June 18, 2013
With the advent of e-mail marketing platforms, like MailChimp and Constant Contact, e-mail-marketing campaigns (or “e-blasts”) are easier and more effective than ever. These platforms allow you to use your own graphics and images or to select from a library of templates to highlight single messages or construct more robust newsletters. But even though this marketing medium is easy to use, it still requires a strategy. Here are some great examples from the Harvard School of Public Health, the American Public Health Association, and the Alzheimer’s Association. As you review them, consider the following e-mail marketing guidelines that will help your public health messages be seen and understood by your audience.
1. Think mobile
As of February 2013, 133.7 million people in the United States owned smart phones (57% market penetration). While these numbers may not reflect your target audience, it’s still a good idea to make your e-mails mobile- and tablet-friendly. Fingers are larger and less accurate than a computer curser, so graphics and links will need to be as simple and uncluttered as possible. A good rule of thumb is to increase font size to 14 pixels for text and 22 points for headlines.
2. Measure up
E-mail marketing platforms allow users to easily track the success of e-mail campaigns. Open rates tell you the percentage of people who opened your e-mail. Some platforms also allow you to measure how many people clicked on links within your e-mail and compare your results to industry standards. Review these metrics with each campaign to establish successful patterns.
3. Write strong subject lines
The most successful e-mail campaigns feature subject lines that let the recipient know what he or she will get out of reading the message. In 50 characters or fewer, articulate what your e-mail has to offer and include your organization’s name to maintain transparency and clarity.
For example: Western Health District’s 10 Tips for Pool Safety
4. Know the law
Strict laws govern e-mail marketing. For instance, you must offer your recipients the option of opting out of e-mails, and you must honor their request in a timely manner. Most e-mail marketing platforms automatically build these best practices into their step-by-step process, but public organizations can never be too careful. Health marketing is also tightly regulated under HIPAA. Because e-mail addresses are considered personal health information, you can not create mailing lists using medical records. You may only e-mail people who have given written authorization for you to do so.
5. Make it easy to read
As you build your e-mail, keep words to a minimum. Use no more than 400 words per story and put the most important information “above the fold,” or within the preview screen, to keep your key messages front and center. If you plan to share a story on another website, provide a headline and a small blurb about it with a link. Most people scan e-mails and newsletters, so highlight features and key points to catch your readers’ attention. Use images and pictures to illustrate your message and break up text.
6. Connect the dots
Each element of your marketing media should reinforce the other. E-mail campaigns are a great way to introduce your social media platforms and website, so make sure you include links (if possible, in the form of buttons) into your design.
7. Test it out
Every computer, phone, and tablet processes the graphics and codes in your e-mail campaigns differently. To make sure everyone sees what you’ve worked hard to design, send test e-mails to a variety of devices (PCs, Macs, smartphones, etc.).
8. Stick to your brand
As with nearly everything else you do, your e-mail marketing should remain consistent with your established brand. E-mails are a great method for maintaining top-of-mind awareness within your community and for improving visibility among an audience. Don’t miss your chance to make an impression.
If you have questions, NWCPHP can help. Consider our training options to gain further clarity and explore our online toolkit to help with message development.
]]>June 13, 2013
Even though King County, Washington, has the highest survival rate from bystander cardiac arrest in the world, there are disparities in the acceptance of dispatch-assisted CPR by callers with limited English proficiency. To address this need, NWCPHP has created a graphic novella to educate Chinese immigrants with limited English proficiency on how to call 911 and perform CPR in an emergency. It’s anticipated that the novella could save lives as it becomes available to the community.
The graphic novella was developed over a 10-month period with numerous iterations based on community feedback. A full draft of the novella was pilot tested at Chinese community health fairs in September and October of 2012, with 132 people agreeing to read the novella and complete a survey. Of those surveyed 79 percent said they felt they could perform CPR after reading the novella and 97 percent said they would recommend the graphic novella to a friend or family member.
“I have never, in my 20 years as a health communication researcher, been part of such an elaborate effort to produce a culturally sensitive, linguistically congruent educational piece,” says Hendrika Meischke, the Principal Investigator for the research study that produced the novella. “And preliminary data suggest the novella is effective in increasing awareness of interpreter services for 911 communication and the essential components of bystander CPR.”
