Implementing distance education in Wisconsin: The tale of two programs

Distance education has become a popular method for increasing training opportunities for the public health workforce. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Public Health Foundation have developed a number of distance education resources targeted to public health practitioners. In 2004, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health conducted a needs assessment with key public health partners and identified time away from work and lack of accessibility as barriers to the utilization of continuing education for Wisconsin's public health workforce. In response, the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute developed and implemented two distinct approaches to providing training using distance education methods.

The Community Teams Program uses distance education as one component of a comprehensive curriculum focusing on public health and collaborative leadership skill building. The intensive, year-long program supports teams from around Wisconsin with tailored face-to-face and distance sessions, technical consultation and coaching as they tackle priority health issues in their communities.

The Health Policy Program offers five introductory health policy distance education sessions to individuals interested in improving the health of their community through policy approaches. These sessions can be viewed live as part of a cohort or asynchronously. These distance education sessions are complemented by optional Health Policy Workshops.

This presentation will discuss the two different approaches the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute has taken to providing distance education for the public health workforce and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.