Table of Contents: Fall/Winter Edition | 2009 |
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PPHTC News |
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In September, the UCLA School of Public Health's Center for Public Health and Disasters brought together representatives from federal, state and local health agencies, hospitals, emergency medical services, and private industry for an intensive two-day workshop to assess the effectiveness of actions taken during the early months of the novel H1N1 influenza outbreak.
A new report on those proceedings — including recommendations for dealing with the continuing H1N1 pandemic and future national disease outbreaks — is now available in the current issue of the journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine.
Workshop participants looked at the actions taken as the H1N1 outbreak unfolded in four categories — epidemiology, public-health risk communication, local public health actions and provision of health care — and identified both effective strategies and processes that could have been handled differently.
Keynote presentations by officers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Public Health Service provided an overview of the spring outbreak, as well as the CDC's role and strategy in responding to the outbreak and the decisions that led to the federal declaration of a public health emergency in April.
Participants focused on the challenges of applying the broad guidance provided by the CDC and other agencies to specific situations, such as whether to close schools or cancel events and whether health care and emergency medical workers should use respirators. Discussions emphasized the need to make information on the outbreak — including its changing nature and the number of cases — consistent and easy for the public and the media to understand. Talks also addressed concerns about the sustained ability of hospitals to deal with a large increase in the number of patients with influenza in light of the decrease in hospital facilities in recent years.
Local, state and federal health agencies have been planning and working together for several years to improve responses to a broad spectrum of mass-population emergencies, with specific planning for pandemic influenza beginning with the emergence of the H5N1 (avian) flu. These strategies were put into practice in a remarkably short time-frame last spring and improved the national response to a rapidly evolving communicable disease pandemic.
The UCLA workshop's key recommendations for moving forward in combating the H1N1 influenza include:
Epidemiology
Ensure the uniformity of data collection processes with simple, clear and accessible presentations of case numbers and information on specific groups at increased risk; conduct increased surveillance in schools.
Providing health care
Develop uniform guidelines for antiviral medications and the prioritized use of vaccines for health care practitioners, with specific outreach efforts to those caring for pregnant women; ensure that recommended policies for the protection of health care workers have provisions for situations in which there are limited amounts of materials (e.g. high-filtration capability respirators).
Risk communication
Create uniform public information messages to avoid any ambiguity in interpretation; cultivate close working relationships with both print and broadcast editors to facilitate timely and accurate reporting of consistent messages through print, broadcast and electronic media.
Local public health actions
Utilize the standardized National Incident Management System (NIMS) to integrate the many resources necessary for a sustained pandemic response; integrate a broad spectrum of partners in a community-wide response, including schools, faith-based organizations and major employers.
Since the conclusion of the workshop, several recommendations have already been put in place, including the presentation of published CDC guidance and the merging of CDC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommendations. To view the complete report,
CLICK HERE >>
Mass gatherings are highly visible events with the potential for serious public health and political consequences if they are not planned and managed carefully. There is ample documentation that mass gatherings can amplify and spread infectious diseases. READ MORE ONLINE >>
Wide sections of the Southeast, Appalachia, and some tribal lands in the West and Northern Plains have the nation′s highest rates of obesity and diabetes, according to estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In many counties in those regions, rates of diagnosed diabetes exceed 10 percent and obesity prevalence is more than 30 percent. Eighty–one percent of counties in the Appalachian region, which includes Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia have high rates of diabetes and obesity. Additionally three–quarters of counties in the southern region that includes Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. For more information please VISIT ONLINE >>
Only about 1 in 4 Americans aged 50–64 regularly take advantage of preventive services such as screenings and immunizations, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with AARP and the American Medical Association (AMA). The report, “Promoting Preventive Services for Adults 50–64: Community and Clinical Partnerships,” focuses on opportunities to improve the health of the growing number of adults in the 50–64 age bracket to broaden the use of potentially lifesaving preventive services. READ MORE ONLINE >>
