Northern Nevada Public Health: Utilizing the Public Health Workforce Calculator and Workforce Capacity Self-assessment Tools to Develop a Framework for Workforce Investment.

Context: Health departments nationally are critically understaffed and lack infrastructure support. By examining current staffing and allocations through a Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) lens at the Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH), there is an opportunity to make a strong case for greater investment if current dedicated full-time equivalents are inadequate and to guide which investments in public health workforce are prioritized.

Objective: To assess the use of the Public Health Workforce Calculator (calculator) and other tools to identify and prioritize FPHS workforce needs in a field application.

Classifying Building Roof Damage Using High Resolution Imagery for Disaster Recovery.

Post-hurricane damage assessments are often costly and time-consuming. Remotely sensed data provides a complementary method of data collection that can be completed comparatively quickly and at relatively low cost. This study focuses on 15 Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Michael (2018), which had category 5 strength winds at landfall.

HABs Karenia brevis and Pseudo-nitzschia pre- and post-Hurricane Michael.

Increased occurrences of harmful algal blooms (HAB) in the Gulf of Mexico, and even worldwide, yield concern for increases in brevetoxin exposure leading to respiratory illness or even death, highlighting the need for extensive scientific research and human health monitoring. It is known that major events such as tropical storms and hurricanes are followed by periods of increased red tides caused by HABs; however, the nature by which phytoplankton blooms proliferate following major events remains a topic of great interest and research. The impact of Hurricane Michael on October 10, 2018 on HABs in the Florida panhandle was examined by analyzing data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in coordination with Normalized Fluorescence Line Height (nFLH) data from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science.

Remotely sensed measures of Hurricane Michael damage and adverse perinatal outcomes and access to prenatal care services in the Florida panhandle.

Background: Studies of effects of hurricanes on perinatal outcomes often rely on approximate measures of exposure. This study aims to use observed damage from aerial imagery to refine residential building damage estimates, evaluate the population changes post landfall, and assess the associations between the extent of residential building damage and adverse perinatal outcomes and access to prenatal care (PNC) services.  METHODS: Vital statistics data from the Florida Department of Health's Office of Vital Statistics were used to align maternal geocoded address data to high-resolution imagery (0.

Harmful algal bloom-related 311 calls, Cape Coral, Florida 2018-2019.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can adversely impact water quality and threaten human and animal health. People working or living along waterways with prolonged HAB contamination may face elevated toxin exposures and breathing complications. Monitoring HABs and potential adverse human health effects is notoriously difficult due to routes and levels of exposure that vary widely across time and space.

Hurricane Michael and Adverse Birth Outcomes in the Florida Panhandle: Analysis of Vital Statistics Data.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine birth outcomes in areas affected by Hurricane Michael.

Methods: Vital statistics data of 2017-2019 were obtained from the state of Florida. Births occurring in the year before and after the date of Hurricane Michael (October 7, 2018) were used.

Estimating Public Health Workforce Efforts Toward Foundational Public Health Services.

Context: The Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) include a core set of activities that every health department should be able to provide in order to ensure that each resident has access to foundational services that protect and preserve health. Estimates of the public health workforce necessary to provide the FPHS are needed.

Objective: This study assessed the potential use of an FPHS calculator to assess health department workforce needs.

Assessing the effects of disasters and their aftermath on pregnancy and infant outcomes: A conceptual model.

Although many studies have examined broad patterns of effects on pregnancy and infant outcomes after disasters, the causes of adverse outcomes are not always clear. Disasters cause interrelated exposure to environmental pollutants, psychological stressors, and lack of health care, and interacts with other social determinants of health. This topical review examines the short- and long-term effects of disasters on pregnancy and how they are mediated by social, behavioral, and environmental effects.

Effects of Hurricane Michael on Access to Care for Pregnant Women and Associated Pregnancy Outcomes.