The story features a Chinese couple in their 60s. It's a normal day, when all of a sudden the grandmother hears grandpa collapse in the other room. Rushing to his aid, she recollects her grandson’s advice to call 911. When she calls 911, she asks for an interpreter and is guided through the steps of performing CPR until medics arrive. The novella is based on years of formative research, and the production of the novella involved continuous feedback from the target audience, stakeholders, academics, and creative team.
“One of the real powerful pieces of this story is that it’s also told through pictures,” says Devora Eisenberg, Research Coordinator for the project. “The graphic novella format is culturally appropriate and instructions on how to perform CPR are better told visually. In fact, at the community health fairs people were asking to take the graphic novella home with them. It was fabulous.”
Researchers are hopeful that they can take this good work and formally evaluate its effectiveness on actual CPR performance. This research could help influence how to use this graphic novella and also provide strategies for exploring how to communicate with other limited English proficiency communities about 911 and CPR.
“The next step is to test the effectiveness of the novella against the more labor-intensive CPR trainings that involve an instructor,” says Meischke. “We’ve submitted a grant to the National Institute of Nursing, which will be led by my colleague Mei-Po Yip, PhD. We want to know if it’s as good as instructor-based training.”
One hundred copies of the novella have been printed for dissemination into the community. If you would like to receive a copy of the novella, please contact Hsio-Ying Lo.
]]>June 12, 2013
NWCPHP Associate Director, Luann D’Ambrosio, MEd, was recently named to help chair the National Public Health Leadership Development Network’s education committee. D'Ambrosio will serve until April 2016 in this capacity.
The National Public Health Leadership Development Network is a group of academic institutions, national and international organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies dedicated to advancing public health leadership.
D’Ambrosio has worked with the Network for five years, most recently serving as a member-at-large to the executive committee. She says, "I am delighted to expand my participation and serve on the education committee. This Network is a dynamic learning community and a valuable resource for building leadership capacity in public health.”
During her first year, as chair-elect, D’Ambrosio will support the committee chair in planning educational activities and the annual conference. After the first year she will assume the role of chair and will represent the education committee to the executive team.
Her additional duties include: identifying leadership-related topics for publication, sharing public health leadership training and education resources, and disseminating best practices from national leadership development programs.
D’Ambrosio says she is continually inspired by the passion and enthusiasm of her Network colleagues. She is also excited about their ongoing efforts to build a “learning portal” to share public health leadership resources from around the country. D'Ambrosio is confident such efforts will keep public health moving forward in these changing times.
]]>June 10, 2013
Social media’s pervasive influence in American culture makes it an obvious tool for marketing and communication. But there is more to social media success than signing up for an account and writing a few tweets. Though social media can allow organizations to connect with hard-to-reach people, it takes time and strategy, and it isn’t a good fit for every audience.
1. Do you have the resources?
Signing up for a social media account is free, but as RADM Patrick O’Carroll MD, MPH, has said, “Free does not mean ‘no cost.’” Effective social media requires substantial time, the right technology, and committed staff. Some experts suggest dedicating 30–40 hours a week and as much as $42,000 a year for Facebook and Twitter management alone.
2. What is your organization’s social media policy?
Most organizations establish rules about how employees can use social media—some even block social media sites from office computers. Consider how your social media plans will be affected by existing rules. If your organization lacks employee guidelines, it is a good idea to set parameters before launching a public social media campaign. This tool, developed at the University of Albany, can help.
3. Who are you trying to reach?
Public health professionals face the toughest communications challenges. Your audiences may not speak a common language, have access to technology, or use social media regularly. Examine your target population critically to determine if social media is an appropriate marketing method.
4. What are your goals?
Like all communications, social media use takes planning. You have to find your audience online, get them to follow you, give them useful information, and hopefully, engage them in conversation. Each of these steps should be carefully calculated so that you avoid the echo chamber and stay on track.
5. Who is responsible?
Really good social media users do more than talk at people—they talk with people. In order to foster these conversations, accounts have to be actively monitored for opportunities, and those opportunities have to be seized quickly. Identify a dedicated staff member (or members) who can commit to this kind of on-going responsibility.