HSS secretary Katherine Sebelius issued a statement on new breast cancer screening recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The U.S. Preventive Task Force is an outside independent panel of doctors and scientists who make recommendations. They do not set federal policy and they do not determine what services are covered by the federal government. READ MORE ONLINE >>
To find the latest information on the upcoming face-to-face Trainings and Events offered by PPHTC please visit the PPHTC website. To access the website CLICK HERE>>
Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology (MCH EPI) conference organizers invite you to join MCH professionals in sharing experiences, enhancing knowledge, and generating new ideas for improved MCH data use and informed policymaking.For more information and registration please READ MORE ONLINE >>
The summit, "Partners in Preparedness: Engaging a Community for a Successful Public Health Response," will strengthen and enhance the capabilities of public health professionals and other participants to plan and prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and other public health emergencies. For more information and registration please CLICK HERE >>
Preventive Medicine 2010, the annual meeting of the American College of Preventive Medicine, is the premier event for professionals in disease prevention and health promotion. The meeting advances the science of preventive medicine through state-of-the-art educational programming and abundant networking opportunities. For more information and registration please CLICK HERE >>
This conference provides a hospitable space for health care, public health, and other community leaders to shape the future through conversations that matter. For more information and registration please CLICK HERE >>
These regional workshops target university researchers seeking to enhance their community-engagement skills. The agendas for each workshop are uniquely developed by the site planning committee and will reflect regional needs and interests. For registration and more information please For more information and registration please
CLICK HERE >>
The ACHI 2010 Spring Training Conference will offer a blend of session formats that engage participants in different ways of learning, acquiring new tools and skills, and creating relationships that support your quest for professional growth and performance improvement.For more information and registration please
CLICK HERE>>
The theme for the conference is Advancements in Food Safety Education: Trends, Tools and Technologies. For more information and registration please READ MORE ONLINE >>
Free public health courses are available online through PPHTC. Courses include Obesity and Overweight, Foodborne Illness, PH101 Principles of Public Health, "How to Get it Published: From Conference to Press", and Public Health Nursing Orientation Training. To register and take these courses
VISIT ONLINE >>
PPHTC University Partner Loma Linda University's "Designs for Health" provides a fresh examination of the science and art of contemporary public health practice. Our aim is to provide 30 minutes each week of intellectually stimulating content that you can conveniently access from your television (LLBN) or via the computer. For more information and a full menu of presenters and topics such as "Over the top behavior: An addicted society" and "The invisible problem: Homelessness" VISIT ONLINE>>
As we enter an era of evidence-based medicine, public health professionals are doing their part to transform public health-related research and practice into evidence-based public health. The MI-INFO (Michigan Informatics) does just this, and offers tutorials. For more information please VISIT ONLINE >>
The University of Minnesota School of Public Health Center for Public Health Education and Outreach has an excellent series of online games, simulations, training and modules relating to public health preparedness. For more details please VISIT ONLINE >>
Pacific EMPRINTS offers free online courses for healthcare professionals. Pacific EMPRINTS is the only provider of online Problem-Based Learning (PBL) cases based on real-life scenarios that healthcare providers can access to better visualize how various bioterrorism and emerging infectious disease threats might present themselves. In addition, AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are available for all PBL online courses through the Center for Continuing Medical Education at the Yale School of Medicine. For more information please
VISIT ONLINE >>
The Journal, which dates back to 1878, is believed to be the oldest continuously published journal dedicated to public health in the country. The availability of the archives will provide an important resource to the public health community. Scroll down the page of this link to see the 1878 edition.
READ MORE ONLINE >>
PPHTC podcasts are available for online listening or MP3 player downloading. Podcast topics include Health Disparities, Obesity and Overweight, Senior Safety and older adult falls, Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases, Preparing for Disasters and Emergencies, and Improving Cultural Competence in Public Health.
