Building Qualitative Research Capacity Among Interdisciplinary Teams to Investigate Girls’ Challenges With Menstruation: Process and Lessons Learned From a 14-Country E-Course

Public health–related decisions are influenced by a variety of actors operating on local to global levels, including community leaders, educators, nongovernment organizations, government officials, donors, and researchers, many of whom may lack formal public health training. The provision of public health instruction to interdisciplinary professionals has the potential to strengthen the capacity of all stakeholders to make informed, evidenced-based decisions about health policies and programs. The use of online learning is emerging as a promising means of providing public health training, particularly among those living in geographically disparate areas and from multidisciplinary backgrounds. This article describes an online course created to teach participants in stakeholder teams from 14 low- and middle-income countries how to design and conduct qualitative research to understand girls’ challenges managing menstruation at school. The goal of the course was to strengthen each country team’s ability to conduct research by building the capacity of the members. Thus, completion of the course by all team members was an objective, but less of a focus than assuring that each team as a collective was gaining public health insights and working together to make informed decisions about their research goals. This course led to benefits beyond capacity strengthening, including the formation of a broader community of learning and practice that extended beyond country boundaries. We recommend embedding training opportunities for multidisciplinary stakeholders into research endeavors given the potential for positive effects on individual participants and overall policy decisions to improve community health and provide lessons learned for doing so.

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A Pipeline to Increase Public Health Diversity: Describing the Academic Enrichment Components of the Summer Public Health Scholars Program

Pedagogy in Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/23733799211046973 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. 44S-50S ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Danielle M. Joyner ◽

Eman Faris ◽

Diana Hernández ◽

Joyce Moon Howard ◽

Robert E. Fullilove ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Medical Center ◽

Underrepresented Students ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Public Health Workforce ◽

Columbia University ◽

Biomedical Sciences ◽

Health Training ◽

Public Health Training ◽

Academic Enrichment

A public health workforce that reflects the increasing diversity of the U.S. population is critical for health promotion and to eliminate persistent health disparities. Academic institutions must provide appropriate education and training to increase diversity in public health professions to improve efforts to provide culturally competent care and programs in the most vulnerable communities. Reaching into the existing talent pool of diverse candidates at the undergraduate level is a promising avenue for building a pipeline to advanced training and professional careers in the field of public health. The Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP) at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is a 10-week summer internship program with a mission to increase knowledge and interest in public health and biomedical sciences. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Undergraduate Public Health Summer Programs, sponsored by the CDC’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity, SPHSP aims to pipeline underrepresented students into public health graduate programs and careers by providing mentorship, academic enrichment, professional development, and field-based placements. The SPHSP is uniquely positioned to offer scholars a program that exposes them to core public health training components through the joint effort of all four CUIMC schools: public health, dentistry, nursing, and medicine. Here, we describe the program’s academic enrichment components, which provide advanced and multifaceted public health training opportunities. We discuss the impacts of the program on student outcomes and lessons learned in developing and refining the program model.

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Round table: International capacity building to boost public health: Can we join forces and share know-how?

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.772 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Capacity Building ◽

Interest Group ◽

Round Table ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Building Projects ◽

Health Training ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Lessons Learnt ◽

