159239 Implementing distance education in Wisconsin: The tale of two programs

Monday, November 5, 2007: 4:55 PM

Kirsten Gruebling, MPH, CHES , Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Peggy Ore, MS, RN , Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Marion Ceraso, MHS, MA , Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Peter Layde, MD, MSc , Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Patrick Remington, MD, MPH , Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Jeff A. Morzinski, PhD , Family Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
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.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe two distinct approaches to distance education for the public health workforce. 2. Identify challenges and successes in developing and implementing distance education programs for the public health workforce. 3. Explore the potential to utilize Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute resources or apply Wisconsin’s experiences to their own settings.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.