scholarly journals Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Professional Roles and Responsibilities of Health Educators

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483992096852
Author(s):  
Heidi L. Hancher-Rauch ◽  
Charity Bishop ◽  
Alli Campbell ◽  
Kara Cecil ◽  
Lisa Yazel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Health Educators ◽  
Job Responsibilities ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
Workplace Setting ◽  
Professional Roles And Responsibilities

Public health professionals are at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, the roles and responsibilities of health educators in pandemic response are unknown. Researchers examined multiple factors that described how health educators’ work priorities and lives have been affected by COVID-19. An electronic questionnaire was administered nationally to health educators to assess the effect of the pandemic on their professional responsibilities, the challenges they are facing, and their fears about the future. Of the 913 respondents, 487 (43%) reported changing work priorities, with 80% of that group (389) sharing that their work priorities shifted focus to COVID-19. Most felt qualified to take on the new job responsibilities, but many feared the inability to get back to previous work roles or for their organizations to financially withstand the pandemic. Regardless of workplace setting or job priorities, health educators are prepared in the skills outlined in the Responsibilities and Competencies for Health Education Specialists, which may have led to their abilities in shifting roles so quickly and effectively. Findings from this study may prepare public health agencies to better use and train health educators for their roles in rapidly shifting public health priorities.

The Role of Public Health Agencies in Convening Partnerships and Collaborations to Respond to the Opioid Crisis

2019 ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
Philicia Tucker ◽  
Michael R. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
State And Local ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Goals And Objectives

This chapter presents the role that public health agencies play as leaders and/or conveners of partnerships and collaborations in responding to the opioid epidemic at the state and local levels. “Partnership” is defined as a continuum of relationships between two or more entities ranging from informal engagement around topics of interest to formal, structured memoranda of understanding or contracts that govern resource exchange, the various roles and responsibilities of the partners, and performance metrics or other accountability metrics. The work of partnerships around opioid use and addiction requires intentional engagement of a variety of groups, many of whom have not traditionally worked with public health agencies before. Examples of various partners and their roles in ending the crisis are presented. The chapter includes a discussion of what makes for successful partnerships and key considerations when engaging collaborators in developing shared goals and objectives.

scholarly journals Experiences of Environmental Public Health Professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic response in Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-76
Author(s):  
Fatih Sekercioglu ◽  
Ian Young ◽  
Richard Meldrum ◽  
Jennifer Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Environmental Public Health ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Pandemic Response

Environmental Public Health Professionals (EPHPs) have been playing a significant role in the COVID-19 pandemic response. This study examines the lived experiences of EPHPs during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores short- and long long-term strategies to address the challenges of EPHPs. A mixed-method, cross-sectional online survey was conducted in May 2020. The participants were the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors certified EPHPs who currently work in Canada during the pandemic. The study results reveal that EPHPs have been heavily involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response by assuming different roles and tasks in many cases. The study highlights the vast array of EPHPs functions such as education and enforcement. Lack of employer support for training and access to safety equipment are among the significant outcomes. Mechanisms should be developed to ensure that mental health support is accessible for EPHPs to overcome the pandemic work’s challenges. As this is the first study to examine the lived experiences of EPHPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, further in-depth qualitative research should be conducted to examine the experiences of EPHPs at the local level.

scholarly journals Toxicity and verbal aggression on social media: Polarized discourse on wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172110235
Author(s):  
Paola Pascual-Ferrá ◽  
Neil Alperstein ◽  
Daniel J Barnett ◽  
Rajiv N Rimal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Verbal Aggression ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Personal Liberty ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
Governmental Institutions

Medical and public health professionals recommend wearing face masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). While the majority of people in the United States support wearing face masks as an effective tool to combat COVID-19, a smaller percentage declared the recommendation by public health agencies as a government imposition and an infringement on personal liberty. Social media play a significant role in amplifying public health issues, whereby a minority against the imposition can speak loudly, perhaps using tactics of verbal aggression taking the form of toxic language. We investigated the role that toxicity plays in the online discourse around wearing face masks. Overall, we found tweets including anti-mask hashtags were significantly more likely to use toxic language, while tweets with pro-mask hashtags were somewhat less toxic with the exception of #WearADamnMask. We conclude that the tensions between these two positions raise doubt and uncertainty around the issue, which make it difficult for health communicators to break through the clutter in order to combat the infodemic. Public health agencies and other governmental institutions should monitor toxicity trends on social media in order to better ascertain prevailing sentiment toward their recommendations and then apply these data-driven insights to refine and adapt their risk communication messaging toward mask wearing, vaccine uptake, and other interventions.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Study of Health in All Policies at the Local Level