6. Which platforms will you use?
Not all social media platforms attract the same audience or accomplish the same goals. Facebook has the largest user base, but Instagram is increasingly popular among certain youth. Some platforms require permission to connect, and others are less stringent. These factors can affect your penetration in a social network.
7. Will you be tracking results? If so, how?
It’s a good idea to track your social media results so that you can adapt to new needs and identify communications gaps. Facebook Pages will do this automatically and send you a weekly report. Social media dashboards like Hootsuite* and Tweetdeck* allow you to update multiple platforms and monitor key words. Lastly, social media analytics tools (which often come at a financial cost) can help you produce in-depth reports about the performance of your various social media accounts. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has compiled a more comprehensive list of evaluation tools.
Don’t let these questions intimidate you. Rather, let them drive decisions about how, when, and where you begin using social media. If you have more questions, explore some of training opportunities and toolkits we recommend, which can shed more light on how to begin this process.
*NWCPHP does not endorse these tools or any platforms mentioned in this blog. These tools are mentioned as examples to provide clarity.
]]>June 6, 2013
The Affordable Care Act and the upcoming changes to the nation’s health system are top of mind for both public health practitioners and clinical providers. Although there is a lot of discussion around the integration of public health and medical care, few know exactly how it will work. One key question is how to foster collaboration between the separately trained workforces.
A new program for high school students in Pierce County, Washington, is uniquely positioned to help future public health workers and clinical providers collaborate with each other. The program is called Medical Explorers and its mission is to provide students with hands-on experiences and leadership opportunities across the health field.
Public health veterans Jack Conway and Shirley Carstens are leading the program and overseeing its transition from the Tacoma General Hospital to the Pierce County Medical Reserve Corps.
Conway, a retired public health professional and former dean, says an important change will take place when the health department assumes responsibility for the group. He explains, “The club’s previous curriculum focused exclusively on clinical care and career paths in hospitals. We’ve decided to broaden the activities to include more public health concepts and other health career options.”
Both Conway and Carstens are dedicated to mentoring future public health leaders but they admit it isn’t easy. One reason is the low-profile, behind-the-scenes nature of prevention work. Most students do not recognize public health activities in their community and don’t see the field as a possible career path.
Carstens believes the lack of public health in prime time television also contributes to this thinking. She explains, “Students tell us the excitement they see on medical dramas makes them want to be emergency room doctors. Unlike lawyers, cops, and doctors, there are no public health dramas on TV to draw them in.” She continues, “We have to open them up and show them the drama and excitement of working in public health.”
The club aims to keep students engaged by providing plenty of hands-on experiences. At the April meeting they learned about emergency preparedness by participating in a mock disaster drill, acting as patients and administering first aid. In May they learned about surgery by visiting the hospital’s robotic lab and removing objects from inside a manikin.
Carstens acknowledges that it is hard to compete with robots, but she believes public health has an advantage—real people in real life situations. She explains, “When students worked with the Homeless Connect Program they saw immediate, positive feedback from the participants. That was rewarding, and it will keep them coming back.”
Other hands-on ideas for next year’s activities include: conducting helmet fittings at bike rodeos, taking vital signs at health fairs, and passing out tobacco prevention materials.
As the detailed planning for next year moves forward, Conway keeps the big picture in mind. He is building a club that will expand students’ understanding of public health topics and teach them the relationships between public health and the medical system. Indeed, the landscape of our health system is changing, and some Pierce County students are lucky to be among its first explorers.
Tacoma’s Medical Explorers is now recruiting. The program will start in the fall of 2013 and coincide with the school year. For more information contact Shirley Carstens at shirleycarstens@comcast.net.
]]>June 5, 2013
Imagine this scenario. Your health department has limited funds and must decide to promote screening for either colon cancer or prostate cancer. It is your job to consider the options and present a decision to the board.
You know the community has more new cases of prostate cancer, but that colon cancer has a higher death rate. On one hand, the screening method for colon cancer is better at detecting positive results, and the treatment is relatively effective. On the other hand, the screening method for prostate cancer yields many false positive results, which could lead to unnecessary treatment. Although prostate cancer screening is hotly debated among clinicians, several advocacy groups are promoting it on the local radio station.
These are just a few of the factors you must consider before presenting to the board. How will you prioritize these and other important criteria?
