Hot 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 Allene Mares.

Upcoming Session

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Rural America

Tuesday, January 28, 2020, 12:00 to 1:00 pm (PT)
Slides and slide handout available the morning of the session.

Previous Sessions

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

So Much at Stake: Lessons on Stakeholder Engagement from the Washington State Suicide Prevention Plan

February 23, 2016

In the February session of Hot Topics in Practice, Karyn Brownson describes the process of developing the new Washington State Suicide Prevention Plan with more than 250 stakeholders.

Photograph of a group of people in a listening session.

All Hands on Deck: How Non-Traditional Partners Evaluated Boating Laws

January 26, 2016

In the January session of Hot Topics in Practice, Marla Peters, MHA, shares her experience working with marine law enforcement officials to evaluate a law change to improve boater safety.

Leading Strategic and Long-Range Planning Efforts

November 10, 2015

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Kurt O’Brien, MHROD reviews the importance of long-range planning, especially in light of health care reform.

Graphic of a woman drawing a diagram on a whiteboard.

Developing Evidence About Public Health Services

October 28, 2015

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Betty Bekemeier, PhD, MPH, FAAN, reviews the importance of collecting standardized data and demonstrates how the information is being used to make the case for public health services.

Photograph of a restaurant inspector looking under a counter.

Evaluating Injury and Violence Prevention Strategies

September 29, 2015

In the September session of Hot Topics in Practice, Donovan Newton, MPA, discusses evaluation results of current injury and violence prevention initiatives.

Photograph of a teen football player on the practice field.

The “One Health” Approach to Public Health Challenges in the Pacific Northwest

July 14, 2015

In the July session of Hot Topics in Practice, Peter Rabinowitz, MD, MPH, discusses the “one health” framework for connecting human, animal, and environmental health to address emerging disease challenges.

Photograph of a boy holding a young chicken.

Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: Past Lessons and Next Steps

June 23, 2015

In the June session of Hot Topics in Practice, Drs. Patrick O’Carroll and Tim McAfee will review past and future strategies for preventing tobacco-related diseases.

Photograph of a placard reading "Thank you for not smoking."

Measles Elimination: Successes and Challenges in Alaska

May 19, 2015

In the May session of Hot Topics in Practice, Rosalyn Singleton, MD, MPH, shares how Alaska’s health care providers, public health workers, and policy-makers helped to successfully eliminate endemic measles cases in their state.

Photograph of women with small child and a medical provider.

Community Health Workers: Public Health and Health Care Collaborating for Health Equity

April 21, 2015

In this one-hour webinar, which is part of the Hot Topics series, health care leaders provide an overview of the community health worker model and review opportunities for integrating these health professionals into public health and health care delivery systems.