Current Projects

• Workforce needs assessment is certainly the backbone for strategic planning of public health training and development. In the fall of 2006, 53 state and local health public information officers who are members of the National Public Health Information Consortium (NPHIC) were asked to complete an online survey to identify the training needs and preferences of PIOs. The needs assessed in this particular survey were focused specifically on communication to reduce health disparities. Click here for brief overview of the results from our assessment. Click here for the full report.
• Evaluating web-based training materials-Relatively few online resources offer direct instruction in communication and marketing to reduce health disparities. A great many excellent public health workforce development resources, however, do touch on the Center’s mission. The Core is always on the lookout for web-based public health workforce training materials related to communication and cultural competence. Please see our top ten list.
• Delivery of workforce development trainingFor the past two years Core B has hosted workshops for state public health information officers at the NPHIC conference. The workshops offer an efficient vehicle for delivering face-to-face training in health communication and marketing to reduce health disparities. Click here to view slides from the 2007 workshop, "Framing Messages to Reduce Health Disparities" conducted by Dr. Susan Kirby.
• Interactive web cast workshops for local health district risk communicators and for state public health information officers and their staffs are in the works. Click here to see Building Liaison with Latino Communities: A series of focused video briefings for public health information officers and emergency/risk communicators.

Future Projects

• Needs assessment will continue in 2006 and 2007 with the Core’s three constituencies. In particular, the original instrument will be re-administered to determine if ranking of needs change over the course of time. It is hypothesized that longitudinal data within the three clientele groups will reveal shifts in perceived needs away from skill sets that are addressed in Center training materials.
• A sponsored workshop is scheduled for the annual NPHIC conference in 2008. The topic will be on building culturally competent websites.
• A series of interactive web cast workshops are being in the works. The next webcast in the series is titled, “Guidance for Local Health District BT/Risk Communicators in Collaborating with Faith Based African American Communities for Pandemic Flu Preparedness”
• Course modules for campus-delivered classes in public communication for MPH students and graduate students in health sciences is being developed based on needs assessment. The Core will use these traditional public health education programs and courses as vehicles for infusing curriculum with materials pertaining to communication and marketing to reduce health disparities. These materials are will include (1) extended case study portfolios for case method instruction, (2) project assignments for problem based learning (PBL), (3) web-based multimedia modules for teaching specific skills or approaches (e.g., writing press releases or conducting culturally sensitive audience analyses), and (4) role-playing exercises. Click here for a copy of “Working with the Media.”
• Evaluation of Core B effectiveness Consistent with the view that stakeholder buy-in is crucial for establishing criteria for evaluating this Core, several specific standards will be ascertained upon consultation with members of the three Core clientele groups.