of congenital disorders, testing for antimicrobial resistance, and identification of environmental contaminants, among other responsibilities. Although national public health programs and partners provide some funding support, training, and technical resources to PHLs, no dedicated funding is provided from federal programs to fully support comprehensive PHL services across the United States or the underlying infrastructure needed for PHLs to provide and ensure their core functions and capabilities. Public health laboratories have begun to rely on a “community of practice” approach to addressing various service needs by creating and formalizing regional consortia, which are organized groups of geographically clustered PHLs that share expertise, capacities, and capabilities to enhance PHL services. The number of states participating in these networks increased from 13 to 48 from 2015 to 2020, including participation by multiple local PHLs and a territorial PHL. These consortia have enabled strengthening of partnerships and collaboration among PHLs to address regional priorities and challenges. We explore the background and evolution of regional consortia, outline some of their practices and activities, review lessons learned from these successful collaborations, and discuss the positive effect they have on the national public health system.

scholarly journals A Quarter Century of Emerging Infectious Diseases – Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
James W. Le Duc ◽  
Teresa E. Sorvillo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Emerging Infections ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Public Health Programs ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
Societal Changes

<p>A quarter century ago the landmark report from the U. S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled <em>“</em><em>Emerging Infections, Microbial Threats to Health in the United States” </em>was released. This classic study captured the societal changes then underway in our rapidly growing world: The growth of the world’s population and changing human behavior; the advances and globalization of technology and industry; the changes in economic development and land use; the dramatic increase in speed and frequency of international travel and commerce; the adaptation of microbes and the appearance of never before seen pathogens; and the breakdown of traditional public health measures. This societal evolution has only increased and the growing frequency of outbreaks foretold in the report has come to pass. Each new disaster has precipitated changes and adaptations in our global response to infectious diseases designed to reduce risks and avoid future outbreaks. We discuss these past events and how each led to change in an effort to mitigate future threats. We also look to the future to consider what challenges might lay ahead.</p><p><strong>Conclusion. </strong>Major outbreaks over the past quarter century validated the concept of emerging infectious diseases and led to improvements in global policies and national public health programs; however, there will likely always be new diseases and the threat of reemergence of diseases once thought controlled leading to a constant need for vigilance in public health preparedness.</p>

scholarly journals International Perspectives on COVID-19 Communication Ecologies: Public Health Agencies’ Online Communication in Italy, Sweden, and the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422199283
Author(s):  
Serena Tagliacozzo ◽  
Frederike Albrecht ◽  
N. Emel Ganapati
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Communication Ecology ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
National Public Health

Communicating during a crisis can be challenging for public agencies as their communication ecology becomes increasingly complex while the need for fast and reliable public communication remains high. Using the lens of communication ecology, this study examines the online communication of national public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Sweden, and the United States. Based on content analysis of Twitter data ( n = 856) and agency press releases ( n = 95), this article investigates two main questions: (1) How, and to what extent, did national public health agencies coordinate their online communication with other agencies and organizations? (2) How was online communication from the agencies diversified in terms of targeting specific organizations and social groups? Our findings indicate that public health agencies relied heavily on internal scientific expertise and predominately coordinated their communication efforts with national government agencies. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that agencies in each country differed in how they diversify information; however, all agencies provided tailored information to at least some organizations and social groups. Across the three countries, information tailored for several vulnerable groups (e.g., pregnant women, people with disabilities, immigrants, and homeless populations) was largely absent, which may contribute to negative consequences for these groups.

Will Routine Annual Influenza Prevention and Control Systems Serve the United States Well in a Pandemic?

