Category: Program Planning and Policy Development

Primary Competency Area

Leveraging a bilingual communications campaign to promote physical activity: Muévete a tu Manera

Course Objective

  • Discuss the recommendations in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition and key findings to be communicated 
  • Identify physical activity trends and diabetes prevalence in Spanish speaking populations 
  • Describe how communities can leverage Muévete a tu Manera campaign to promote physical activity for Spanish speakers 
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Date: January 10th, 2023

Presenter:
Joshua Chigozie Ogbuefi, MPH
Health Communications Fellow
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP)
U.S Department of Health and Human Services 

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Joshua Chigozie Ogbuefi discusses the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2nd edition (Guidelines) and its key recommendations and findings related to how much physical activity Americans need and the benefits of physical activity, including the prevention of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes. Additionally, Ogbuefi identifies current physical activity rates among U.S populations and the estimated burden of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes among Spanish speaking populations. Lastly, Ogbuefi highlights a bilingual communications campaign that focuses on increasing awareness and knowledge of the Guidelines, physical activity self-efficacy, and changing behavior. Ogbuefi describes how organizations can leverage the campaign to promote physical activity in their communities.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Discuss the recommendations in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition and key findings to be communicated 
  2. Identify physical activity trends and diabetes prevalence in Spanish speaking populations 
  3. Describe how communities can leverage Muévete a tu Manera campaign to promote physical activity for Spanish speakers 
Adaptive Leadership: Strategies for Public Health

Course Objective

  • List highlights of the leadership approach known as “Adaptive Leadership”
  • Describe situational challenges as technical or adaptive
  • Identify the three phases of the “Adaptive Leadership” process
  • Apply the “Adaptive Leadership” behaviors to situations facing public health professionals
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Date: December 6th, 2022

Presenter:
Emil J. Sadloch
SADLOCH DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Emil Sadloch presents on the leadership approach known as “Adaptive Leadership.” He begins by defining “Adaptative Leadership” and explaining the difference between technical and adaptive situational challenges. He goes on to describe the three phases of the “Adaptive Leadership” model: Observe, Interpret, and Intervene. Sadloch ends by presenting a case study and explaining how “Adaptive Leadership” can be applied to a current public health issue.

Participants will be able to:

  1. List highlights of the leadership approach known as “Adaptive Leadership”
  2. Describe situational challenges as technical or adaptive
  3. Identify the three phases of the “Adaptive Leadership” process 
  4. Apply the “Adaptive Leadership” behaviors to situations facing public health professionals 
Gun Laws, Mental Illness and Stigma

Course Objective

  • Describe the development of gun laws as they relate to individuals with mental illness
  • Recognize the relationship between mental illness and violence
  • Explain the relationship between stigma and treatment participation, and the effects gun laws can have
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Date: August 2nd, 2022

Presenter:
Merrill Rotter, MD
Senior Forensic Advisor to the Commissioner, NYS OMH
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, AECOM

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Dr. Merrill Rotter explores the connection between gun violence, gun laws, and mental health. He explains the relationship between mental health and guns, and how the stigma around mental health impacts gun legislation. He starts by reviewing a timeline of prominent gun legislation and instances of gun violence in the United States. Dr. Rotter then explains the efficacy of gun legislation as it relates to gun violence and mental illness. He concludes by discussing the impact of recent events regarding the gun debate in the United States.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the development of gun laws as they relate to individuals with mental illness
  2. Recognize the relationship between mental illness and violence
  3. Explain the relationship between stigma and treatment participation, and the effects gun laws can have
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:

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

  1. Identify key threats to the well-being of low-wage food workers
  2. Describe the role of policy and programs related to low-wage workers across sectors in reducing or increasing health and other inequities
  3. Describe current responsibilities of state and local health departments and other public agencies in protecting the well-being of food workers
  4. 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
  5. Describe one specific action your agency can take in the coming year to better protect the health of low-wage food workers
COVID-19: From Pandemic to Endemic

Course Objective

  • Differentiate between “Pandemic” and “Endemic,” with examples from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
  • Describe examples from the HIV epidemic that may apply to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Explain implications for public health practice as the field transitions from a pandemic to endemic response to COVID-19
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Date: April 5th, 2022

Presenter:
Dr. Jessica Justman
 Associate Professor of Medicine in Epidemiology
Columbia University Irving Medical Center

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Dr. Jessica Justman, Associate Professor of Medicine in Epidemiology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, goes over epidemiology concepts and skills as illustrated by the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. She starts by defining the terms epidemic, pandemic, and endemic as they relate to infectious diseases. She then explains how COVID-19 went from an outbreak to an epidemic, and reviews the progression and classification of epidemics. In addition to the example of COVID-19, she speaks to the toll and spread of other pandemics in history. In particular, she highlights the similarities between HIV and COVID-19 pandemics, including spread, overall burden and disparities, public health and community-driven responses, communication challenges, and issues of uncertainty and fear. Finally, she summarizes lessons learned from the progression and response to COVID-19, commenting on how we could have been better prepared.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Differentiate between “Pandemic” and “Endemic,” with examples from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
  2. Describe examples from the HIV epidemic that may apply to the COVID-19 pandemic
  3. Explain implications for public health practice as the field transitions from a pandemic to endemic response to COVID-19
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:

  1. Discuss root causes of vaccine hesitancy and inequities among different groups
  2. Describe the role of effective communication in promoting vaccine acceptance
  3. Identify promising equity- and community-driven strategies to address barriers to vaccine acceptance during COVID-19 and beyond
  4. Discuss examples, case studies, and action steps to strengthen local communication systems and promote vaccine acceptance
Developing and Implementing Climate and Health Adaptations: An Update from the NYSDOH BRACE Project

Course Objective

  • Describe the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects, or BRACE, framework for climate and health adaptation work.
  • Identify at least 3 resources for gaining knowledge about likely impacts of climate change on health in NYS.
  • Describe examples of climate and health adaptation-related activities that have been conducted in NYS.
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Date: March 1st, 2022

Presenter:
Neil Muscatiello, MS
Director, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology,
New York State Department of Health

In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Neil Muscatiello, director of the NYSDOH Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology reviews the importance and progress of the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework for climate and health adaptation work in New York. He starts by contextualizing the human impact on climate and New York State projections, including warming trends and increased precipitations. He then explains how the BRACE model builds on evidence such as the climate impact assessments from ClimAID, which summarize observed and projected impacts across 8 sectors, and the county heat and health profile reports, which correlate temperature increases to poor health outcomes. He then traces the climate change adaptations steps, and goes over some example adaptations, such as the benefit analysis of heating and cooling assistance on hospitalizations, the Climate Smart Community certification. He ends by sharing information about regional climate and health adaptation workshops, additional resources, and answering attendees’ questions.

Participants will learn to:

  1. Describe the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects, or BRACE, framework for climate and health adaptation work
  2. Identify at least 3 resources for gaining knowledge about likely impacts of climate change on health in NYS.
  3. Describe examples of climate and health adaptation-related activities that have been conducted in NYS.
School of Hard Knocks: The Impact of the Pandemic on School Children and Their Families

Course Objective

  • Identify forces currently at play which are impacting child well-being
  • Explain how workforce pressures factor into access to mental health services
  • Describe what can be done to help support schools, children, and families
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Date: December 7th, 2021

Presenter:
Donna M. Bradbury & Bonnie Catlin
NYS Office of Mental Health
Office of Prevention & Health Initiatives

In this month’s Log-in2Learn webinar, Donna M. Bradbury, MA, LMHC, and Bonnie Catlin, LCSW, discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted school-aged children, their families, and how the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) has mounted a response. They begin by providing epidemiological context to the current mental health crisis, including risk factors and changes in prevalence, as well as the OMH’s response to address the disportionate impact on underserved populations. They summarize the strengths and limitations of OMH’s shift to telehealth, such as barriers to access, caregiver involvement, provider responsiveness, and privacy concerns. With new federal resources to expand access, they go over response efforts, such as Project Hope and a 56% increase in number of OMH clinic satellites, as well as prevention programs, such as Healthy Steps, Project TEACH, the NYS trauma-informed network, and restorative practices. They wrap up by presenting the systems of care framework and answering questions from webinar attendees.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Identify forces currently at play which are impacting child well-being
  2. Explain how workforce pressures factor into access to mental health services
  3. Describe what can be done to help support schools, children, and families
Open Season on Ticks

Course Objective

  • List different tick species and what diseases they may transmit
  • Describe methods to reduce tick bites and identify symptoms of tick-borne disease
  • Identify ways to engage partners to help raise awareness and prevent tick-borne diseases in your community
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Date: November 9th 2021

Presenter:
Faith Lustik
Public Health Planner

&

Lisa Lagos
Public Health Educator

Jefferson County Public Health Service

In this month’s Log-In2Learn webinar, Lisa Lagos and Faith Lustik from the Jefferson County Public Health Service introduce the management of tick-borne disease from the perspectives of community education and planning. Lisa begins by reviewing the history of Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne disease, from its initial community identification to its known geographic and seasonal distribution today. She described tick-bite identification, Lyme disease symptoms and incubation period. She then introduces other tick-borne diseases, including anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Powassan virus disease. Individual techniques of protection are reviewed. Faith wraps up the presentation by focusing on stakeholder engagement. She explains how to use surveillance data to alert providers, and explains the importance of including students, outdoor workers and trail users in outreach.

Participants will be able to:

  1. List different tick species and what diseases they may transmit
  2. Describe methods to reduce tick bites and identify symptoms of tick-borne disease
  3. Identify ways to engage partners to help raise awareness and prevent tick-borne diseases in your community
Region 2 Public Health Training Center