Hot Topics in PracticeHot Topics in Practice is a monthly webinar forum to discuss issues currently affecting public health practice.

Each month guest speakers from local, state, tribal, and national public health organizations present and take questions from the audience. Hot Topics is moderated by Sue Grinnell.

Previous Sessions

Below you may browse previous Hot Topics webinar sessions. All are available for viewing in PH LearnLink free of charge.

November 29, 2022

November 29, 2022. This Hot Topics webinar will share insight from the State Medical Epidemiologist for Washington State about the response to Monkeypox and how public health professionals can prepare for and respond to other zoonotic outbreaks.

Photo collage of the Monkeypox virus, a man receiving a vaccine, a meerkat, a monkey, and a pika
October 27, 2022

October 27, 2022. This Hot Topics webinar will review the framework of adaptive leadership with a focus on the health systems sector. Attendees will consider their past, current and future leadership challenges using this framework.

A group of birds flying together, with graphic overlay indicating the leader of the group
August 24, 2022

August 24, 2022. This Hot Topics webinar will share lessons learned from Public Health — Seattle & King County about injury and violence prevention policy when it comes to traffic, water, and firearm safety.

A young girl rides a bicycle on a quiet country road
July 26, 2022

July 26, 2022. This Hot Topics webinar will share why abortion access is a public health issue and how Washington state has addressed it through a public health framework.

A woman holds a protest sign that reads "MY BODY MY CHOICE"
June 28, 2022

June 28, 2022. This Hot Topics webinar will share lessons learned from the heat dome and climate change by the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon.

NASA image of the June 2021 heat dome event
May 31, 2022

May 31, 2022. This Hot Topics webinar will share resources from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) about how public health organizations can leverage opportunities and support to modernize and transform their public health practices.

Five people join hands to celebrate teamwork
April 20, 2022

The April session of Hot Topics in Practice will share how organizations can approach decolonizing data in an effort to address the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people (MMIWG2S).

Mural showing five figures standing in front of a map of Alaska
March 29, 2022

This Hot Topics webinar will share how Oregon has taken a health-based approach to drug addiction and recovery with the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act (also known as Measure 110).

Man participating in a group therapy session
February 22, 2022

This Hot Topics webinar will share how public health professionals can identify, communicate about, and address health inequities in rural communities.

Photograph of a river waterfront next to a rural town.
January 25, 2022

This Hot Topics webinar shares how organizations can help address racial bias using the “Racial Justice Competency Model for Public Health Professionals.”

Person holding a sign reading racism is a public health crisis
December 14, 2021

This Hot Topics webinar reviews tips for developing more inclusive data practices that better represent the people behind the numbers.

Pie graph split into 8 pieces each containing a different person's face
November 16, 2021

This Hot Topics webinar explores the principles of communication framing to reduce the stigma of substance use and addiction.

Open microphone with audience standing in the background
October 26, 2021

This Hot Topics webinar considers strategies for preventing firearm injury in older adults with cognitive impairments.

Elderly person looking down with back turned to camera
May 27, 2021

This Hot Topics webinar considers successful strategies for COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Alaska.

Photograph of small airplane flying over a lake with mountains in the background.
April 27, 2021

This Hot Topics webinar considers how public health organizations can navigate change in the face of disclosed or undisclosed trauma experienced by staff.

Photograph of a person wearing a medical mask resting their head on a desk in front of a computer.