The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64508

Susan E. Meece-Hinh, BS¹, Carole Kacius, PhD¹, Elise Papke, MPH¹, Stephen. J. Jay, MD¹, Kathy Weaver, JD², Louis Rowitz, PhD³, and Linda Chezem, JD¹. (1) School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Indiana University, Regenstrief Health Center, 1050 Wishard Blvd., Room 4168, Indianapolis, IN 46202-2872, 317-274-3178, smeecehi@iupui.edu, (2) Office of Policy, Indiana State Department of Health, 2 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204, (3) UIC School of Public Health, University of Illinois-Chicago, Mid-America Public Health Leadership Institute, 2121 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612

Compelling social, structural, economic, education and health needs in Indiana stimulated development of a major collaboration among public health (PH) and academic/practice partners in the mid 1990’s. From this sustained effort, components of an Indiana and regional PH system have emerged: a collaborative Department of Public Health (IUDPH) an MPH program at Indiana University (IU) Indianapolis (1997), the IU/Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Center for Public Health Leadership & Education (CPHLE,1999) and the Mid-America Public Health Training Center (MAPHTC,2001) created by the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health with Indiana partners, including ISDH, IUDPH, Indiana Public Health Association, Indiana Primary Health Care Association, Indiana Rural Health Association and others. The CPHLE provides educational opportunities for PH professionals in all 92 Indiana counties; the CPHLE now coordinates its activities with MAPHTC. The HRSA funded MAPHTC provides competency-based PH education in Indiana and Illinois. Beginning in 2001, national bioterriorism/preparedness issues and a severe national economic downturn have placed an additional strain on an already fragile PH infrastructure in both Indiana and the Midwest. However, the development of this collaborative model for education and training in the late 1990’s has provided a unique regional organizational structure for addressing the critical need for training public health professionals in a cost-effective manner. This presentation describes the mission, goals and objectives of the academic/practice partnerships and training centers. Highlights will include lessons learned by examining specific collaborative projects, with emphasis on leadership, faculty development and needs assessment.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the benefits of academic/practice partnerships in the development of relevant, public health training.
• Describe this model of academic/private partnerships, including structure and function.
• Identify the specific outcomes of the partnership including: leadership/faculty development and needs assessment, as well as specific training initiatives: law and public health, evidence-based public health, rural public health, and informatics education initiatives which include distributed education opportunities.

Keywords: Partnerships, Workforce

Related Web page: www.maphtc.iupui.edu; www.uic.edu/sph/maphtc

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.