Category: Learning Module

Format

Policy Enactment and Implementation in the Policy Process and How Systems Thinking Fits In

Course Objective

Describe the steps and strategies needed to enact and implement a policy, program or service
Identify the kinds of individuals and organizations who can contribute to the enactment and implementation of policies, programs, and services
Explain the importance of monitoring the implementation of policies, programs, and services
Understand how applying habits of systems thinking can improve the enactment and implementation processes

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Date: June 30th, 2022

Subject Matter Experts:
Sylvia Pirani, MPH, MS
Public Health Practice Consultant
&
Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH (Public Health), MBA,
Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health,
Associate Director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD) at Columbia University

The Strategic Skills Training Series developed by the Region 2 PHTC aims to help prepare public health leaders and the public health workforce to develop the practices and competencies associated with being a Chief Health Strategist. Using a scenario focused on the opioid problem in the fictitious ‘Tycho County’, this course will describe how the ‘Policy Enactment and Policy Implementation’ stages of the CDC policy process can be implemented by a health department using systems thinking tools and approaches.

Learners will be able to:

Describe the steps and strategies needed to enact and implement a policy, program or service
Identify the kinds of individuals and organizations who can contribute to the enactment and implementation of policies, programs, and services
Explain the importance of monitoring the implementation of policies, programs, and services
Understand how applying habits of systems thinking can improve the enactment and implementation processes

Promoting Equity in Public Health and the Role of Change Management

Course Objective

Define key concepts that contribute to health equity in society: justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Identify the impact of health equity for vulnerable populations
Clarify the role of public health leaders in creating greater health equity
Establish links between change management and making improvements in health equity
Assess the status of health equity in a local community
Gather diverse perspectives about factors that affect the health of vulnerable populations
Identify ways to communicate about challenges and opportunities for public health equity

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Date: June 30th, 2022

Subject Matter Expert:
Emil J. Sadloch
President, Sadloch Development Associates
Instructor for Rutgers University’s Executive and Professional Education, School of Public Health, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

This training is the fourth module in the Strategic Skills Training Series focused on Change Management for Public Health Professionals developed by Region 2 Public Health Training Center. This learning module will look at health equity from a “change management” perspective. Specifically, this module will provide learners with insights about how awareness of various concepts can support local public health efforts to take action and move forward on the road to achieving health equity. Learners will be exposed to valuable content about topics linked to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion and see how to facilitate change in a typical public health setting using a case study approach set in the fictitious Tycho County.

Learners will be able to:

Define key concepts that contribute to health equity in society: justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Identify the impact of health equity for vulnerable populations
Clarify the role of public health leaders in creating greater health equity
Establish links between change management and making improvements in health equity
Assess the status of health equity in a local community
Gather diverse perspectives about factors that affect the health of vulnerable populations
Identify ways to communicate about challenges and opportunities for public health equity

Improving Well-Being of Low Wage Food Workers: What Role for State and Local Governments?

Course Objective

Identify key threats to the well-being of low-wage food workers
Describe the role of policy and programs related to low-wage workers across sectors in reducing or increasing health and other inequities
Describe current responsibilities of state and local health departments and other public agencies in protecting the well-being of food workers
Identify at least three examples of policy or program initiatives that state and local health departments can undertake to improve the well-being and life chances of low-wage food workers
Describe one specific action your agency can take in the coming year to better protect the health of low-wage food workers

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Date: June 30th, 2022

Subject Matter Experts:
Nicholas Freudenberg, DrPH, MPH
Distinguished Professor of Public Health, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Emilia Vignola,
PhD candidate, CUNY School of Public Health

Luis Saavedra,
Research Associate, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Ensuring and maintaining our nation’s food supply is the responsibility of approximately 19.7 million workers. The U.S. food system – including production, processing, distribution, retail, and service – relies on these workers to ensure the dietary needs of every American. Despite their critical role in our society, food workers are paid some of the lowest wages in the entire workforce, have limited access to benefits, and have high rates of occupational morbidity and mortality. As public health professionals, promoting the health and well-being of low-wage food workers is part of our responsibility to meet key public health goals, including protecting food safety, reducing food insecurity and hunger, preventing occupational illnesses and injuries, and reducing the income inequality that is the fundamental driver of health inequities. In essence, threats to low-wage food workers are threats to us all.

