Building Workforce Competence: Opportunities for International Public Health Workforce Training Through Existing Resources

From one country to another, different training priorities determine the training provided to each country’s public health workforce. Conditions ranging from education, to funding, to climate, affect the type of training that is both available and attainable without significant cost. However, opportunities in distance learning reflect the cost savings available in public health workforce development today.

Through TRAIN, the premier learning network for professionals who protect the public’s health, public health organizations can share resources and training programs. A service of Public Health Foundation, TRAIN  represents 25 state health departments and three federal-level agencies – the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – who collectively offer over 29,000 training opportunities developed by nearly 4,000 providers of training to over 750,000 public health professionals. Through this network, public health professionals in 143 countries were reached in 2013.

As internet connectivity becomes more widespread, public health workers outside the United States will seek learning resources at an increasing pace. Resources such as TRAIN offer public health workers training at no cost, regardless of their location, so long as they can connect to the internet. This is a critical factor in the future of public health workforce training.

This presentation will identify online training resources available to public health professionals, focusing on those that build knowledge, skills, and competencies. The presentation will also include a demonstration showing how organizations can help contribute to available resources by integrating already-planned training with TRAIN.