NWCPHP’s new Evidence-Based Public Health training series can help. The series includes three webinars and one two-day training. Together, they provide public health practitioners with a framework to weigh scientific evidence, funding options, politics, and short-term demands when developing and evaluating programs and policies.
NWCPHP Associate Director, Luann D’Ambrosio, MEd, helped adapt the curriculum from a national model. She explains its benefits, “Public health leaders and managers have to make tough decisions. This new training series gives them a strategic approach for that process.”
The three webinars: Introduction to Evidence-Based Public Health, Searching and Summarizing the Literature, and Calculating Return on Investment are available online at no cost.
Costs vary for the two-day, in-person training. The training covers the following topics: community health assessments, quantifying public health issues, developing issue statements, prioritizing options, developing action plans, and evaluating programs and policies. The training is designed for employees who are new to public health or who are taking on a new role in their organization. The training can also benefit those who want a "refresher" on how to apply a systematic framework to their work.
Contact Luann D'Ambrosio for more information or to learn how to bring this training series to your area.
]]>June 4, 2013
Events like 9/11, healthcare reform, and severe budget deficits have drastically transformed the business of public health and fueled the demand for more leadership skills to address these changes.
Join us for a special Northwest Public Health Leadership Institute webinar with Louis Rowitz, PhD, who will explore the principles of leadership, especially in relationship to preparedness, and how they can be applied in the public health setting.
Dr. Rowitz will discuss the latest edition of his classic book, Public Health Leadership: Putting Principles Into Practice, which features extensive coverage of the leadership skills and tools needed to manage public health emergencies. It also offers a closer look at building infrastructure, using accreditation standards, and developing global public health leaders.
Former Leadership Institute scholars will benefit from this update, while potential new scholars will receive a preview of the type of programming to expect if they decide to enroll in the program, including insights from moderator, Ray M. (Bud) Nicola, MD, MHSA, FACPM.
Learn more about this unique, no-cost opportunity to hear valuable information on the latest thinking around public health leadership today.
Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2013, noon to 1 p.m. (PDT)
Target Audiences:
Presenters
Professor Emeritus Louis Rowitz, PhD, has built a unique career in public health academia via public health practice issues and initiatives. Recently retired, he has served as Director, Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute University of Illinois at Chicago and the School's Deputy Director of its Center for Public Health Practice since it began.
Dr. Rowitz has published two texts on leadership in public health based upon his experience in developing the institutes. The first is Public Health Leadership: Putting Principles Into Practice (3rd edition) is now the premier text in leadership courses and institutes across the country. In 2005, he published Public Health in the 21st Century: The Prepared Leader.
]]>May 30, 2013
In April of 2013, NWCPHP released its 2012 Annual Report. It highlights some of the exciting activities and accomplishments from the year, including partnering with over 90 organizations and showing a 57 percent increase in the number of people who took our online courses compared to the previous year. If you would like to request a printed copy of the Annual Report, please contact us.
"I am proud of the work that our staff, faculty, and students have done together with our partners in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming," says NWCPHP Director Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, MD, MPH. "The report includes activities in 2012 under the leadership of Susan Allan, who stepped down as director in March and remains on our faculty."
The 2012 Annual Report provides a continual tool for NWCPHP to evaluate its activities and to reflect on its accomplishments. Stories included in this year's report include a graphic novella designed to help save the lives of Chinese immigrants, an evaluation campaign to help stop the spread of whooping cough, and research that was cited in a US Senate hearing about climate change.
"Although the public health landscape remains shifting and uncertain," says Kwan-Gett, "you can be confident that NWCPHP will continue to be an eager partner in training, research, evaluation, communications, and technical assistance to promote excellence in public health practice."
Contact us to discuss NWCPHP services and how we can be of assistance to you.
]]>May 29, 2013
In 2008, Kane County Health Department faced a new reality. The global recession was affecting the northern Illinois county so operating revenues for the health department were dropping off significantly. At the same time, community members were increasing their use of the department's services. In the wake of this resource crisis, department leaders developed a strategic, organizational response that transformed the agency’s finances and offerings.