Learners will be able to:

Identify key threats to the well-being of low-wage food workers
Describe the role of policy and programs related to low-wage workers across sectors in reducing or increasing health and other inequities
Describe current responsibilities of state and local health departments and other public agencies in protecting the well-being of food workers
Identify at least three examples of policy or program initiatives that state and local health departments can undertake to improve the well-being and life chances of low-wage food workers
Describe one specific action your agency can take in the coming year to better protect the health of low-wage food workers

How to Recruit, Hire, Monitor and Train Community Health Workers: Guide for Local Health Departments

Course Objective

Describe the unique attributes of community health workers (CHWs)
List the core roles and competencies of CHWs
Define the importance of CHWs in driving public health improvements
Discuss ideas for integrating CHWs into public health departments

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Date: June 30th, 2022

Subject Matter Expert:
Saehee Lee, MPH, CHES
Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

This course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) aims to describe the integral role that community health workers (CHWs) can play in public health departments. After illustrating their unique attributes and core roles, the course goes on to discuss ideas for integration into public health departments. The module is designed for local health departments, population and community health organizations, and other relevant organizations.

Learners will be able to:

Describe the unique attributes of community health workers (CHWs)
List the core roles and competencies of CHWs
Define the importance of CHWs in driving public health improvements
Discuss ideas for integrating CHWs into public health departments

Communicate More Effectively: Psychological Principles to Change Behavior and Improve Outcomes

Course Objective

Describe what behavioral economics is, with examples of behavioral economics in action
Understand how to create messaging for disseminating public health data and information using behavioral economics principles
List and explain some key biases related to communicating information to influence behavior and improve health
Discuss some ethical considerations around the use of behavioral economics in communication

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Date: June 30th, 2022

Presenter:
Suzanne Kirkendall, MPH
CEO, BVA Nudge Consulting North America

This course empowers public health professionals to communicate more effectively with the public. To do so, learners will discover the basics of behavioral economics, key psychological principles that are important in communications, and the five-step process for how to apply these principles to their communications ethically and effectively. This is illustrated with a case study on how these new skills could be applied to a real-life situation.

Learners will be able to:

Describe what behavioral economics is, with examples of behavioral economics in action
Understand how to create messaging for disseminating public health data and information using behavioral economics principles
List and explain some key biases related to communicating information to influence behavior and improve health
Discuss some ethical considerations around the use of behavioral economics in communication

Confronting Barriers to Vaccine Acceptance: The Role of Effective Communication

Course Objective

Discuss root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups
Describe the role of effective communication in promoting vaccine acceptance
Identify promising equity- and community-driven strategies to address barriers to vaccine acceptance during COVID-19 and beyond
Discuss examples, case studies, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance

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Date: April 5th, 2022

Subject Matter Expert:
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Founder and Board President, Health Equity Initiative
Principal, Strategies for Equity and Communication Impact (SECI)

This course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) focuses on the role of effective communication in confronting barriers to vaccine acceptance. It discusses root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups and describes the role of effective communication in addressing such root causes, including a focus on equity- and community-driven strategies during COVID-19 and beyond. It also provides an overview of examples, case studies, best practices, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance among a variety of groups.

Participants will learn how to:

Discuss root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups
Describe the role of effective communication in promoting vaccine acceptance
Identify promising equity- and community-driven strategies to address barriers to vaccine acceptance during COVID-19 and beyond
Discuss examples, case studies, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance

Reducing Promotion and Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food

Course Objective

Define and explain the impact of ultra-processed food on human and planetary health
List factors that contribute to the ubiquity of ultra-processed foods
Describe how health professionals can raise public awareness of the harms of ultra-processed food via media literacy and social marketing
Identify at least two policy interventions to address misleading product packaging and unhealthy product formulations
Describe how taxation and regulation approaches can be used to combat ultra-processed food
Describe strategies to promote and subsidize healthy food and beverages, including tap water

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Date: June 30th 2021

Subject Matter Experts:
Nicholas Freudenberg, DrPH, MPH
Distinguished Professor of Public Health, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy & Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Craig Willingham, MPH
Deputy Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Erinn C. Bacchus, MPH
Doctoral Student, Community Health and Health Policy
Graduate Student Assistant, Healthy CUNY

Jessica Walsh, MPH
Assistant, CUNY School of Public Health

This two-part course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) aims to understand ultra-processed food and explore how health departments can combat the promotion of ultra-processed food.

