Online Program

Oral

This session addresses a critical shift for the behavioral health field – how to leverage our expertise with behavioral health programs/intervention design within a population health framework. Presentations will suggest implications for training professionals in policy, practice and research. The Mental Health Section will meet at the end of this session. We will reflect on this year’s conference and identify broad themes, opportunities for collaboration within the public health field, and national networking strategies for APHA 2016 Denver.

Session Objectives: Describe the context for the elevation of behavioral health as a public health discipline – based on findings from a Center for Disease Control (CDC) transformation grant. Describe why only 16% of Local Health Departments (serving 24% of the U.S. population) reported engaging in population-based mental health prevention activities – based on findings from a Robert Wood Johnson Public Health Services and Systems Research survey. Identify current trends in Public Health education and analyze gaps in educational competencies related to mental health policy and practice in the training of public health students. (Boston University School of Public Health) Discuss challenges facing the behavioral healthcare workforce and implications for behavioral healthcare degree programs at the University of South Florida’s College of Behavioral & Community Sciences.