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 004695801987415 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Mundo ◽  
Peter Manetta ◽  
Meredith P. Fort ◽  
Angela Sauaia
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Role Clarity ◽  
Health In All Policies ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Health in All Policies (HiAP) encourage health-conscious policymaking in non-health sectors; however, there are no standardized measures or guides for assessing progress in HiAP implementation. The purpose of this study was to describe how HiAP in local public health agencies (LPHAs) are implemented at the local level in Colorado and identify challenges and opportunities for implementation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 key informants identified through purposive sampling. Interviews were recorded, double-coded, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes we identified relating to the implementation of different HiAP approaches were as follows: the importance of building trusting relationships, a need to understand the work of LPHAs and public health, and LPHA structure and role clarity. Tools and tactics that respondents identified in their implementation and practice of HiAP are sharing data and data platforms, community dashboarding, providing services to partners, sharing programs or services, attending meetings regularly, and measurement instruments. This study demonstrates HiAP approach variation and the need for a state-wide standardized framework for initiatives and progress. Future HiAP implementation research should focus on county-level analysis using outcomes that LPHAs are targeting based on their health priorities and should also capture the activities of sectors outside of public health.

Advancing Public Health Policy in Louisiana Through Evidence-Based Strategies: Successes and Opportunities

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Kathryn Poole ◽  
Adrienne R. Mundorf ◽  
Naomi K. Englar ◽  
Donald Rose
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
State Legislator ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Health Legislation

In 2013, a team of public health professionals at Tulane University launched a project to explore strategies for shaping a healthier Louisiana. The team investigated methods for improving diet and physical activity behaviors in early childhood, school, and community settings that could be translated into specific policies. Through key informant interviews and scans of academic journals and reports issued by public health agencies, the team generated a set of actionable steps that could increase healthful behaviors. Previous efforts to address similar topics in Louisiana and other states, and their reception from policy makers, were also considered during analysis. Subsequently, a state legislator used the team’s work to introduce public health legislation in 2014. The legislation led to a number of incremental changes in state policy and resolutions for additional policy-relevant studies. This case study summarizes the promising physical activity and nutrition strategies that were considered by the Tulane team, how the team’s work product was integrated into state legislation, the outcomes of the legislation, and a set of recommendations for how Louisiana can expand on this work. This article demonstrates how the work of public health professionals can have a positive influence on the policy-making process through research and education.

Oral health diseases among the older people: a general health perspective

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.

Integration of Human/Social Dimensions into the Traditional European Model of Natural Resource Education and Management

2005 ◽  
Vol 156 (8) ◽  
pp. 264-268
Author(s):  
James J. Kennedy ◽  
Niels Elers Koch
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Western World ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Natural Resource Managers ◽  
Rural Ecosystem ◽  
Professional Roles And Responsibilities

The increasing diversity, complexity and dynamics of ecosystem values and uses over the last 50 years requires new ways for natural resource managers (foresters, wildlife biologists, etc.)to understand and relate to their professional roles and responsibilities in accommodating urban and rural ecosystem users, and managing the complimentary and conflicting interactions between them. Three stages in Western-world natural resources management are identified and analyzed, beginning with the (1) Traditional stage: natural resources first, foremost and forever, to (2) Transitional stage: natural resource management,for better or worse, involves people, to (3) Relationship stage: managing natural resources for valued people and ecosystem relationships. The impacts of these three perspectives on how natural resource managers view and respond to ecosystems,people and other life-forms is basic and can be profound.

Identifying Public Health Problems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Burris ◽  
Micah L. Berman ◽  
Matthew Penn, and ◽  
Tara Ramanathan Holiday
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Years ◽  
Quality Adjusted Life Years ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Quality Adjusted Life

Chapter 5 discusses the use of epidemiology to identify the source of public health problems and inform policymaking. It uses a case study to illustrate how researchers, policymakers, and practitioners detect diseases, identify their sources, determine the extent of an outbreak, and prevent new infections. The chapter also defines key measures in epidemiology that can indicate public health priorities, including morbidity and mortality, years of potential life lost, and measures of lifetime impacts, including disability-adjusted life years and quality-adjusted life years. Finally, the chapter reviews epidemiological study designs, differentiating between experimental and observational studies, to show how to interpret data and identify limitations.

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