Recorded presentation

Johanna M Hinman, MPH, CHES, Rollins School of Public Health, Dept of Environmental and Occupational Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, 404-712-8553, jhinman@sph.emory.edu and Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322.

Traditional health department functions in environmental health have focused on sanitarian duties, such as inspecting restaurants, septic tanks, and swimming pools, and issuing permits. However, modern environmental health challenges such as hazardous waste sites, sick buildings, disease clusters, and disaster planning require skills beyond these traditional areas. Building capacity in environmental health within the public health system requires an emphasis on specific skills and competencies to ensure a well-prepared environmental health workforce. The Ten Essential Environmental Health Services and Core Competencies for the Effective Practice of Environmental Health provide a framework for the development of skills-based training to enhance the ability of public health departments to meet environmental health challenges. Both the essential services and the core competencies reflect generally accepted principles of public health but focus on the area of environmental health and the challenges of this area today. Through a capacity-building program funded by CDC and ASPH, the Southern Center of Excellence in Environmental Health Practice provided training to health department environmental health personnel. Following an assessment of training needs, the curriculum was developed specifically to address the core competencies and essential services, while including particular topics of special interest to training participants, such as environmental justice and media relations. In addition to in-person training sessions, the Center developed materials that are being revised for widespread dissemination. This presentation will discuss the framework of the competencies and essential services, and will review the training materials and resources being made available for environmental health.

Learning Objectives:

• 3. Identify the core competencies for environmental health and the essential environmental health services;
  7. Describe the development of training to build environmental health capacity in public health departments.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Training

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Southern Center of Excellence in Environmental Health Practice is based at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University.
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Author is employed at the Southern Center of Excellence in Environmental Health Practice at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. The Center is funded by ASPH/CDC, project #1943-21/23.

Recorded presentation