In the June Hot Topics, Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, tells the story of how his leadership team used the public health accreditation standards to create a “slimmer, flatter, and more focused” agency with greater potential for long-term growth and sustainability. During the one-hour session, Kuehnert will also discuss how the reorganization led to increased community partnerships, additional revenue sources, and new opportunities for population-based prevention efforts.
Register today and learn new approaches for leading organizational change.
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2013, noon to 1:00 p.m. (PT)
Intended Audiences:
Presenter:
Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, is the Team Director for Public Health at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is the previous County Health Officer and Executive Director for Health for Kane County, Illinois, a metro-Chicago county of 515,000 people.
Hot Topics in Practice is a monthly webinar forum to discuss issues affecting public health practice.
]]>May 28, 2013
NWCPHP research assistant Kate Cole is heading for the other Washington. Cole was recently awarded an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellowship at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She will be working in the Office of Communication at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products in Rockville, Maryland.
“I’m thrilled for the opportunity,” says Cole. “I think the federal experience will be really interesting. I’ve worked in University settings and community non-profits. This will be a really big change and I’m excited to see what it’s like.”
Cole will be working on tobacco prevention for youth and young adults, assisting with the FDA’s launch of their national youth tobacco prevention campaign. She will also be working on strategic partnerships with local and regional partners across the country.
“I’ve learned about best practices for designing a public health campaign in school, but in my experience with community organizations we’ve had limited budgets and can only implement some of the best practices,” says Cole. “It’ll be neat to see how large-scale, national campaigns are put together.”
Cole learned about this opportunity through some of her work the past year with the Tobacco Studies Program in the University of Washington’s Department of Health Services. In June 2012, the Tobacco Studies Program partnered with Health and Human Services Region X, the Office of the Surgeon General, and the FDA to put together a Youth & Tobacco Town Hall at UW with Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, attending. Cole organized a panel of young adults to share their experiences with tobacco and tobacco prevention with Surgeon General Benjamin.
It was this experience that connected Cole with the Director of the Center for Tobacco Products, which led to the fellowship. For Cole, this role is an opportunity to expand on her work for the Town Hall, her efforts this past year advocating for a smoke-free campus at the University of Washington, and her goals of generating more discussion around tobacco prevention. The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products has only been in existence since 2009, when Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
“Tobacco has been unregulated for much of its history,” explains Cole. “No product introduced today would be allowed the freedoms that the tobacco industry has experienced.”
Cole will start her new position on June 3, 2013. She has agreed to an initial six-month fellowship with the opportunity to review and extend her commitment. Cole has lived on the East Coast previously, spending seven years in Boston, before moving to Seattle.
“I grew up in Idaho and wanted to try out something completely new for college,” Cole says of her decision to attend college in Boston. “However, since living in Seattle, I’ve come to really love the Northwest. My parents are a little sad to see me move back to the East Coast, but they’re very excited for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to experiencing the federal government firsthand.”
]]>May 23, 2013
NWCPHP launched a redesigned website in January 2013. Feedback from public health agencies, combined with new recommendations from CDC, helped guide the redesign process. NWCPHP staff also looked closely at results from a survey conducted after a redesign in 2010.
Once the new website was live, NWCPHP launched a website satisfaction survey similar to the one conducted in 2010. A comparison of survey responses before and after the 2013 redesign indicates increased user satisfaction across all categories.
“It's very exciting,” says Luann D'Ambrosio, NWCPHP Associate Director. “We received positive feedback from the 2010 redesign in all categories. For the 2013 redesign, feedback indicates that we're doing better than we did in 2010 in meeting the needs of our audience.”
The percent improvement of specific website components ranged between 8.5 and 13.9 percent and included satisfaction with the site’s visual appeal, content, the usefulness of website information, and ease of navigation.
Those reporting their overall satisfaction with the site to be either “excellent” or “very good” increased 8.5 percent and survey respondents indicating they were “very likely” to return to the NWCPHP website increased 11.5 percent. The largest gains, of 13.9 percent, were observed in respondents opinions of “usefulness of website information” and “website navigation.”
The results from the survey will be used to make additional improvements to the site. Additional evaluation tools, such as Google Analytics, will be utilized to form a more comprehensive and ongoing evaluation of the NWCPHP website.
For more information about how the NWCPHP team can conduct independent evaluations of your website, contact Luann D’Ambrosio. To explore how NWCPHP is available to assist your public health communication efforts, contact Missie Thurston, Communications and Marketing Manager.
