Weaving latino cultural concepts into Preparedness Core Competency training.

INTRODUCTION: The New York • New Jersey Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (NY•NJ PERLC) is one of 14 Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed to address the preparedness and response training and education needs of the public health workforce. One of the important niches, or focus areas for the Center, is training to improve the capacity of public health workers to respond with competence to the needs of vulnerable populations. BACKGROUND: During every phase of a disaster, racial and ethnic minorities, including Latinos, suffer worse outcomes than the general population. Communities with diverse cultural origins and limited English speakers often present more complex issues during public health emergencies. Training that incorporates cultural concepts into the Preparedness Core Competencies may improve the ability of public health workers to engage the Latino community in preparedness activities and ultimately improve outcomes during disasters. METHODS: This article describes initiatives undertaken by the NY•NJ PERLC to improve the capacity of the public health workforce to respond competently to the needs of Latino populations. In 2012, the Center collaborated with national, state, and local partners to develop a nationwide broadcast founded on the Preparedness Core Competencies, Latinos During Emergencies: Cultural Considerations Impacting Disaster Preparedness. The widely viewed broadcast (497 sites in 47 states and 13 nations) highlighted the commonalities and differences within Latino culture that can impact emergency preparedness and response and outlined practical strategies to enhance participation. OUTCOMES: The success of the broadcast spurred a number of partner requests for training and technical assistance. Lessons learned from these experiences, including our "undercover" work at local Points of Dispensing, are incorporated into subsequent interactive trainings to improve the competency of public health workers. NEXT STEPS: Participants recommended developing similar training addressing cultural differences, especially for other ethnic groups.

Training the public health workforce from Albany to Zambia: technology lessons learned along the way.

This article describes lessons learned by the University at Albany Center for Public Health Preparedness (UA-CPHP) in using three technologies to deliver preparedness training for public health professionals in New York State. These three technologies are: 1. Audience response system (ARS, or the "clicker" system)--Purchased to improve engagement of all participants in heterogeneous training audiences, it also markedly reduces staff time while improving training evaluation (cost: $4,500). 2. Satellite broadcast programs--UA-CPHP produced more than 50 broadcasts, which remain available as videostreams and/or podcasts. Viewership of archived programs sometimes surpasses that of the live event (cost estimate: $23,000 to $39,000). 3. Interactive online courses--Seventeen courses have registered more than 44,000 learners worldwide. The Pandemic Influenza course alone has reached more than 16,000 registrants from all 50 U.S. states and at least 56 other countries (cost estimate: $30,000 to $65,000). UA-CPHP's experience as a preparedness training center has confirmed that contemporary technology can be employed to improve and increase the reach of these training efforts. An additional finding was that, quite unintentionally, the intensive use of distance-based educational modalities designed to reach public health practitioners in New York State has afforded UA-CPHP a substantial national and international audience as well, and at no additional cost.

Strengthening epidemiologic competencies among local health professionals in New York: teaching evidence-based public health.

Starting in 2004, the New York State Department of Health and the University at Albany Prevention Research Center collaboratively developed a course entitled Evidence-Based Public Health for Local Health Practice to strengthen epidemiologic and other competencies of public health professionals in local health departments. This article describes the development of the course and its adaptation to the needs of local public health staff. The course utilizes didactic sessions, computer labs, and scenario-based exercises to demonstrate the use of data and evidence in the decision-making process. Follow-up surveys found that information and skills that emphasized epidemiologic competencies were likely to be used regularly or occasionally by the majority of participants. Half of the participants said that their agency's use of evidence-based public health practices had increased. Few respondents were trained as epidemiologists, yet most reported they used those skills in the workplace, suggesting a need to strengthen these competencies among non-epidemiologists.

Measuring the impact of a public health data training program.

In spring and fall of 2000, 109 community health professionals participated in "Public Health Data: Our Silent Partner," a training program developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The two-day training was offered four times in different locations in New York State in response to local health departments and community partners identifying a need for data analysis training. Participants completed evaluations during the training, and they were surveyed within a year of completing the training. This article discusses the impact of the training and suggests ways to increase the value of the training.