Category: Analysis and Assessment

Primary Competency Area

Connecting the Dots With Systemic Thinking for Equitable and Healthiest Communities

Course Objective

Define key concepts, including: systems, systemic thinking, equity, social justice, and complexity.
Explain how systemic thinking links to existing frameworks for equitable and healthier communities.
Demonstrate use of two tools for exploring deep leverage points.

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Date: January 11th, 2022

Presenter:
Priti Irani, MSPH
Research Scientist
Office of Public Health Practice, New York State Department of Health

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Priti Irani, MSPH connects system thinking to the revised 10 Essential Public Health Services, which put health equity at the center. She begins by introducing the New York State Prevention Agenda, and defining key concepts of justice, systemic thinking, and targeted universalism. She then illustrates a concrete application of systems thinking by going through the example of food insecurity in New York State as a complex problem. She demonstrates how to use the iceberg model to look for hidden structures and mental models, as well as a causal loop diagram to find deep leverage points that guide interventions for greater impact. Finally, she shares additional online resources to continue the learning and application of systems thinking, and answer questions from live webinar participants, including incorporating paradigm shifts into different jobs.

Participants will be able to:

Define key concepts, including: systems, systemic thinking, equity, social justice, and complexity.
Explain how systemic thinking links to existing frameworks for equitable and healthier communities.
Demonstrate use of two tools for exploring deep leverage points.

Managing NYC death reporting from the epicenter of a pandemic: COVID-19 in Spring 2020

Course Objective

Describe the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)
Describe the process and parties involved in registering a death.
Describe the operational, and other, factors that make timely, accurate registration of death possible

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Date: October 5th, 2021

Presenter:
Gretchen Van Wye, PhD, MA
Assistant Commissioner & City Registrar
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH)
Bureau of Vital Statistics, Division of Epidemiology

In this month’s Log-in2Learn webinar, Gretchen Van Wye, PhD, MA, discusses the challenges and importance of increased death reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. She begins by recognizing death registration both as a fundamental right of persons, as well as instrumental to monitoring disease outbreaks. She highlights the contextual obstacles of the beginning of the pandemic, which was marked by initial denial and limited testing, but followed a geometric progression and the corresponding response needed. She then explains how death registration works in New York City, and shares the NYDOHMH’s plan to respond to its increased need, including staff, system, policy, and data changes.

Participants will learn about the following:

Describe the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)
Describe the process and parties involved in registering a death.
Describe the operational, and other, factors that make timely, accurate registration of death possible

State changes to alcohol availability during COVID-19: What can state/local public health departments do to protect communities’ health?

Course Objective

Describe trends in alcohol use and related harms over the last two decades.
Explain state level changes to alcohol availability during the pandemic.
Summarize state and local public health strategies to curtail industry sponsored efforts to increase in alcohol availability to protect population level harms.

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Date: May 4th 2021

Presenter:
Sean J. Haley, PhD, MPH
Asst. Professor of Health Policy and Management
City University of New York’s Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy

In this month’s Log-in2Learn webinar, Sean J. Haley, PhD, MPH, addresses the alarming increase in alcohol availability and consumption over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. He starts by providing context to the state of Alcohol Use Disorders amongst the U.S. population over the years. In detail, he then discusses the changes in attitudes and behaviors towards alcohol as the pandemic began to worsen and stay-at-home orders were placed. He highlights the unique characteristics of this increased consumption, identifying individual, social and structural factors. Dr. Haley makes sure to emphasize that this is not a temporary problem and substantiates his statement with research from past disasters, decade long trends and industry motivations. He then switches to what can be done to control this problem. He walks us through the many action steps, at varying levels, that can be taken by state and local public health departments in order to protect communities’ health.

Participants will learn the following:

Describe trends in alcohol use and related harms over the last two decades.
Explain state level changes to alcohol availability during the pandemic.
Summarize state and local public health strategies to curtail industry sponsored efforts to increase in alcohol availability to protect population level harms.

Vital Records and Vital Statistics: The Backbone of Public Health in America

Course Objectives

Outline the history of civil registration in what is now known as the United States of America.
Identify the Constitutional, legislative, and regulatory foundations that govern the functioning of the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS).
Describe methods for accessing vital event data for research purposes
Analyze the forces that have made vital records important.
Describe the process and parties involved in registering a death.
Describe the process and parties involved in registering a birth
Explain the importance of records management to the maintenance of vital records and the operations of vital records offices.
Characterize the importance of the integrity of the information on birth and death certificates
Give reasons for the basic principles of vital records corrections and amendments.
Describe how vital statistics laws are modified in the United States.
Analyze frequently-proposed legislation.

