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

Abstract #71519

L.J. Redman, MPH¹, A.M. Lindsey², J. Nell Brownstein, PhD³, and Kristin Pope, MPH³. (1) NCCDPHP, Cardiovascular Health Branch, CDC, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS-K-47, Chamblee, GA 30341, 770-488-8056, LXR7@cdc.gov, (2) Health & Safety Communications, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117, (3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Bufford Highway NE Mailstop K-47, Atlanta, GA 30341

The Institute of Medicine challenges public health “… to make additional improvements in the health of the public … through the quality and preparedness of our public health workforce, which, in turn, is dependent upon the relevance and quality of public health education and training.” This presentation will demonstrate how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Cardiovascular Health (CVH) Branch is addressing this challenge by providing competency-based training to its State Health Department partners.

Based on the relevant core competencies for public health professionals developed by the Council on Linkages and the capacity building outcomes in the CDC cooperative agreement, the five-year training program will address several competencies each year. The program combines theory and practice/skill building sessions with training resources that can be used in states to train other staff and CVH partners. In the first year, based on input from State Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention coordinators, the focus is on skills required to develop, implement, and evaluate population-based interventions to change policies, environments, and systems that support heart health. An ecological model of health that emphasizes the linkages and relationships among multiple determinants of health underlies the skills to be taught in the training. A critical competency to be addressed is knowing how to build and maintain diverse partnerships for creating policy, environment, and systems change.

We will share lessons learned from the planning process and the 2003 training to assess the challenges of developing public health work force competencies.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to:
• Recognize the critical public health work force competencies needed for a State heart disease and stroke prevention program.
• Describe the lessons learned in the planning and implementation process of creating a long-term public health work force training.

Keywords: Public Health Agency Roles, Training

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: CDC CVH Branch
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: employee