Public Health Training

Abstract Background European Universities are increasingly running or participating in capacity building in higher education in non-EU countries. These projects are funded by EC, US National Institutes of Health (NIH), governments, universities or private sector. Capacity building provides a way to build global bridges between public health communities; it increases cultural understanding, develops resources in the neighboring countries and prevents public health problems spreading to Europe. For the collaborating countries it empowers communities and enhances equity and solidarity. To pool together the expertise and lessons learnt by the universities delivering this kind of education, a roundtable discussion at EUPHA offers a good forum. Aim To create a forum where public health academics, adult pedagogic experts, policymakers and practitioners gather to share experiences, interests and ideas for potential collaboration to facilitate the export of public health training across countries and cultures. Based on this, the round table will increase sharing knowledge and transparency of results of international capacity building interventions and will contribute to the transcultural fertilization of the interventions, with a special focus on solidarity in health. We will present specific ways of how to do knowhow transfer from EU countries to some other parts of the world (Northern Africa, Arabian Peninsula and the Caucasus region). Program An introduction to the roundtable is given by Professor of Public Health Arja R Aro (SDU, Denmark). She will describe recent developments and multiple lines of funding options for international capacity building projects. Professor Razvan Chereches (BBU, Romania) will talk on the lessons learned in an ongoing public health capacity building project among medical faculty staff funded by EC Erasmus+ program in Tunisia. Dr Diana Dulf will present the lessons learned in capacity building projects funded by NIH in Armenia and Georgia in the area of injury prevention. Arja R Aro will tell about the recent and ongoing knowledge transfer and education export projects among undergraduates and health professionals in Saudi Arabia funded by local universities. Pedagogical expert Anne Leena Ikonen will reflect on the pedagogic challenges in capacity building across cultures, using the Saudi Arabian context as an example. After that the panel will discuss the main lessons learnt and challenges encountered, and the audience is invited to ask questions, to share their experiences and interests. The roundtable will finish by discussing options to get organized as a network or interest group around international capacity building in public health, potentially under EUPHA. Key messages Pooling lessons learnt will help towards better and cost-effective planning of the future training. Network or interest group can offer a platform for collaboration and enhancement of European public health training and export.

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Building the Plane While Flying It: Lessons Learned in the Development of the North Carolina Local Performance Site for the HRSA Region IV Public Health Training Center

Pedagogy in Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/2373379917698672 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. 17S-20S ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stephanie D. Smith ◽

Katelyn G. Matney ◽

Justine J. Reel ◽

Nathaniel P. Miner ◽

Randall R. Cottrell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

North Carolina ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Public Health Workforce ◽

Training Center ◽

Health Training ◽

The Public ◽

The North ◽

Public Health Training ◽

Regional Public Health

Developing a public health training center has provided a unique opportunity to meet the training needs of the public health workforce across North Carolina. Furthermore, the training center has fostered collaborations with community partners and other universities in the state. This article describes some lessons learned while building a local performance site that may help inform and shape expectations about what it takes to build a public health training center. Recommendations for successfully creating a local performance site within the Regional Public Health Training Center model are included.

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Improving public health training and research capacity in Africa: a replicable model for linking training to health and socio-demographic surveillance data

Global Health Action ◽

10.3402/gha.v3i0.5287 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 5287 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

JillR. Williams ◽

EnidJ. Schatz ◽

BenjaminD. Clark ◽

MarkA. Collinson ◽

SamuelJ. Clark ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Research Capacity ◽

Surveillance Data ◽

Health Training ◽

Public Health Training ◽

Training And Research

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Alaska Public Health Training Network

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e433502008-012 ◽

2003 ◽

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Training ◽

Public Health Training

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Responsibility and Blame

10.1093/oso/9780190697211.003.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua M. Sharfstein

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Agency ◽

Public Health Response ◽

Difficult Situation ◽

Health Training ◽

Health Response ◽

Public Health Training ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Sincere Apology

Issues of responsibility and blame are very rarely discussed in public health training, but are seldom forgotten in practice. Blame often follows a crisis, and leaders of health agencies should be able to think strategically about how to handle such accusations before being faced with the pain of dealing with them. When the health agency is not at all at fault, officials can make the case for a strong public health response without reservation. When the agency is entirely to blame, a quick and sincere apology can allow the agency to retain credibility. The most difficult situation is when the agency is partly to blame. The goal in this situation is to accept the appropriate amount of blame while working quickly to resolve the crisis.