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Date: March 2021

Presenter:
Gretchen Van Wye, PhD, MA
Assistant Commissioner and Registrar, Bureau of Vital Statistics,
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

If you had to develop a public health intervention designed to protect basic human rights, connect your target population with upstream social determinants of health like education, housing, and income, and ensure that their existential drive to exist were acknowledged, a birth certificate just might be it. Invisible and mundane to most of the world, birth certificates – and death certificates, as well – document the stories how of humans come into and go out of this world. And, come and go they do. Vital records are the documents that catalog these experiences millions of times each year in the U.S., and vital statistics are the subset of the information on these records that public health students and professionals know and love.

This course focuses on the history, policy, management, and protection of vital records and vital statistics in the United States and will open learners’ eyes to the surprisingly fascinating world of vital events.

Learners who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Outline the history of civil registration in what is now known as the United States of America.
Identify the Constitutional, legislative, and regulatory foundations that govern the functioning of the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS).
Describe methods for accessing vital event data for research purposes
Analyze the forces that have made vital records important.
Describe the process and parties involved in registering a death.
Describe the process and parties involved in registering a birth
Explain the importance of records management to the maintenance of vital records and the operations of vital records offices.
Characterize the importance of the integrity of the information on birth and death certificates
Give reasons for the basic principles of vital records corrections and amendments.
Describe how vital statistics laws are modified in the United States.
Analyze frequently-proposed legislation.

Strategic Storytelling: Using Data to Tell a Story and Telling Stories with Data

Course Objective

Describe how to find a story within a set of data points and how to use data effectively within a story.
Summarize different ways to use data both ethically and effectively in a story.
Explain how to tell stories of structure change.
List Edward Tufte’s six guidelines for the visual display of information.

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Date: February 2, 2021

Presenter:
Mark Dessauer, MA
Vice President of Learning
Spitfire Strategies

In the final webinar of our Strategic Storytelling series, Mark Dessauer, MA, shows us how public health practitioners can use data points to build a story and demonstrate impact. He walks us through the steps of finding a story in data and provides clear guidelines to ensure that the story we choose is engaging. He introduces the seven different types of data stories, while highlighting their strengths and weaknesses along the way. Mark emphasizes the most important dos and don’ts of using data in stories and shares vital infographic tips. After reviewing several examples of data stories, he explores how to tell stories about structural change and provides an overview of Tufte’s guidelines of the visual display of information. Finally, he shares a number of valuable resources to help enhance the use of data in creating effective stories.

Participants will be able to:

Describe how to find a story within a set of data points and how to use data effectively within a story.
Summarize different ways to use data both ethically and effectively in a story.
Explain how to tell stories of structure change.
List Edward Tufte’s six guidelines for the visual display of information.

Policy Making and Systems Thinking: tools to help the public health workforce address challenging times

Course Objective

Define policy making in public health and how it can be used to achieve public health goals
Identify how systems thinking can strengthen public health policy development
Discuss how some of the essential steps in policy making and systems thinking can help address “wicked” public health challenges

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Date: January 12th, 2021

Presenter:
Sylvia Pirani, MPH, MS
Public Health Practice Consultant

Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH, MBA
Assistant Professor
Population and Family Health
Columbia University Medical Center

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH, MBA, and Sylvia Pirani, MPH, MS, walk us through the process of policy making and the role of systems thinking in combating complex challenges. Sylvia starts by highlighting the steps required to craft good policy and emphasizes the importance of incorporating community members and stakeholders in the process. She then identifies some of the common obstacles seen during this process and shares instances of the same. Helen goes on to unpack the concept of systems thinking, explaining how it can be used and why it is such an essential tool for policy makers and the public health workforce. She demonstrates the ways in which systems thinking can be used to address complex situations and tricky relationships in the policy making process through a series of examples. Finally, they both identify the next steps in policy making and share useful resources for policy identification and systems thinking during challenging times.

Participants will be able to:

Define policy making in public health and how it can be used to achieve public health goals
Identify how systems thinking can strengthen public health policy development
Discuss how some of the essential steps in policy making and systems thinking can help address “wicked” public health challenges

Collecting, Creating and Sharing Ethical Stories

Course Objective

Describe why framing and narratives of stories are the building blocks to changing hearts and mindsets.
Explain ethics in storytelling and identify how to collect, create, and share stories in a manner that is respectful for the protagonist and community.
Summarize different ways to find and collect stories from their staff, partners, and community.

