Health SPHere

Alumni magazine of the Boston University School of Public Healt

Health SPHere

Alumni magazine of the Boston University School of Public Healt

Recommendations for core competencies for local environmental health practitioners

In February 2000, environmental health experts from 13 national environmental/health organizations came together in Washington to begin the work of defining core competencies for local level environmental health practitioners. APHA's Public Health Innovations Project, with funding from the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), convened the meeting. The expert panel members and several federal agency representatives met for two days to identify the core competencies local environmental health practitioners needed to be effective in their work.Executive Summary -- -- Part I: Setting the Stage -- -- A. Introduction -- B. Background -- C. Terms and target audience -- D. Definitions of competencies -- E. Basic assumptions -- -- Part II: Recommended Competencies -- A. Assessment -- B. Management -- C. Communication -- -- Part III: Traits and Characteristics of an Effective Environmental Health Practitioner -- -- Part IV: Next Steps -- -- Part V: Appendices A-G -- Appendix A: Expert panel members -- Appendix B: Summary of expert panel discussion -- Appendix C: Typical responsibilities of environmental health and protection programs -- Appendix D: Technical competencies covered in NEHA's Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) exam -- Appendix E: Content areas of NEHA's REHS/RS exam -- Appendix F: Setting the context: environmental health practitioner competencies -- Appendix G: Resources"May 2001.""Revised June 27, 2001."Mode of access: Internet as an Acrobat .pdf file (313 KB, 48 p.).Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-47)

Evaluation of the UK Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (PHSKF): Implications for international competency frameworks

Background: The value of competency frameworks for developing the public health workforce is widely acknowledged internationally. However, there is a lack of formal evaluations of such frameworks. In the UK, the Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (PHSKF) is a key tool for the public health workforce across the UK, and this study presents the evaluation of the PHSKF 2016 version, with the aim of reflecting on implications for international public health competency frameworks.Methods: A sequential explanatory design was employed. An online survey (n = 298) was completed with stakeholders across the four UK nations and different sectors. This was followed by 18 telephone interviews with stakeholders and survey completers. Quantitative results were analysed descriptively; qualitative transcripts were analysed with thematic analysis.Results: Most respondents had used the PHSKF occasionally or rarely, and most users found it useful (87%) and easy to use (82%). Main purposes of use included team/workforce development (e.g. setting of standards) and professional development (e.g. identify professional development opportunities). Some positive experiences emerged of uses of the PHSKF to support organisational redevelopments. However, 23% of respondents had never used the framework. Areas for improvement included greater clarity on purpose and audience, the need for more support from employers and for clear career progression opportunities, and stronger links with other competency frameworks.Conclusions: The development of a digital version of the PHSKF, together with improving buy-in from the workforce and employers could make an important contribution towards UK public health workforce development. Further evaluation and shared learning internationally of the implementation of public health competency frameworks would support global public health workforce development

Matching Methods for Causal Inference: A Review and a Look Forward

When estimating causal effects using observational data, it is desirable to replicate a randomized experiment as closely as possible by obtaining treated and control groups with similar covariate distributions. This goal can often be achieved by choosing well-matched samples of the original treated and control groups, thereby reducing bias due to the covariates. Since the 1970s, work on matching methods has examined how to best choose treated and control subjects for comparison. Matching methods are gaining popularity in fields such as economics, epidemiology, medicine and political science. However, until now the literature and related advice has been scattered across disciplines. Researchers who are interested in using matching methods---or developing methods related to matching---do not have a single place to turn to learn about past and current research. This paper provides a structure for thinking about matching methods and guidance on their use, coalescing the existing research (both old and new) and providing a summary of where the literature on matching methods is now and where it should be headed.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-STS313 the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Making a Difference: Investing in Sustainable Health and Well-being for the People of Wales

Making a Difference: Investing in Sustainable Health and Well-being for the People of Wale

Sacred Heart University Public Health Program Self-Study

From the Introduction: The public health program began in the fall, 2018. The public health program has only one degree offered, a master’s of public health (MPH) degree with a concentration in community health. The program was developed in response to an observed need. Specifically, Sacred Heart undergraduate students in both the Health Science and Exercise Science undergraduate programs were asking for an MPH program that they could matriculate into after graduating from their undergraduate studies. The current MPH program director, Dr. Anna Greer, was already working at SHU as a behavioral scientist within SHU’s Exercise Science program. Dr. Greer worked with faculty at the University, faculty external to SHU at existing MPH programs, and regional public health leaders to develop the existing MPH program. Currently, the MPH program is its own department within the College of Health Professions: the Department of Public Health (i.e., the MPH program is synonymous with the public health department). We graduated our first class in May, 2019. We pride ourselves on engaging our students with the local community throughout the program whenever possible

University vaccine campaign increases meningococcal ACWY vaccine coverage

In this study, we report MenACWY vaccine coverage in first year students arriving at the University of Nottingham (UoN) in September 2015. We also report the uptake of MenACWY vaccine offered to unvaccinated students via a campus-based mass vaccination campaign as part of a local initiative by the University of Nottingham Health Service (UNHS), in liaison with UoN, during the registration period. [Taken from introduction