VISIT ONLINE >>
Past and upcoming Public Health Training Network (PHTN) streams are made available for distance learning opportunities, sponsored by CDC and other PHTN partners. VISIT ONLINE >>
The Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine presents Public Health Grand Rounds. This offers all faculty and students an opportunity to hear national public health leaders in Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and guests from state and local health departments. Podcasts of current and past Grand Rounds can be found on the website VISIT ONLINE >>
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services offers an interactive tool to explore Data from the National Healthcare Disparities Report. NHDRnet is used to access data in relation to quality of health care, access to health care, or for priority populations. Estimates are based on race, ethnicity, income, or education. One can access and download individual tables from directly from the NHDR Tables Appendix. For access to the Database please click this link.VISIT ONLINE >>
Alabama Department of Public Health offers a variety of continuing education satellite conferences and live webcasts for the PHTN and the national public health workforce. Please visit the website for the latest Webcasts schedule. VISIT ONLINE >>
The Meet the Author webcast series offers a unique forum to discuss current topics in public health. Each webcast focuses on an issue recently highlighted in a Public Health Report's article or commentary. For more information about upcoming webcasts, please click on the "Upcoming" link located on the left. Archives of previous webcasts can be found in the "Archives" section. VISIT ONLINE >>
National Institutes of Health offers variety of topics via webcasts. For information please VISIT ONLINE >>
The certificate in Emergency Preparedness and Response will provide students with knowledge and skills to effectively plan, implement, and evaluate domestic and international public health emergency response and recovery efforts. For more information please READ MORE ONLINE >>
The Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS) is a three year, on-the-job national service and training program offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for master's level health professionals. The program focuses on public health program management and provides prevention specialists with experience in program planning, implementation, and evaluation through specialized hands-on training and mentorship at CDC and state and local health agencies. For more information VISIT ONLINE >>
A unique collaboration between the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is giving students/graduates of ASPH accredited schools of public health the knowledge to enhance their training in injury prevention and traffic safety. READ MORE ONLINE >>
The Environmental Health Support Center sponsors training courses on a wide variety of subjects related to the programs in the Indian Health Service's (IHS) Office of Environmental Health and Engineering. Courses are advertised on a monthly basis by the IHS Area Training Coordinators. For more information visit the Environmental Health Support Center public Web site at
www.opheng.ihs.gov
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health has released the Community-Engaged Scholarship Toolkit, an online resource aimed at providing health professional faculty with a set of tools to carefully plan for and document their community-engaged scholarship and produce strong portfolios for promotion and tenure. The toolkit offers guidance, resources and successful examples of portfolio materials from faculty who have been promoted based on their community-engaged scholarship. The toolkit is available ONLINE >>
Access the latest issue of Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) at www.cdc.gov/pcd where you will find downloadable articles and information on PCD.
The National Center for Health Statistics, Health United States, 2008, chartbook is now accessible ONLINE >>
Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, Disaster University, offers opportunities to learn and practice response to public health emergencies and disasters. For more information on the courses offered please VISIT ONLINE >>
ASPH has a great website with funding from both the public and private sector that is regularly updated.
READ MORE ONLINE >>
The website announced by the HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is a national "one-stop" portal for resources for improving patient safety and preventing medical errors. The site, AHRQ's Patient Safety Network, or PSNet, can be accessed ONLINE >>
This collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations and health science libraries works together to help the public health workforce find and use information effectively to improve and protect the public’s health. For access to the resource please VISIT ONLINE >>
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The PPHTC Newsletter is a service of the Pacific Public Health Training Center (PPHTC), which is comprised of the California Schools of Public Health, (Loma Linda University School of Public Health; UC Berkeley School of Public Health; UCLA School of Public Health, San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Office of Public Health Studies.
This bimonthly newsletter is a service to the public health workforce within the PPHTC region. Our mission is to develop and maintain a skilled workforce to support and enhance individual and community health needs. For more information about PPHTC, please visit: www.pphtc.org