Investigate-Design-Practice-Reflect: An Iterative Community-Engaged Action Process to Improve Population Health.

Background: Community-based coalitions are a common strategy for community engagement efforts targeting the improvement of a variety of population health outcomes. The typical processes that coalitions follow to organize efforts include steps that are sequential, slow, and time intensive. These processes also limit local decision-making to the selection of evidence-based policies or programs.

The Association of Physical Activity and Mortality Risk Reduction Among Smokers: Results From 1998-2009 National Health Interview Surveys-National Death Index Linkage.

Background: The mortality benefits of meeting the US federal guidelines for physical activity, which includes recommendations for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, have never been examined among smokers. Our aim was to investigate the association between reporting to meet the guidelines and all-cause, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease mortality among smokers.

Methods: We pooled data from the 1998-2009 National Health Interview Survey, which were linked to records in the National Death Index (n = 68,706).

Women from racial or ethnic minority and low socioeconomic backgrounds receive more prenatal education: Results from the 2012 to 2014 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.

Background: Racial or ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in adverse birth outcomes are well known, but few studies have examined disparities in the receipt of prenatal health education. The objectives of this study were to examine racial or ethnic and socioeconomic variations in receiving (1) comprehensive prenatal health education and (2) education about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, breastfeeding, alcohol, and smoking cessation from health care practitioners.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2012 to 2014 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).

Relationship of systemic IL-10 levels with proinflammatory cytokine responsiveness and lung function in agriculture workers.

Background: Agriculture workers are exposed to microbial component- and particulate matter-enriched organic dust aerosols. Whereas it is clear that exposure to these aerosols can lead to lung inflammation, it is not known how inflammatory responses are resolved in some individuals while others develop chronic lung disease. Interleukin (IL)-10 is an immunomodulatory cytokine that is recognized as a potent anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving factor.

The EDIC Method: An Engaging and Comprehensive Approach for Creating Health Department Workforce Development Plans.

In 2013, the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Public Health (Nebraska's State Health Department); and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health developed a comprehensive approach to assess workforce training needs. This article outlines the method used to assess the education and training needs of Division staff, and develop comprehensive workforce development plans to address those needs. The EDIC method (Engage, Develop, Identify, and Create) includes the following four phases: (1) Engage Stakeholders, (2) Develop Assessment, (3) Identify Training Needs, and (4) Create Development Plans.

Assessing the Education and Training Needs of Nebraska's Public Health Workforce.

Introduction: In 2012, the Great Plains Public Health Training Center (Grant #UB6HP22821) conducted an online survey of state and local health departments and the American Indian (tribal clinics, tribal health departments, and urban Indian clinic) public health workforce across three professional levels. The objectives of the needs assessment were to determine the competency levels of the state's public health workforce, assess gaps in public health competencies, identify public health training interests, needs, and preferences, and to determine the barriers and motivators to participate in public health training.

Methods: The assessment was developed using the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice, Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals survey (1).