]]>May 20, 2013
You probably spend a lot of time planning for public health programs. This kind of framework allows you to prepare in advance and track successes and failures.
How, when, and where you communicate your public health message requires planning too. Not all situations should be treated equally—a flu epidemic is different from the development of a smoking cessation campaign. Yet, both circumstances benefit from a comprehensive plan that ensures all opportunities are maximized and that your brand standards are not compromised.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation created a communications plan template that can be used in most situations. To better understand what this would look like in practice, let’s consider a scenario:
Current data suggests childhood obesity is a growing problem in your county, and sugar-loaded beverages (sodas, sugary juices) are clearly contributing to the problem.
1. Determine Goal: Outline a specific, tangible goal that will become the framework of your plan. In this case, you may want to reduce sugar-loaded beverage consumption among children, thereby reversing childhood obesity trends. This goal may require reaching children, but also parents and caretakers, schools, and family clinicians.
2. Identify and Profile Audience: Who are the different people in your target audience? How do they like to receive information? What are their beliefs about sugary beverages, and whom do they trust? It is important to understand how perspectives and needs may differ among your audiences. For instance, parents may also consume sugary beverages. Teachers and principals may be uninterested without school board involvement. Family clinicians may not know how to articulate these issues to patients.
3. Develop messages: To help choose a message, identify a few options within your team and then solicit feedback from your audiences about which ones resonate with them. This can be done formally or informally, through key-informant interviews or focus groups. Then, pick one clear directive, and stick to it. You might decide, in this situation, that you want to educate parents about alternate beverage options like milk and water with the tagline “Don’t stop at pop.”
4. Select communications channels: Consider all of the possible venues for outreach, and select the options that make the most sense for this message and its audience. An ad or an article in the school bulletin may be more effective than a similar placement in the local newspaper because it targets parents specifically.
5. Choose activities and materials: Are there existing events in place where you can reach your key audience? Do you want to attend a radio show or hold a press conference? What materials (brochures, fliers, posters) would help support this activity? A small flier might help spread your message at a PTA meeting, and a poster might be more useful at a book fair.
6. Establish partnerships: Partner with people who can help spread your message.You might be able to receive support from diabetes organizations, a group of concerned physicians, a school board, and even grocery vendors.
7. Implement the plan: Once you’ve selected your activities, develop tactical goals. Assign dates, materials, budget, and staff to help achieve those goals. For instance, on May 23, your communications director will attend a school board meeting and give a testimony. You have identified John Doe and Jane Smith from the local newspaper to cover the event. You will bring 100 brochures that cost $.25 each to design and print.
8. Evaluate and make mid-course corrections: How will you know if your plan is working? You want to think of evaluation measures prior to starting your campaign so you have a baseline for outcomes. It might be useful to track soda sales in schools or survey parents before and after implementation.
This method can be used and modified to fit nearly every situation, and it will help your outreach be more robust and organized.
]]>May 16, 2013
The 2011 catastrophic earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan were sobering events to witness. But for those living in coastal communities, these events were a reminder that living near the ocean may require unique emergency preparedness planning. In Oregon, public health and emergency preparedness workers in Clatsop and Tillamook Counties had been building response and recovery collaborations for a decade prior to the Tohoku Earthquake, but after observing the events in Japan, these public health professionals felt that they could be better prepared to manage drinking water issues if a similar event happened in their locality.
After two years of planning, 40 partners representing public health, public works, military, and nonprofit organizations met last month to review their emergency plans. The results were promising.
Margo Lalich, Director at Clatsop County Public Health, explains, “We had participated in previous planning sessions but had never exercised a multi-disciplinary response to water sanitation issues. This was a first for us, and it was a huge learning moment.”
The half-day tabletop exercise simulated a fictional earthquake and a tsunami off the north coast of Oregon. Participants were asked to examine each other’s agency plans and policies and discuss ways to coordinate resources through a series of probing questions.
NWCPHP faculty member, Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH, developed and led the exercise and was pleased with the group’s progress. He explains, “Tabletops are a chance to identify gaps and that can be disconcerting. Most agencies don’t want to expose their vulnerabilities. This group was willing to lay out their plans and tackle complicated issues.”
