4186.0: Tuesday, November 14, 2000: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM

Environmental Health: Core Competencies to Practice at the Local Level

The APHA convened a panel of experts from thirteen public health related national associations. The panel was convened to identify the competencies necessary to effectively perform environmental health functions at the local level. This is the first time such a large and diverse group of associations convened to address this subject. The panel developed a set of guidelines for use by local health departments to strengthen their capacity to perform environmental health. This activity supported the 2010 Healthy People Objectives of strengtheneing the public health infrastructure. Prior to the panel, there was no broadly accepted guidance for local health departments on the competencies needed to effectively practice environmental health. In addition, there were no nationally accepted qualifications for entering the field at the local level. Qualifications ranged from high school diploma to a bachelor's degree from accredited programs of environmental health. The panel built on previous efforts and focused on the competencies necessary to work within the public health field. The results of the panel will be presented with discussion by some of the participating associations
See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement.
Learning Objectives: Refer to the individual abstracts for learning objectives
Organizer(s):Pat Bohan
2:30 PMCore Competencies in Environmental Health: Assessing Technical Competence
Gary Coleman
2:45 PMCore Competencies to Practice Local Environmental Health: Summary of an Expert Panel
Patrick O. Bohan, MS, MSEH
3:00 PMEnvironmental Health Core Competencies: Local Health Board Perspective
Ned J. Baker, MPH
3:15 PMEnvironmental Health Core Competencies: Preparing the Workforce
Dan Boatright, PhD
3:30 PMEnvironmental Health Core Competencies: Their Importance to Local Health Departments
Thomas Dunlop
Sponsor:Environment
Cosponsors:Occupational Health and Safety

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA