141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

282927
Advocating for public health

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 1:10 PM - 1:30 PM

Melissa Alperin, MPH, MCHES , Career MPH Program, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Laura M. Lloyd, MPH, MCHES , Emory Public Health Training Center, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Tara R. Redd, MEd, MCHES , Emory Public Health Training Center, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Ariela M. Freedman, PhD, MPH, MAT , Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Sahar S. Salek, MPH, CHES , Emory Public Health Training Center, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Kathleen R. Miner, PhD, MPH, MEd, MCHES , Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Boards of Health (BOH), comprised of elected officials and community leaders, play an essential role in the advocacy and governance of local health departments, yet their training needs are often overlooked. It is important that public health administrators recognize the role of BOH members and the need to train this segment of the public health workforce to most effectively support the work of the health department. To address the training needs of the local BOH members in Georgia, the Emory Public Health Training Center (EPHTC) developed a series of trainings through a subcontract with the Georgia Public Health Association. The trainings are based on needs assessment data collected in spring 2011 where BOH members as well as state and local public health leadership were asked about priority areas for BOH training. The data indicated that community dimension, analytic/assessment, and policy development/program planning skills were the most important skill areas for BOH members. Key topic areas included: core functions of public health; overview of public health programs; roles, responsibilities, and authority; and budget issues. In an effort to reach the 1,113 local BOH members in Georgia, the in-person trainings are held in both metropolitan Atlanta and rural areas. Most recently, video modules that address key public health functions have been developed for use at local BOH meetings. Using Georgia as a case study, this presentation will discuss the needs assessment results – in particular, the data from local public health leaders; training approach used in Georgia; and lessons learned for other communities.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Program planning
Public health administration or related administration

Learning Objectives:
Identify key findings from training needs assessment with local public health leaders. Describe approach used to train Board of Health members. Identify lessons learned for adaption in other communities.

Keywords: Advocacy, Leadership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Melissa Alperin has a MPH in health promotion/education, is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist, and holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. She is also the Director of the Emory Public Health Training Center, a HRSA-funded center that provides field placements for public health students and trainings for the current public health workforce and Boards of Health members.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.