In Part I, we will develop a better understanding of ultra-processed food, and how it promotes negative health outcomes particularly for some populations.

In Part II, we will explore how health departments can combat the promotion of ultra-processed food.

Participants will be able to:

Define and explain the impact of ultra-processed food on human and planetary health
List factors that contribute to the ubiquity of ultra-processed foods
Describe how health professionals can raise public awareness of the harms of ultra-processed food via media literacy and social marketing
Identify at least two policy interventions to address misleading product packaging and unhealthy product formulations
Describe how taxation and regulation approaches can be used to combat ultra-processed food
Describe strategies to promote and subsidize healthy food and beverages, including tap water

Community Engagement: The People’s Approach to Improving Health and Social Outcomes

Course Objective

Define community engagement
Discuss why community engagement is critical in advancing health and social equity
Describe the role of local health departments (LHDs) in engaging local communities and their leaders in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health interventions and policies
List best practices, strategies, and participatory processes for community dialogue and engagement
Discuss ways to integrate community engagement in public health practice

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For NYS Employee

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Date: June 30th 2021

Subject Matter Expert:
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; Founder and Board President, Health Equity Initiative; Principal, Strategies for Equity and Communication Impact (SECI)

This course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) focuses on community engagement, and the role of local health departments in engaging local communities. It focuses on strategies for “true” community engagement, which is about collaborating with and empowering local communities, and recognizing the expert in every community member and every leader representing the community. It also provides an overview of case studies, best practices and strategies for community dialogue and engagement and/or integrating community engagement in public health practice.

Participants will be able to:

Define community engagement
Discuss why community engagement is critical in advancing health and social equity
Describe the role of local health departments (LHDs) in engaging local communities and their leaders in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health interventions and policies
List best practices, strategies, and participatory processes for community dialogue and engagement
Discuss ways to integrate community engagement in public health practice

Policy Analysis in the Policy Process and How Systems Thinking Fits In

Course Objective

Define Stage Two of the CDC policy process i.e. Policy Analysis
List types of evidence that can be reviewed as part of the policy analysis phase
Assess feasibility of available policy options via framing questions and rubrics
Identify and define key variables in a complex public health issue
Sketch and interpret a simple systems map/ causal loop diagram
Define and identify leverage points in a system and assess their potential impact on the system
Discuss the importance of systems modeling and explore how systems models can be used to ask and answer policy-relevant questions

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Date: June 30th 2021

Subject Matter Experts:
Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH (Public Health), MBA
Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, and Associate Director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD) at Columbia University

Sylvia Pirani, MPH, MS
Public Health Practice Consultant

Using a scenario focused on the opioid problem in the fictitious ‘Tycho County’, this course will describe how the ‘Policy Analysis’ stage of the CDC policy process can be implemented by a health department using systems thinking tools and approaches.

Recommended Pre-Requisites:

Participants will be able to:

Define Stage Two of the CDC policy process i.e. Policy Analysis
List types of evidence that can be reviewed as part of the policy analysis phase
Assess feasibility of available policy options via framing questions and rubrics
Identify and define key variables in a complex public health issue
Sketch and interpret a simple systems map/ causal loop diagram
Define and identify leverage points in a system and assess their potential impact on the system
Discuss the importance of systems modeling and explore how systems models can be used to ask and answer policy-relevant questions

Strategy and Policy Development in the Policy Process and How Systems Thinking Fits In

Course Objective

Define Stage Three of the CDC policy process i.e. Strategy and Policy Development
Describe the steps that Health Departments can follow to develop an enactment strategy and draft an actual policy
Understand how systems thinking tools can help strengthen the strategy and policy development process

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For NYS Employee

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Date: June 30th 2021

Subject Matter Experts:
Sylvia Pirani, MPH, MS
Public Health Practice Consultant

Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH (Public Health), MBA
Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, and Associate Director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD) at Columbia University

Using a scenario focused on the opioid problem in the fictitious ‘Tycho County’, this course will describe how the ‘Strategy and Policy Development’ stage of the CDC policy process can be implemented by a health department using systems thinking tools and approaches.

Recommended Pre-Requisites:

Participants will be able to:

Define Stage Three of the CDC policy process i.e. Strategy and Policy Development
Describe the steps that Health Departments can follow to develop an enactment strategy and draft an actual policy
Understand how systems thinking tools can help strengthen the strategy and policy development process