It takes an enormous amount of resources to protect community water and waste systems. Throughout the day, agency representatives reviewed plans and policies to prioritize infrastructure repair, remove liquid waste, communicate with the public, set up mass shelters, track disease, and much more.
The broad range of subjects reminded participants that no agency can work alone. When “the big one” hits, it will require a community response. Everyone involved agreed that gathering a group of such diverse yet interrelated organizations together was challenging but essential for enhancing interagency cooperation.
At the end of the day, Maureen Sheffield-Taylor, Environmental Health Supervisor at Clatsop County Public Health, summed up another shared perspective. She noted, “This tabletop was a great start but it is just the beginning. Now we see how much more work we have to do.”
If your agency would like help developing a tabletop or other emergency preparedness-related training, please contact Luann D’Ambrosio.
]]>May 13, 2013
Well-trained public health workers routinely seek to confirm the effectiveness of their programs, but now evaluation findings are often part of a larger conversation. In this era of reduced resources, elected officials and community members frequently question the value of public services. NWCPHP faculty member Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH, believes strong public health evaluation skills are a necessary tool to help today's public health leaders respond to calls for cuts to public health services.
Osaki’s Implementing Program Planning and Evaluation class at the 2013 Summer Institute for Public Health Practice helps practitioners answer that burning question—Are we making a difference?—by teaching how to build and evaluate programs using practical measures.
Osaki says he learned the value of evaluation while working as the Environmental Health Director at Public Health - Seattle & King County. During his tenure, the team wanted to change the way they monitored food establishments by replacing one of a business’s three annual inspections with an educational visit. They had a sense that coupling enforcement with education would be effective and were willing to take a chance on a new approach.
The team worked with the restaurant association on the change. Everyone was enthusiastic but they also needed buy-in from the local board of health. Osaki explains, “The board was skeptical but they trusted us. They made me promise to come back and report on the outcomes. That challenge really changed my thinking.”
Osaki’s team developed metrics to test their new plan. They collected data and brought it back to the board one year later as promised. The results were impressive. Under the new system violations decreased 15 percent and return visits decreased 12 percent. Their relationships with businesses improved significantly. Says Osaki, “It was very satisfying to measure our effectiveness and report the results.”
Drawing on nearly 50 years of public health work, Osaki brings much field-tested expertise to the classroom. He understands that attending a training means that work in the office piles up. For this reason, he asks participants to bring a project from their agency to work on. He promises they will learn practical skills and leave with an evaluation plan that’s ready for implementation back at the office.
Osaki's Summer Institute course on Implementing Program Planning and Evaluation is four days of intensive learning around that agency project. Enroll today to learn the skills for measuring how your program or project is making a difference.
Related Online Courses
Logic Models and Outcome Measurement
Program Evaluation in Environmental Health
May 9, 2013
When we think of safety standards for gun ranges, we think first about preventing accidental shootings or reducing noise. But lead exposure from bullets and primer also pose serious health risks for employees and their families.
In the May Hot Topics, Michael Kinzer, MD, MPH, will discuss his participation in an investigation of the country’s largest reported occupational lead exposure at an indoor gun range in Washington State. In addition to the investigation’s findings, Kinzer will explain the roles and responsibilities of employers, laboratories, medical providers, and regulatory agencies in assessing and preventing lead exposure.
Gerry Croteau, MS, will then review the methods for reducing lead exposure in gun ranges and other industries that use lead. Croteau will also emphasize ways to reduce oral ingestion of lead and review the related occupational health standards.
Register today and learn about emerging methods to improve workplace safety.
Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2013, noon to 1:00 p.m. (PT)
Intended Audiences:
Presenters:
Michael Kinzer, MD, MPH, is a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at Public Health - Seattle & King County. He is also an officer in the United States Public Health Service and has previously served in the United States Navy and the Peace Corps.
Gerry Croteau, MS, is a certified industrial hygienist with the University of Washington Field Research and Consultation Group. He has consulted for a variety of industries including: food processing, plastics manufacturing, construction, mining, foundries, waste disposal and processing, and machine shop and metal fabricating facilities.
Hot Topics in Practice is a monthly webinar forum to discuss issues affecting public health practice.
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