National Conference on Mental Health in Public Health Training: Conference Report

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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