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Date: December 1st, 2020

Presenter:
Mark Dessauer, MA
Vice President of Learning
Spitfire Strategies

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Mark Dessauer, MA, is back for part two of the storytelling in public health series. Following his October webinar on the power of storytelling, he now shifts the focus on how to share the stories of others in an ethical way. He first discusses how stories can and have gone wrong in the past. He explains in detail the components that make up a good story, including the framing, narrative, influencers etc. Next, he emphasizes why ethical storytelling is so important and walks us through the 4 elements that can help achieve this. He goes on to talk about how to find these stories and where they can and should be shared. Throughout the session, Mark reiterates ways to keep the subjects of the story involved in the process and how to navigate the balance of power. Finally, he ends by sharing a number of tools that are effective in creating narratives around health equity.

Following the webinar participants will be able to:

Describe why framing and narratives of stories are the building blocks to changing hearts and mindsets.
Explain ethics in storytelling and identify how to collect, create, and share stories in a manner that is respectful for the protagonist and community.
Summarize different ways to find and collect stories from their staff, partners, and community.

Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Course Objective

Explain regulatory updates regarding buprenorphine treatment during a public health emergency
Describe practice-level changes in buprenorphine treatment throughout COVID-19
Discuss common issues affecting patients in buprenorphine treatment during COVID-19

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Date: July 7th, 2020

Presenter:
Tiffany Lu, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center / Albert Einstein School of Medicine

In this month’s Log-in2Learn Dr. Tiffany Lu provides an overview of buprenorphine treatment prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges associated with treatment for opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Lu describes the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the pandemic paved the way for regulation updates regarding buprenorphine treatment such as reduced restrictions and an increased use of telemedicine to treat opioid use disorders. The webinar also addresses some other measures put in place with buprenorphine treatment due to the public health emergency, including: longer prescriptions, halted urine drug testing (self reports), access to naloxone and harm reduction supplies. The presenter also shares available resources to support clinical providers as they face the challenges associated with buprenorphine treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants will be able to:

Explain regulatory updates regarding buprenorphine treatment during a public health emergency
Describe practice-level changes in buprenorphine treatment throughout COVID-19
Discuss common issues affecting patients in buprenorphine treatment during COVID-19

Assessing your Audience for More Effective Cross-Sector Collaboration

Course Objective

Define an audience analysis
List approaches to audience analysis
Describe how to conduct an audience analysis based on situational characteristics
Describe how to conduct an audience analysis based on demographic characteristics
Describe how to conduct an audience analysis based on audience disposition and motivation

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Launch Date: June 30, 2020

Subject Matter Expert:
Nick Linardopoulos, PhD
Assistant Teaching Professor & Public Speaking Coordinator
Rutgers University, School of Communication & Information, Department of Communication

Multi-sector collaboration is increasingly important for addressing health challenges. This training focuses on assessing audiences to develop tailored communication strategies for building collaborative partnerships. Using a case approach based in fictitious Tycho County, this training will describe the steps of developing an Audience Analysis strategy in order to build cross-sectoral partnerships to address opioid misuse.

Participants will learn about the following:

Define an audience analysis
List approaches to audience analysis
Describe how to conduct an audience analysis based on situational characteristics
Describe how to conduct an audience analysis based on demographic characteristics
Describe how to conduct an audience analysis based on audience disposition and motivation

The Purpose of Pilot Studies in Modern Research

Course Objective

Describe the cons of estimating effect sizes from pilot studies.
Contrast the cons of using pilot studies for power computations with pros of using the clinically meaningful estimate.
Describe the purpose of pilot studies in modern research.

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Date: January 8, 2019

Presenter:
Martina Pavlicova, PhD, MS
Associate Professor of Biostatistics
Columbia University Medical Center

In this webinar, participants learn from Dr. Martina Pavlicova about the benefits and limitations of pilot testing in clinical research. First, Dr. Pavlicova uses a case study to provide a comprehensive review on hypothesis testing, random sampling, and data stratification. Since effect size and sample size effect power, participants learn that pilot studies have limited statistical significance. Dr. Pavlicova explains how piloting is still essential to clinical research when determining feasibility, acceptability, safety, and tolerability of a study.