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. S160-S165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne S. Ringel ◽  
Melinda Moore ◽  
John Zambrano ◽  
Nicole Lurie
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Influenza Prevention ◽  
And Control

ABSTRACTObjective: To assess the extent to which the systems in place for prevention and control of routine annual influenza could provide the information and experience needed to manage a pandemic.Methods: The authors conducted a qualitative assessment based on key informant interviews and the review of relevant documents.Results: Although there are a number of systems in place that would likely serve the United States well in a pandemic, much of the information and experience needed to manage a pandemic optimally is not available.Conclusions: Systems in place for routine annual influenza prevention and control are necessary but not sufficient for managing a pandemic, nor are they used to their full potential for pandemic preparedness. Pandemic preparedness can be strengthened by building more explicitly upon routine influenza activities and the public health system’s response to the unique challenges that arise each influenza season (eg, vaccine supply issues, higher than normal rates of influenza-related deaths). (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S160–S165)

The Opioid Crisis: How Counselors Can and Should Respond

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-124
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Scope Of Practice ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Specialty Area ◽  
Ethical Imperative ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
Overdose Deaths ◽  
Do So

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have reached unprecedented levels in recent years and continue to rise. Counselors are uniquely positioned to respond to this crisis but may be reluctant or not equipped to do so due to a variety of factors, including scope of practice concerns. Responding to this crisis, however, is a clinical necessity and an ethical imperative for all practicing counselors, regardless of specialty area. A review of proposed responses at the macro/systemic, professional, and personal levels is presented, with concrete examples within each level, to assist counselors in identifying and implementing professional activity, advocacy, and engagement to address the unprecedented national public health emergency. Specific considerations for advocacy and for clinical practice are proposed to further assist counselors and motivate action.

Commissioned Corps Deployments & Family Resiliency

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice Arceneaux ◽  
James Dickens ◽  
Wanza Bacon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
United States Public Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Family Resiliency ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
The U.S

Established in 1889, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Corps) is one of the seven uniformed services and is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Corps is committed to protecting, promoting and advancing the health and safety of the nation with a history that dates back over two centuries, beginning as the U.S. Marine Hospital Service. Today, the Corps responds and serves in many areas impacted by natural disasters, disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks and public health emergencies. Corps officers have deployed to provide assistance during national public health emergencies (e.g., hurricanes, bombings, flooding and wild fires); to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; and to provide humanitarian assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Corps deployments impact not only service members but also their families. This article offers a brief overview of the Corps and discusses how deployments impact families. Family resiliency and future implications for research and practice will also be examined.

Biodefense and Emergency Use Authorization: Different Originations, Purposes, and Evolutionary Paths of Institutions in the United States and South Korea

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
HyunJung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Post Exposure Prophylaxis ◽  
Meso Level ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Level Analysis

Abstract Background: Historical institutionalism (HI) determines that institutions have been transformed by a pattern of punctuated evolution due to exogenous shocks. Although scholars frequently emphasize the role of agency - endogenous factors – when it comes to institutional changes, but the HI analytic narratives still remain in the meso-level analysis in the context of structure and agency. This article provides domestic and policy-level accounts of where biodefense institutions of the United States and South Korea come from, seeing through emergency-use-authorization (EUA) policy, and how the EUA policies have evolved by employing the policy-learning concepts through the Event-related Policy Change Model. Results: By employing the Birkland’s model, this article complements the limitation of the meso-level analysis in addressing that the 2001 Amerithrax and the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak rooted originations and purposes of the biodefense respectively. Since the crisis, a new post-crisis agenda in society contributed to establishing new domestic coalition, which begin to act as endogenous driving forces that institutionalize new biodefense institutions and even reinforce them through path dependent way when the institutions evolved. Therefore, EUA policy cores (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in the United States and Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) in South Korea keep strengthened during the policy revisions. Conclusions: The United States and South Korea have different originations and purposes of biodefense, which are institutions evolving through self-reinforce dependent way based on the lessons learned from past crises. In sum, under the homeland security biodefense institution, the US EUA focuses on the development of specialized, unlicensed PEP in response to public health emergencies; on the other hand, under the disease containment-centric biodefense institution, the Korean EUA is specialized to conduct NPI missions in response to public health emergencies.

scholarly journals Our Homes, Our Health: Strategies, Insight, and Resources to Support Smoke-Free Multiunit Housing

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 110S-117S
Author(s):  
Kristen E. Ortega ◽  
Holly Mata
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Secondhand Smoke ◽  
The United States ◽  
Smoke Exposure ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Secondhand Smoke Exposure ◽  
Smoke Free Policy ◽  
Multiunit Housing

Tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Almost 500,000 people die every year in the United States because of tobacco use; approximately one in eight of those deaths are attributable to secondhand smoke exposure. Significant disparities exist in terms of which groups bear the greatest burden of tobacco-related illness and mortality. Reducing tobacco use and exposure in groups most affected and most at risk is a national public health priority. Tobacco control advocates can promote health equity by prioritizing policies that are likely to decrease tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure and improve access to tobacco cessation resources among populations most at risk for tobacco-related disparities, including people who live in subsidized multiunit housing. In this article, we share the context, process, key milestones, and lessons learned as stakeholders in El Paso, Texas explored and implemented smoke-free policy in subsidized public housing. Partners including the local housing authority, a nonprofit health foundation, the local public health department, and a local university facilitated a thoughtful and community-engaged process that acknowledged the right of residents to breathe clean air in their own homes, potential challenges residents who choose to smoke may face in adapting to smoke-free policy, and the need for support for those who choose to quit. We conclude with five key lessons learned and share resources for other communities, health professionals, and coalitions advocating for and supporting smoke-free housing policy in their communities.

Teaching Graduate Students to Evaluate Public Health Programs Through Community-Based Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-127
Author(s):  
Brenda M. Joly
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Public Health Programs ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Community Based Learning

Public health professionals are increasingly called on to demonstrate program evaluation skills, a core competency for the field. Learning opportunities that are connected to community organizations with identified evaluation needs give students meaningful opportunities to build and test new skills. When thoughtfully implemented, community-based learning benefits both the student and the community, yet there are several important considerations for designing a course that incorporates this feature. This article describes one approach for teaching graduate public health students how to conceptualize and write a comprehensive program evaluation plan for a community agency, based on the needs, priorities, and capacity of that agency. Lessons learned and recommendations for adopting this model are discussed.

Moving From the National Negro Health Week to the National Public Health Week in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-477
Author(s):  
Paul Braff
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
History Of ◽  
Health Concepts ◽  
African American Leaders ◽  
Main Message

There has been relatively little published on National Negro Health Week, and what has been published has often focused on physicians, nurses, or women. This article offers a brief but comprehensive overview of the organization and health emphases of nonmedical African American leaders on issues of health and explains how health concepts made their way to ordinary African Americans. In addition, in this article, I argue that the current National Public Health Week campaign might be best seen as a metamorphosis of National Negro Health Week because they share many similarities in practice and direction. The article’s main message is that the United States has a long history of a “National Health Week”; that these Weeks support the interests of subjugated groups by race, ethnicity, or class; and that these Weeks have worked to empower these groups by providing them with basic health knowledge to improve their health without needing to consult a physician.

scholarly journals A Public Health Systems View of Risk Communication About Zika

2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-353
Author(s):  
Tara Kirk Sell ◽  
Sanjana J. Ravi ◽  
Crystal Watson ◽  
Diane Meyer ◽  
Laura E. Pechta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Disease Response

Objectives The spread of Zika virus throughout Latin America and parts of the United States in 2016 and 2017 presented a challenge to public health communicators. The objective of our study was to describe emergency risk communication practices during the 2016-2017 Zika outbreak to inform future infectious disease communication efforts. Methods We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 13 public health policy makers and practitioners, 10 public information officers, and 5 vector-control officials from May through August 2017. Results Within the public health macro-environment, extended outbreak timeframe, government trust, US residence status, and economic insecurity set the backdrop for Zika communication efforts. Limited resources, staffing, and partnerships negatively affected public health structural capacity for communication efforts. Public health communicators and practitioners used a range of processes and practices to engage in education and outreach, including fieldwork, community meetings, and contact with health care providers. Overall, public health agencies’ primary goals were to prevent Zika infection, reduce transmission, and prevent adverse birth outcomes. Conclusions Lessons learned from this disease response included understanding the macro-environment, developing partnerships across agencies and the community, and valuing diverse message platforms. These lessons can be used to improve communication approaches for health officials at the local, state, and federal levels during future infectious disease outbreaks.

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