Core Competencies and a Workforce Framework for Community Health Workers: A Model for Advancing the Profession.

Objectives: To establish a validated, standardized set of core competencies for community health workers (CHWs) and a linked workforce framework.

Methods: We conducted a review of the literature on CHW competency development (August 2015), completed a structured analysis of literature sources to develop a workforce framework, convened an expert panel to review the framework and write measurable competencies, and validated the competencies (August 2017) by using a 5-point Likert scale survey with 58 participants in person in Biloxi, Mississippi, and electronically across the United States.

Results: The workforce framework delineates 3 categories of CHWs based upon training, workplace, and scope of practice.

Public health training center evaluation: a framework for using logic models to improve practice and educate the public health workforce.

The nation's 37 public health training centers (PHTCs) provide competency-based trainings and practice-based opportunities to advance the current and future public health workforces. The Emory PHTC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed a comprehensive evaluation plan to address the many evaluation-related questions that must be answered to inform decisions that improve practice. This plan, based on the center's logic model, includes formative assessment, outcome evaluation, process evaluation, and programmatic evaluation.

Future of public workforce training: thought leaders' perspectives.

The guest editors identified eleven prominent public health thought leaders from practice, academia, professional associations, and philanthropic organizations to be interviewed for their opinions about the future of public health, the skills needed by the public health workforce, and training opportunities and roles. While they spoke from many different perspectives, several overarching themes emerged. The public health workforce needs updated skills.

Data for preparedness metrics: legal, economic, and operational.

Tracking progress toward the goal of preparedness for public health emergencies requires a foundation in evidence derived both from scientific inquiry and from preparedness officials and professionals. Proposed in this article is a conceptual model for this task from the perspective of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers. The necessary data capture the areas of responsibility of not only preparedness professionals but also legislative and executive branch officials.

Stress coping and changes in health behavior among cancer survivors: a report from the American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-II (SCS-II).

This study used the transactional model of stress and coping to examine the relationship between cancer survivors' self-reported efforts to manage stress and the adoption of health behaviors across various lifestyle behavior domains. The authors analyzed data of 2,888 cancer survivors from a national, population-based, cross-sectional survey. Cancer survivors who indicated making active efforts to control stress were more likely to make changes in their physical, psychosocial, and preventive health behaviors as compared to cancer survivors who used passive stress-coping approaches.

Addressing the gap between public health emergency planning and incident response: Lessons learned from the 2009 H1N1 outbreak in San Diego County.

: Since 9/11, Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) are relatively new concepts to public health, which typically operates using less hierarchical and more collaborative approaches to organizing staff. This paper describes the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak in San Diego County to explore the use of ICS and EOC in public health emergency response. : This study was conducted using critical case study methodology consisting of document review and 18 key-informant interviews with individuals who played key roles in planning and response.

Better learning through instructional science: a health literacy case study in "how to teach so learners can learn".

Health education and behavior change interventions typically pay little attention to the intervention's instructional foundation. Combining the fields of health literacy, cognitive psychology, and adult learning theory, this article provides an integrative scientific approach, called the BEAN (Better Education and iNnovation) model, to creating an instructional foundation based on how individuals acquire knowledge and skills. The article uses a case study example from an adult literacy center's health literacy class to explore how environmental factors and instructional strategies can be applied to health education and behavior change interventions.

An informatics agenda for public health: summarized recommendations from the 2011 AMIA PHI Conference.

The AMIA Public Health Informatics 2011 Conference brought together members of the public health and health informatics communities to revisit the national agenda developed at the AMIA Spring Congress in 2001, assess the progress that has been made in the past decade, and develop recommendations to further guide the field. Participants met in five discussion tracks: technical framework; research and evaluation; ethics; education, professional training, and workforce development; and sustainability. Participants identified 62 recommendations, which clustered into three key themes related to the need to (1) enhance communication and information sharing within the public health informatics community, (2) improve the consistency of public health informatics through common public health terminologies, rigorous evaluation methodologies, and competency-based training, and (3) promote effective coordination and leadership that will champion and drive the field forward.

Amplifying diffusion of health information in low-literate populations through adult education health literacy classes.

Over the next decade, as literacy rates are predicted to decline, the health care sector faces increasing challenges to effective communication with low-literate groups. Considering the rising costs of health care and the forthcoming changes in the American health care system, it is imperative to find nontraditional avenues through which to impart health knowledge and functional skills. This article draws on classroom observations and qualitative interviews with 21 students and 3 teachers in an adult education health literacy class to explore the efficacy of using adult education courses to teach functional health literacy skills to low-literate populations.

A drive through Web 2.0: an exploration of driving safety promotion on Facebook™.

This study explored Facebook™ to capture the prevalence of driving safety promotion user groups, obtain user demographic information, to understand if Facebook™ user groups influence reported driving behaviors, and to gather a sense of perceived effectiveness of Facebook™ for driving safety promotion targeted to young adults. In total, 96 driving safety Facebook™ groups (DSFGs) were identified with a total of 33,368 members, 168 administrators, 156 officers, 1,598 wall posts representing 12 countries. A total of 85 individuals participated in the survey.

The evidence base for effectiveness of preparedness training: a retrospective analysis.

