Northwest Center for Public Health Practice

Public Health Training, Research, and Evaluation for the Northwest

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.

Next Session

Public Health, This is Your Shot!

January 26, 2021

The January session of Hot Topics in Practice will review the nuances of local governance in Washington state to better understand the financial, political, and cultural factors that influence local public health oversight.

Register today to learn about working more effectively with elected officials to build stronger public health systems. Public health, this is your shot!

Previous Sessions

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

Public Health Communications For Hurricane Maria Response

June 27, 2018

In this one-hour webinar, Maria Levis, CEO of Impactivo, reviews how her team deployed creative communication strategies to address public health issues in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Photograph of satellite dish that has been destroyed by a storm.

Investigating Maternal Mortality in Washington State

May 29, 2018

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Alexis Bates reviews why maternal deaths in the United States have risen since the 1980s, and what is being done both locally and nationally to address the issue.

Real Estate and Design as Public Health Practice

April 25, 2018

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, planner and architect Erin Christensen Ishizaki explains how her work uses public health research and design as interventions to reduce chronic disease.

Photograph of outdoor seating at a restaurant.

Trauma-Informed Practice – a Rural Perspective

March 27, 2018

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Karolyn Holden, Director, Grays Harbor County Public Health and Social Services, shares how her rural public health agency took deliberate steps toward building a more trauma-informed practice.

Photograph of a stethoscope resting on a hand-drawn heart.

Youth Voice in Alaska’s Health Projects

February 20, 2018

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Jennifer Baker, Adolescent Health Project Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, shares tested strategies for getting and keeping youth engaged in prevention efforts.

Photograph of several teens clasping hands in the center of a circle.

Tobacco 21 in Oregon

January 30, 2018

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Luci Longoria, MPH, shares how Oregon joined the growing movement of states and localities to raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21.

Photograph of several teens hanging out.

Messaging Health Equity to Decision-makers

December 20, 2017

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, Jennifer Messenger Heilbronner shares strategies for messaging health equity to decision-makers.

Connecting Brain and Social Development to Injury Prevention

November 28, 2017

In this one-hour webinar, Karyn Brownson, MSW, explores the latest research linking brain and social development with injury prevention.

Change Management Principles for Public Health Modernization

October 24, 2017

In this one-hour webinar, Public Health Director Dawn Emerick describes how a local health department in Oregon used change management principles to restructure in advance of the state’s modernization efforts.

Big Data, Big Headache?: How Non-Statisticians Can Approach and Use Data for Performance Management

September 26, 2017

In this one-hour webinar, Policy Administrator Stefan Johansson discusses using data to drive performance in Wyoming state government.

Marijuana Messages: Art and Media Strategies to Reach Priority Population Youth

August 22, 2017

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, prevention specialists discuss how they are using art and media projects to address marijuana-related health disparities in creative ways.

Photograph of a teen seated at the edge of a treed area.

Borders and Barriers: How Population Health Nurses Are Moving Upstream to Address Refugee Health in Oregon

July 25, 2017

In this one-hour webinar, Kristen Beiers-Jones, MN, reviews how population health nurses in Oregon are moving upstream to improve refugee health.

Breastfeeding is Food Sovereignty

June 29, 2017

In this one-hour webinar, lactation consultant Camie Goldhammer reviews how communities of color are reclaiming breastfeeding as an indigenous food source.

Drug Use and Dignity: Exploring the Potential for Supervised Consumption Sites in King County, Washington

May 23, 2017

In this one-hour Hot Topics webinar, members of the Seattle and King County Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force discuss implementing “supervised consumption sites” where people can safely use in the presence of a trained health professional.

Photograph of a supervised injection facility stocked with necessary equipment.

Climate Action in Oregon: New Resilience Plan for the Public Health System

April 18, 2017

In this one-hour webinar, Emily York, MPH, Oregon Health Authority, presents the state’s new climate resilience plan.