: Disasters are associated with worse perinatal outcomes, perhaps due to inadequate prenatal care (PNC). : Using 2017-2019 Florida vital statistics, we compared PNC use before and after Hurricane Michael. We categorized counties as most affected (Area A) or less affected (Area B and C).

Confidence and Receptivity for COVID-19 Vaccines: A Rapid Systematic Review.

While COVID-19 continues raging worldwide, effective vaccines are highly anticipated. However, vaccine hesitancy is widespread. Survey results on uptake intentions vary and continue to change.

Needling Policy Makers and Sharpening the Debate: Do Syringe Exchange Programs Improve Health at the Population Level?

Context: In the midst of the current opioid epidemic, states have selected differing legislative routes implementing pathways to ensure access to clean needles and syringes.

Objective: To determine whether states that implemented laws supporting syringe exchange programs (SEPs) had reductions in transmission rates of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV infection compared with states without such laws.

Design And Setting: Utilizing a longitudinal panel design, we determined the legal status of SEPs in each state for years 1983-2016.

Public Health Graduates and Employment in Governmental Public Health: Factors That Facilitate and Deter Working in This Setting.

Objectives: Previous surveys of public health graduates examine where they work; however, little is known about public health graduates' employment decisions or the factors that facilitate interest or deter interest in working in governmental public health settings. The purpose of the current pilot study was to build on the information previously collected in graduate surveys by expanding questions to undergraduates and asking about decisions and factors that influence choices of employment.

Methods: A pilot survey of graduates of public health programs was conducted.

The State of the US Governmental Public Health Workforce, 2014-2017.

Public health workforce development efforts during the past 50 years have evolved from a focus on enumerating workers to comprehensive strategies that address workforce size and composition, training, recruitment and retention, effectiveness, and expected competencies in public health practice. We provide new perspectives on the public health workforce, using data from the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey, the largest nationally representative survey of the governmental public health workforce in the United States. Five major thematic areas are explored: workforce diversity in a changing demographic environment; challenges of an aging workforce, including impending retirements and the need for succession planning; workers' salaries and challenges of recruiting new staff; the growth of undergraduate public health education and what this means for the future public health workforce; and workers' awareness and perceptions of national trends in the field.

The Relationship Between Health Department Accreditation and Workforce Satisfaction, Retention, and Training Needs.

Background: To improve quality and consistency of health departments, a voluntary accreditation process was developed by the Public Health Accreditation Board. Understanding accreditation's role as a mediator in workforce training needs, satisfaction, and awareness is important for continued improvement for governmental public health.

Objective: To compare differences in training needs, satisfaction/intent to leave, and awareness of public health concepts for state and local health department staff with regard to their agency's accreditation status.

Perceptions of Public Health 3.0: Concordance Between Public Health Agency Leaders and Employees.

Context And Background: The newest era of public health, deemed "Public Health 3.0," supports cross-sector collaborations to address social determinants of health. These activities often require collaborations with nontraditional public health entities.

Has Voluntary Public Health Accreditation Impacted Health Department Perceptions and Activities in Quality Improvement and Performance Management?

Context: The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is now in its 10th year, making it an ideal time to study the impact of PHAB accreditation on local health departments (LHDs).

Objective: To examine whether applying for PHAB accreditation affects perceptions and activities regarding quality improvement (QI) and performance management (PM) within LHDs.

Design: Data from the National Association of County & City Health Officials' 2010, 2013, and 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments and associated QI modules were linked to PHAB-applicant data collected in e-PHAB in a cross-sectional and longitudinal approach examining self-reported QI/PM activities.

Maintaining a Competent Public Health Workforce: Lessons Learned From Experiences With Public Health Accreditation Domain 8 Standards and Measures.

Context: Public health accreditation is an ongoing national movement to improve the quality of public health departments and the public health system in the United States; however, calls have been made for more evidence regarding best practices in the accreditation process.

Objective: The purpose of this work is to provide evidence about best practices in the accreditation process, specifically within the workforce development domain. It is the first in-depth investigation into workforce development using data collected by Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).