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

Abstract #70771

M. Ann Ricksecker, MPH¹, Geneva Vaughan-Harris, PhD², Lisa M. Tilley, MS², Daniel J. Johnson, MA², Sharron Goode², John Cella, MPA², and Susan Rubinstein². (1) PA/Mid-Atlantic AIDS ETC, Health Federation of Philadelphia, 1211 Chestnut Street, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215.246.5295, rickseck@hfedu.org, (2) AIDS Activities Coordinating Office, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 1101 Market Street, 9th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107

The AIDS unit of a county health department directed an internal team to develop a) Core competencies for the program staff and b) A plan to implement appropriate training to support the expected public health practice. The staff members of the AIDS unit targeted for this effort are program analysts who are responsible for assisting the service providers that are funded by the health department to offer HIV care and prevention throughout the community. The team consists of six representatives from the AIDS unit and a staff member from the local performance site of the HRSA-funded AIDS Education and Training Center (ETC). The ETC was asked to provide technical assistance for the team. Over a six-month period, the team created a document that presented the public health practice expectations of the program analysts. The team modeled their core competencies statement after the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals project created by the Council of Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice. Five essential services were crafted and detailed to define the specific core competencies for the staff, and an inclusive process followed to solicit input from all staff. The core competencies were then used to develop an assessment process with the staff to plan appropriate training, technical assistance, and information sharing that was needed to support their ability to perform their public health functions according to the core competencies.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, the participant will be able to:
• Describe a process that can be used to develop core competencies for a specific health department unit.
• Identify methods of creating essential services that define the functions of a health department program unit.
• Discuss methods of staff assessment to develop training and technical assistance.

Keywords: Professional Training, Public Health Agency Roles

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.