Objectives: In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) commissioned an Evidence-Based Gaps Collaboration Group to consider whether past experience could help guide future efforts to educate and train public health workers in responding to emergencies and disasters.

Methods: The Group searched the peer-reviewed literature for preparedness training articles meeting three criteria: publication during the period when CDC's Centers for Public Health Preparedness were fully operational, content relevant to emergency response operations, and content particular to the emergency response roles of public health professionals. Articles underwent both quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Crosswalking public health and health education competencies: implications for professional preparation and practice.

This article highlights similarities and differences between the public health competencies recently developed by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) and one public health specialty, health education (HE), which has used competencies in its quality assurance systems for more than 20 years. Based on a crosswalk methodology developed for this analysis, some 50 percent to 61 percent of the HE and ASPH competencies had similarities of varying degrees; 18 percent were deemed matches due to sameness in skill or content. Most similarities were found between the ASPH social and behavioral sciences competencies and the HE competencies.

Outcome-based workforce development and education in public health.

The broad scope of the public health mission leads to an increasingly diverse workforce. Given the range of feeder disciplines and the reality that much of the workforce does not have formal training in public health science and practice, a pressing need exists for training and education throughout the workforce. Just as we in public health take a rigorous approach to our science, so too should we take a rigorous, evidence-driven approach to workforce development.

Effectiveness of school network for childhood obesity prevention (SNOCOP) in primary schools of Saraburi Province, Thailand.

This research was designed to test the effectiveness of a school network for childhood obesity prevention (SNOCOP) in primary schools; a program that aimed to improve student behavior in terms of knowledge, attitude, intention towards obesity prevention, and their food consumption behavior. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest time series study was conducted. By 2-stage stratified sampling selection 180 students from 6 schools were assigned to the intervention group and 195 students from 6 schools to the control group at Saraburi Province, Thailand in 2006- 2007.

Can summits lead to curricula change? An evaluation of emergency preparedness summits for schools of nursing in Georgia.

The Emory University Center for Public Health Preparedness held two summits for nurses that were evaluated by survey. Participants cited multiple deficiencies and challenges with integrating emergency preparedness into nursing curricula. The summits and the related materials were reported as highly useful by survey respondents.

A competency-based approach to expanding the cancer care workforce: proof of concept.

As part of an effort to address shortages in the cancer workforce, C-Change developed competency standards and logic model-driven implementation tools for strengthening the cancer knowledge and skills of non-oncology health professionals. Testing of these standards and tools at four diverse pilot sites yielded very promising results.

Developing competencies for applied epidemiology: from process to product.

Objectives: We developed competencies for applied epidemiologic practice by using a process that is based on existing competency frameworks, that engages professionals in academic and applied epidemiology at all governmental levels (local, state, and federal), and that provides ample opportunity for input from practicing epidemiologists throughout the U.S.

Methods: The model set of core public health competencies, consisting of eight core domains of public health practice, developed in 2001 by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice, were adopted as the foundation of the Competencies for Applied Epidemiologists in Governmental Public Health Agencies (AECs).

Logic model use in developing a survey instrument for program evaluation: emergency preparedness summits for schools of nursing in Georgia.

The objective of this paper is to describe a method for using a logic model to guide program evaluation by detailing the steps used, providing diagrams that visually depict the process, and giving an example based on the evaluation of emergency preparedness nursing summits in Georgia. Developing a logic model is an ideal way to visually depict the inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes of a program, thus providing a clear framework of the workings and functions of the program. In planning a comprehensive evaluation, being able to view all the elements in a program and how they interrelate makes it easier to determine the areas that should be addressed.

Health behavior change models and theories: contributions to rehabilitation.

Purpose: This article highlights the importance of health behavior change (HBC) theory, and its relevance to rehabilitation research and practice.

Method: An extensive review of HBC-related literature pertinent to rehabilitation was conducted, focusing on the potential impact of these theories and models in enhancing long-term results of rehabilitation with regard to lifestyle change and health promotion, and outlining the benefits of incorporating HBC themes into rehabilitation practice. For our purposes, the HBC concept is based on initiation and maintenance of health behaviors, functioning, wellness, and self-management of chronic conditions or disabilities within an environmental context.

Internet use for health information among college students.

Use of the Internet to retrieve health information is increasingly common. The authors surveyed 743 undergraduate students at 2 academic institutions to examine their Internet use, health-seeking behaviors, and attitudes related to the use of the Internet to obtain health information. Fifty-three percent of the respondents indicated that they would like to get health information online, and 28% reported that they would like to attend a health program online.

Environmental health promotion interventions: considerations for preparation and practice.

Interventions to address current, future, and potential public health dilemmas, such as air pollution, urban sprawl, brown field reclamation, and threats of intentional toxic exposures would benefit from a synergy between the disciplines of environmental health and health education. A comparison between the Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health and the PRECEDE-PROCEED model used in health education illustrates some similarities and differences in terminology, assessment procedures, intervention design, and types of evidence used by the two disciplines. Promising intervention strategies draw on the expertise of both fields and include social action, policy and media advocacy, coalition building, organizational change, lay health advisers, risk communication, and tailored educational messages.