Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104901

Erin E. Rothney, MPH¹, Lisa Macon Harrison, BSPH, MPH (c)¹, Mary Davis, DrPH, MSPH², Tara Pierce Rybka, MPH¹, and Pia D.M. MacDonald, PhD, MPH³. (1) North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 8165, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8165, 919-843-0837, erin_rothney@unc.edu, (2) North Carolina Institute for Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 8165, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8165, (3) Department of Epidemiology / North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #8165, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Valued longtime partnerships, consistent communication, and an effective marketing plan have been significant factors for the success of a recent workforce training needs assessment effort in North Carolina. This presentation will offer strategies for successful assessment implementation in local public health departments. The North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness (NCCPHP) in the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health conducted an online public health workforce assessment in North Carolina local public health departments throughout 2004. Partnerships between NCCPHP and the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHP&R) and local public health departments resulted in a 78% response rate throughout the state. This high participation rate was a result of several key strategies. Staff at NCCPHP worked closely with all local health departments, and identified a key contact at each local public health department to encourage and facilitate assessment participation. Regular communication with these key contacts was instrumental in gaining staff participation. NCCPHP provided in-person technical assistance and demonstrations on use of the online assessment. NCCPHP staff also distributed letters and e-mail reminders, disseminated instructions about how to use the online assessment, and responded to all technical assistance requests from individuals throughout the assessment period. In addition, OPHP&R required that each health department reach a 75% level of participation to obtain local bioterrorism funding, which was a significant incentive for completion. Collaborations between state and local public health agencies and academic institutions increased participation in the assessment process.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the learner should be able to

• Describe the implementation of a public health workforce training needs assessment survey for local public health workers.
• Discuss how partnerships facilitated the successful implementation
• Describe successful strategies for conducting an assessment in local health departments

Keywords: Partnerships, Workforce

Related Web page: publichealthpreparedness.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.