The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #36486

Richard Schuster, MD, MMM, School of Medicine, Wright State University, 3139 Research Blvd, Suite 205, Dayton, OH 45420, 937-258-5555, richard.schuster@wright.edu and William Mase, MA, School of Medicine, Division of Health Systems Management, Ohio State University and Wright State University, 3139 Research Blvd., Suite 205, Dayton, OH 45420.

A partnership between three public health departments and two institutions of higher education was established in the summer of 2001. Representatives from this partnership will discuss the process of assessing the need for increased educational opportunities for current and future professionals in Public Health. Identified gaps in knowledge and competency of the existing workforce were the catalyst for the development of an advisory board responding to educational needs. The initiative is driven by a community-academic partnership between university and public health leadership in Southwestern Ohio. Data reported in the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals Report* and that which has been collected by a State of Ohio task force on performance standards in public health clearly demonstrates the need for increased community-based education. Additionally, data has been collected through a local workforce assessment survey to evaluate best practices for the delivery of graduate education. The emerging program will be both community-responsive and interdisciplinary, providing applied learning and incorporating distance-learning modalities of delivery.

This session will focus on partnership development, workforce and feasibility needs assessment, and implementation plan progress.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Participants will be able to identify three successful strategies used to assess and improve partner relationships in the early development of a community-academic partnership.
• 2. Participants will be able to identify two roles for both the community and academic partner in the development of a graduate degree program in public health.
• 3. Participants will be asked to recommend at least two best practice concepts for educational programs in public health.

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Competency

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.