Transcript A public health workforce development needs assessment

A public health workforce development needs assessment for
communication to reduce health disparities
Donald L. Rubin, PhD & Lenette C. Golding, MPH, The Southern Center for Communication, Health and Poverty
SCCHP responds to a
convergence of new needs
in workforce development
The Southern Center for Communication, Health, and Poverty
(SCCHP)—a CDC-funded center of excellence in health
communication—is committed to public health workforce
development in communication to reduce health disparities. A
number of factors converge to create particular needs in that
domain. E.g.,
• communicating about genetics-related risks
• “digital divide” may limit access to information for many poor
and near poor, and especially for the elderly
•many health and risk communicators possess credentials
mainly in emergency response and preparedness and not in
communication.
Focus on 3 constituencies
•State Public Health Information Officers
•Local Emergency/Risk Communicators
•Public Health Students
Year 1: Conducting
Needs Assessments
What factors contribute to the current need for workforce
development in communication to reduce health
disparities?
What role can SCCHP play in monitoring and addressing
workforce development needs in communication to
reduce health disparities?
Methods utilize focus
groups and online
surveys
• 4 groups of exiting and mid-program MPH students
•2 groups of health district emergency preparedness PIOs
•Online survey of state-level PIOs (National Public
Health Information Consortium)
Findings: Local PIOs need
skills for communicating with
immigrant populations
The Southern Center for Communication,
Health, and Poverty --a CDC-funded center of
excellence in health communication
Mission and Values
•Local risk communicators perceive need for skills in communicating
with linguistically diverse populations
•Create stronger liaison especially with Latino communities
•SCCHP develops, fosters, and translates health communication and social marketing
research into strategies that enhance health and well-being of the economically
disadvantaged people of the South.
•Extrapolate from emergency preparedness messages to health protection
messages
•We affirm the centrality of communication to health protection and health care. We avow
that eliminating health disparities is a fundamental goal of health communication.
•This group does not believe that individual job coaching would be an
effective training strategy. As for MPH students, some are naïve about
the communication demands in their prospective jobs, however most do
sense a need for tools to facilitate community-based collaboration
•We will pursue the highest quality community-focused prevention and communication
research. We will translate research findings into practical interventions to improve the
health of economically disadvantaged people of the South.
Findings: State-Level PIOs need
skills for getting out credible
messages to minority
communities
•Building relationships with minority media outlets
•Documenting impact of minority media purchases
•We will collaborate with community partners to assure research practices that reflect their
health concerns.
Center Studies
Study 1:
Understanding the
genetic bases for
disease and
message
development
•Course work provided on causes and implications of health disparities
tends to be abstract and policy-oriented
Information dissemination
State Public Health
Information Officers
Local Emergency/
Risk Communicators
Please visit our website at
http://www.southerncenter.uga.edu
•Need dedicated course on cultural differences in health beliefs and
communication patterns in specific communities
•Need dedicated course for direct instruction in running community
meetings, writing PSAs, securing media presence, etc.
•ASPH standards for communication only partially met
Study 3:
Teen Smoking
and
decision making
Workforce Development
•Building trust with media users to draw upon in emergency response
situations
Findings: MPH students need
nuts-and-bolts public relations
techniques
Study 2:
Multiple risk
actors and
information
seeking
This poster publication was supported wholly by a Grant from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (GRANT #
SP01CD000242). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the
authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the
CDC.
Public Health
Students