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Public Health Preparedness of Post-Katrina and Rita Shelter Health Staff

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x00007408 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 500-505 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Daksha Brahmbhatt ◽

Jennifer L. Chan ◽

Edbert B. Hsu ◽

Hani Mowafi ◽

Thomas D. Kirsch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Technical Support ◽

Health Staff ◽

Health Training ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Training ◽

Clinical Scenarios ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

Hurricanes Katrina And Rita

AbstractIntroduction:During 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the US Gulf Coast, displacing approximately two million people. With >250,000 evacuees in shelters, volunteers from the American Red Cross (ARC) and other nongovernmental and faith-based organizations provided services. The objective of this study was to evaluate the composition, pre-deployment training, and recognition of scenarios with outbreak potential by shelter health staff.Methods:A rapid assessment using a 36-item questionnaire was conducted through in-person interviews with shelter health staff immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Data were collected by sampling at shelters located throughout five ARC regions in Texas. The survey focused on: (1) public health capacity; (2) level of public health awareness among staff; (3) public health training prior to deployment; and (4) interest in technical support for public health concerns. In addition, health staff volunteers were asked to manage 11 clinical scenarios with possible public health implications.Results:Forty-three health staff at 24 shelters were interviewed. Nurses comprised the majority of shelter health volunteers and were present in 93% of shelters; however, there were no public health providers present as staff in any shelter. Less than one-third of shelter health staff had public health training, and only 55% had received public health information specific to managing the health needs of evacuees. Only 37% of the shelters had a systematic method for screening the healthcare needs of evacuees upon arrival. Although specific clinical scenarios involving case clusters were referred appropriately, 60% of the time, 75% of all clinical scenarios with epidemic potential did not elicit proper notification of public health authorities by shelter health staff. In contrast, clinical scenarios requiring medical attention were correctly referred >90% of the time. Greater access and support from health and public health experts was endorsed by 93% of respondents.Conclusions:Public health training for sheltering operations must be enhanced and should be a required component of pre-deployment instruction. Development of a standardized shelter intake health screening instrument may facilitate assessment of needs and appropriate resource allocation. Shelter health staff did not recognize or report the majority of cases with epidemic potential to public health authorities. Direct technical support to shelter health staff for public health concerns could bridge existing gaps and assist surveillance efforts.

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Application of a Return of Investment Analysis for Public Health Training by Case Study

American Journal of Infection Control ◽

10.1016/j.ajic.2021.07.002 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah D. Matthews ◽

Jennifer T. Jackson

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Investment Analysis ◽

Health Training ◽

Return Of Investment ◽

Public Health Training

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Enhancing Public Health Practice Through a Regional Student Field Placement Program

Pedagogy in Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/2373379917697068 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1_suppl) ◽

pp. 73S-80S ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michelle Carvalho ◽

Lisa C. McCormick ◽

Laura M. Lloyd ◽

Kathleen R. Miner ◽

Melissa Alperin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Policy Development ◽

Underserved Populations ◽

Public Health Practice ◽

Program Planning ◽

Development Program ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Executive Summary ◽

Health Training ◽

Public Health Training

Experiential learning links knowledge to real practice through seasoned mentor support, professional reflection, and hands-on experience in authentic work environments. While academic public health programs seek to train the future workforce, the current workforce has a critical need for training as well. The Region IV Public Health Training Center’s Pathways to Practice Scholar program gives public health students the opportunity to apply knowledge to competency-based experiences while fulfilling the current workforce’s short- and long-term human resource needs. Placements are offered in all eight states of the region to broaden opportunities for both agencies and student scholars. On completion of the program, scholars are required to submit an executive summary, reflection statement, photos of the experience, and a draft abstract suitable for submission to a professional conference. Since 2015, 36 scholars have been placed in positions across Region IV, 11 in states other than those of their home universities. Students were placed at state, local, and tribal health departments; area health education centers (AHECs); and other agencies (e.g., primary care settings), and the most common work plan domains selected by scholars were analytic/assessment, policy development/program planning, and leadership/systems thinking skills. Scholars’ perceived confidence increased across all domains with the highest increases in financial planning/management and cultural competency. Program implementation and evaluation findings are described, including types of projects, differences in confidence in performing competency domains, and confidence and interest in working with underserved populations. Evaluation findings indicate that the Region IV Public Health Training Center scholars increased their confidence in performing practice competencies while providing support for public health agencies serving underserved populations.

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