Distance Education And Learning: An Innovative Approach to Extending Workforce Training Capacity

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 40S-46S ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Alperin ◽  
Laura M. Lloyd ◽  
Lisa C. McCormick ◽  
Brita Bergland ◽  
Michelle Carvalho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Workforce Training ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Training Point ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Emory University ◽  
Training Capacity ◽  
Personnel Turnover

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, Georgia, is to develop and implement programming to train public health professionals in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region IV. The emphasis on public health accreditation, as well as the reality of high personnel turnover and a workforce with little formal training, point to the need for PHTCs that provide workforce training. PHTCs use distance-based education to reach those in need of training by minimizing or eliminating cost and travel barriers. However, many experienced public health trainers who are able to provide effective and engaging trainings in person lack the knowledge and skills necessary to adapt existing curricula to a distance format. Distance Education And Learning (DEAL) is an online course designed by the R-IV PHTC to increase the capacity of public health trainers to teach in the distance learning environment. The course includes four 3-hour synchronous online sessions with additional asynchronous presession and intersession activity requirements. This article describes the development and implementation of the DEAL course, including how it is used by the R-IV PHTC to increase the number of public health trainers with the skills needed to develop and implement distance-based training, which thereby builds the training capacity within the region and addresses issues of sustainability.

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.

scholarly journals Engaging a wider public health workforce: bringing public health into architecture education

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Marsh ◽  
P Pilkington ◽  
E Marco ◽  
L Rice
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Health Concepts

Abstract Background Current public health challenges necessitate the closer working of public health with built environment professionals. Despite growing evidence of benefits, there remains little progress in practice. Architects can play a key role in ensuring urban and building design is health promoting, however there is no requirement to teach health by architectural accreditation bodies across Europe. Objectives In the United Kingdom in 2010, the Public Health Practitioner in Residence programme (PHPiR) was established to address this situation. Public health professionals are embedded within the Faculty of Environment and Technology at the University of the West of England, and contribute to research, pedagogic programme development, teaching and mentoring. The aim was to embed public health concepts and issues into architecture training, to empower the profession as part of the wider workforce, to improve health and wellbeing when designing buildings and places. The PHPiR was evaluated using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Data was collected (questionnaires, focus group, semi-structured interviews, programme documentation) on a Masters of Architecture cohort (N = 34) at intervals from 2011-2019 to see if the PHPiR has long lasting effects as students enter practice. Results Public health concepts including; inequalities, life course approach, and social capital, became embedded into the architecture curriculum. Projects produced had increased reference to wider health promoting issues and participants thinking shifted from the building itself to who would use the building, suggesting the intervention achieved its aims. Conclusions The PHPiR offers a novel approach for built environment professions to better understand public health issues and the relevance to their chosen fields. This model could be applied to other courses and replicated in educational institutions and public health training programmes across Europe. Key messages The PHPiR influenced the architecture curriculum, improved architects understanding and public health issues and concepts, and empowered them to create more health promoting environments. Embedding public health professionals into training for other disciplines may be an effective, sustainable method for increasing the wider public health workforce.

Redesigning College Professional Development Resources to Meet the Needs of Emerging Public Health Professionals

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-491
Author(s):  
Anna Torrens Armstrong ◽  
Jaime A. Corvin ◽  
Juliana Azeredo ◽  
Somer Burke ◽  
Caitlynn C. Carr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Career Planning ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
The University ◽  
Florida College

The University of South Florida, College of Public Health, is dedicated to providing career planning and professional development services for students in varying formats. However, changing public health training needs and an emerging need for focused attention on professional development necessitated the development of an evaluative program to better understand our students’ needs in these areas. Specifically, anecdotal student feedback about feeling unprepared professionally and survey feedback from students, preceptor feedback regarding the need for students to be better trained in core professional concepts, and low rates of attendance in standard professional development events resulted in a quality improvement study to identify students’ perceived career planning and professional development needs. Findings were used to redesign current services and provided the basis for developing more targeted trainings to ensure that public health graduates are better prepared to meet employer expectations and to excel in the workforce. This article provides an overview of this transformative process, including the results of the qualitative survey on student, faculty, alumni, and community preceptor perspectives, and resulting prototypes developed for the professional development pilot along with preliminary insights.

Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness: Legal Practitioner Perspectives

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Demetrios L. Kouzoukas
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Human Services ◽  
List Type ◽  
General Counsel ◽  
Health And Human Services ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Core Elements

This paper provides an overview of recent US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiatives and efforts — under the leadership of the General Counsel, the Secretary, and the President — regarding legal preparedness for public health emergencies. In addressing this topic, the paper focuses on four core elements comprising public health legal preparedness:(1)effective legal authorities to support necessary public health activities;(2)competencies of public health professionals to know and then to apply those laws;(3)coordination of the application of laws across jurisdictions (local, state, tribal, federal, and international) and across multiple sectors; and(4)information and best practices in public health law.

The EDIC Method: An Engaging and Comprehensive Approach for Creating Health Department Workforce Development Plans

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 688-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon L. Grimm ◽  
Kathleen Brandert ◽  
David Palm ◽  
Colleen Svoboda
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Workforce Training ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Development Plans

In 2013, the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Public Health (Nebraska’s State Health Department); and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health developed a comprehensive approach to assess workforce training needs. This article outlines the method used to assess the education and training needs of Division staff, and develop comprehensive workforce development plans to address those needs. The EDIC method (Engage, Develop, Identify, and Create) includes the following four phases: (1) Engage Stakeholders, (2) Develop Assessment, (3) Identify Training Needs, and (4) Create Development Plans. The EDIC method provided a process grounded in science and practice, allowed input, and produced buy-in from staff at all levels throughout the Division of Public Health. This type of process provides greater assurance that the most important gaps in skills and competencies will be identified. Although it is a comprehensive approach, it can be replicated at the state or local level across the country.

scholarly journals Preferred modalities for delivering continuing education to the public health workforce: a scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 116-125
Author(s):  
Anya Archer ◽  
Isha Berry ◽  
Uttam Bajwa ◽  
Robyn Kalda ◽  
Erica Di Ruggiero
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Scoping Reviews

Introduction Continuing education (CE) can help public health professionals maintain and further develop their knowledge and skills to adapt to the changing public health landscape. This scoping review aims to identify the preferred modalities for delivering CE to public health professionals and to determine how equity has been incorporated into public health training. Methods Using the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews as a guide, we searched four databases for peer-reviewed primary research studies that evaluated public health workforce CE modalities. Results The review included 33 studies published between 1 January 2000 and 6 August 2019 from over 11 countries. Most articles broadly described their training audience as public health professionals employed by government or non-governmental organizations. Delivery methods included online, in-person or blended learning (combining online and in-person instruction). Learners strongly preferred self-directed approaches. Organizational support, including protected time for professional development during work hours, was an important enabler of training completion. Commonly cited barriers included course duration and a high number of contact hours. Conclusion Findings suggest that there is no single preferred training modality. We identified three elements that influence modality preference: design, delivery and organizational support. Modality should be determined by participants’ location, needs and previous experiences to ensure the content is relevant and delivered in a way that equips learners to apply the knowledge gained.

Public Health 3.0: A New Vision Requiring a Reinvigorated Workforce

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8S-9S ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen B. DeSalvo ◽  
Y. Claire Wang
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health And Human Services ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
New Vision ◽  
Regional Public Health ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health launched the Public Health 3.0 initiative to define a framework for the future of public health. Regional Public Health Training Centers are at the forefront of testing new pedagogical approaches that incorporate Public Health 3.0 and social determinants of health principles.

scholarly journals Vaccine Hesitancy and Administrative Burden in the Australian National Immunisation Program: An Analysis of Twitter Discourse

Knowledge ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Atkinson ◽  
Allison M. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Vaccination Schedule ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Administrative Burden ◽  
National Immunisation ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
National Immunisation Program

In Australia, the National Immunisation Program and its Standard Vaccination Schedule are administered by the Australian Government Department of Health. While the public vaccination program’s safety and worth are generally agreed upon by doctors and public health professionals, some continue to see vaccinations as a source of danger and harm. The burden of vaccination in order to receive public services aligns government and medical interests, but a less-than-trusting public may see conspiracy in such requirements, resulting in vaccine hesitancy. The media’s attention to the topic, and a tendency toward misinformation on the part of anti-government opinion leaders, necessitate additional exploration of the administrative burden of vaccinations in an increasingly complex policy environment, where public health benefits are weighed against individual freedom and belief. This paper examines vaccinations as a burden, with costs in compliance, learning, and psychological terms, using posts from the social networking site Twitter as a corpus for exploratory content analysis in the specific case of Australia and its requirements. It is worth considering whether the positive aspects messaged by public health professionals are successfully entering into the discourse on vaccinations.

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