Effects of public health workforce training on knowledge, perceptions and intention to address health disparities

Public health staff have a unique role in the effort to establish health equity.  This study examined the effects of an intervention aimed to educate public health staff on the relationship between health inequities and disparities.  The intervention, Improving Health for All Discussion Series (IHA), is a six-module training program, adapted from the Public Health 101 Dialogue Series developed by Alameda County Public Health Department in California.  The purpose of IHA is to educate and facilitate dialogue among Riverside County Department of Public Health staff on health equity and the importance role of community engagement and partnerships. 

The IHA program is used to ensure that all staff have an understanding of the importance of the social determinants of health; its association with poor health outcomes and health disparities; and the role of non-traditional partnerships (businesses, urban planning, etc.) in addressing disparities and inequities.  The evaluation was conducted using a retrospective pretest design to collect pretest and posttest survey data from participants (n=173) on knowledge and key theory of planned behavior variables following a workplace intervention to promote the development of strategies to address health disparities. 

Analyses using nonparametric tests were performed to examine changes resulting from the intervention and differences between those with and without formal public health training.  Posttest responses were significantly higher than pretest responses for all variables.  This session will discuss the impact of the intervention on perceptions of public health staff in developing strategies to reduce health disparities and this the implication to public health practice.