|
July-September 2006
This quarter,
NCCPHP completed our curriculum development efforts to provide
training materials for avian and pandemic influenza rapid response
teams in Southeast Asia. For more information on our efforts,
see the articles featured in the ASPH
Friday Letter or the UNC
School of Public Health website. Now staff have begun
work on a project with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
to develop a training curriculum for US public health responders.
NCCPHP's international
work will continue with a grant from the CDC via ASPH to develop
a curriculum in field epidemiology in Guatemala. Titled Strengthening
Field Epidemiology Practice in Central America Through Academic
Partnership, the project will be carried out in conjunction with
national and international partners.
We are also
very proud to announce that Jennifer Horney, NCCPHP Assistant
Director was one of the recipients of the first Service in Action
award established by the UNC Department of Health Policy and Administration.
Jen was 1 of 13 recipients honored for significant contributions
in community preparedness and disaster management and was recognized
for her efforts following Hurricane Katrina. More about the award
is available on the department's
website.
---Pia
MacDonald, NCCPHP Director
Surveillance
& Epidemiology
Team
Epi-Aid (SPH student volunteers to assist urgent public health
response)
This quarter
Team Epi-Aid sent 7 volunteers to conduct interviews at the Durham
Gay Pride festival. In conjunction with the State Division of
Public Health, volunteers conducted an HIV risk survey among men
who have sex with men. Moreover, one student assisted with data
analysis for an outbreak of Salmonella in Polk County and two
others assisted with recruitment for a study assessing lead in
Durham's municipal water supply. An introductory Epi-Info software
training was conducted for Team Epi-Aid volunteers.
Technical
Assistance to North Carolina
This quarter,
NCCPHP worked with the Division of Public Health regarding epidemiology
and surveillance activities and a new pandemic influenza planning
project. NCCPHP staff met with the NC Disaster Response Network
to plan for next year's activities, and met with Public Health
Regional Surveillance Teams (PHRSTs) to discuss county-level surveillance
reports for September and October. Final county-level surveillance
reports for PHRST Regions 3, 4, 5 and 7 were completed in September.
In the past
three months, NCCPHP has conducted Epi Info software trainings
for public health staff in Harnett, Wayne, and 8 counties (Haywood,
Cherokee, Caldwell, Madison, Henderson, Macon, Jackson and Buncombe)
in the PHRST 6 region. In addition Epi-Info trainings were conducted
for state consultants for the Office of Healthy Carolinians/Health
Education. NCCPHP staff also provided training to Alamance County
on outbreak exercises and Albemarle Regional Health District on
general epidemiology.
Other assistance
this quarter included technical assistance to Fort Bragg's Womack
Army Medical Center on redesigning their tuberculosis screening
database and supporting documentation.
Project
516: Rapid Response
Project 516
is a partnership with PHRST 5 that provides funding and training
for local health departments to acquire handheld computer and
GIS technology that will enhance their work. This quarter, NCCPHP
assisted with planning and evaluation for a mass field exercise
in Charlotte. Staff co-trained and exercised 98 local health department
personnel, state public health employees, PHRST members, and visiting
public health professionals on GIS applications, provided technical
assistance, and reviewed and reported on evaluation data for this
exercise.
NCCPHP staff
also directed and edited a promotional video to be produced by
Mecklenburg County Public Health. In addition, staff are assisting
Carteret County with a pre-hurricane survey similar to a rapid
needs assessment, and are working on a rapid needs assessment
methodology paper for a CDC working group at the request of our
partner, PHRST 5.
Avian
Influenza Rapid Response Team Training in Southeast Asia
Five NCCPHP
staff traveled to Bangkok, Thailand on July 17-21 to present training
on avian influenza and rapid response to 135 public health workers
from 14 countries around the world. Staff members facilitated
working groups where attendees applied what they learned to begin
to develop plans to implement the training in their home countries.
Although the program was designed for use by countries in Southeast
Asia, attendees from Africa and Central America were also invited
to participate in the training session due to widespread interest
in the program. Afterwards, participants received copies of all
course materials on CD-ROM for easy distribution of training materials
in their home countries.
Training
& Education
This quarter,
NCCPHP began working with Duplin County Health Department to provide
low literacy educational materials on influenza. We also completed
a new mental health preparedness training curriculum featuring
a video and participant workbook and held meetings with PHRST
1 about piloting the training curriculum.
NCCPHP staff
attended a kick-off meeting in Guatemala City on August 1-3 to
start a curriculum development project for the field epidemiology
training program in Central America. Partners for this project
included the CDC's Coordinating Office for Global Health, Guatemala's
Ministry of Public Health, and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
Training
Web Site
In the third
quarter of 2006, the NCCPHP Training Web Site had 3,461 newly
completed trainings and 1,970 new registered users, for a total
of 13,923 users. There were 7 new NCCPHP developed trainings added
to the site.
FOCUS
on Field Epidemiology
A new issue
of FOCUS on Field Epidemiology was published this quarter. "Case-Control
Studies for Outbreak Investigations" covers the basics of
conducting a case-control study in an outbreak situation and discusses
case selection and how to measure the association between an exposure
and the occurrence of a disease (odds ratio).
Preparedness
Training Series
Enrollment in
NCCPHP's 2006 Preparedness Training Series reached 721 participants
by the end of September. A survey of enrolled participants was
sent out to identify improvements to be made for the upcoming
year. The series highlights a different preparedness-related event
and pair of featured trainings each month.
Online
Certificate in Field Epidemiology
NCCPHP enrolled
52 students in the Fall 2006 cohort. Sixty students will complete
the certificate in December 2006.
Introduction
to Communicable Disease Surveillance and Investigation training
course
In partnership
with the General Communicable Disease Control Branch at the NC
Division of Public Health, NCCPHP provided technical support for
a new session of the 15-week Introduction to Communicable Disease
Surveillance and Investigation training course. A total of 45
public health staff from 31 North Carolina counties are enrolled
in the fall 2006 course.
Mental Health Preparedness Training Curriculum
At the request
of the Tennessee Department of Health, NCCPHP developed an introductory
training program designed for local health department staff and
community volunteers to build awareness of the psychosocial consequences
of disasters. The self-paced or small group training can be completed
in approximately 3.5 hours using the program video (in DVD or
VHS format) and the participant workbook, including five learning
activities. These materials will be distributed to local health
departments across Tennessee this fall. In addition, NCCPHP staff
are working on plans to pilot the curriculum in the PHRST 1 region
of North Carolina.
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Training for North Carolina
Local Health Departments
In conjunction
with the General Communicable Disease Control Branch in the NC
Division of Public Health, NCCPHP has developed a short online
course about pandemic influenza preparedness to be offered to
NC local health departments. The course is designed to increase
knowledge and build skills relevant to the essential and unique
elements of an influenza pandemic response at the local level.
Registration for the pilot course totals 46 people from 43 different
North Carolina health departments. The course will be repeated
in Spring 2007.
Symposium Series on Public Health Preparedness
In September
NCCPHP began its 2006-07 Symposium Series on Public Health Preparedness
by hosting an online symposium titled "Pandemic & Avian Flu: An
Introduction." Consisting of two separate series held on a bi-monthly
basis on the third Thursday of each month, one series will focus
on pandemic influenza planning activities and the other series
will focus on innovative preparedness projects at local public
health agencies. Each symposium is broadcast in a "webinar" presentation
format with audiovisuals delivered via a combination of phone
and computer technology. More information about the series is
available on the NCCPHP
Symposium Series page.
Lifelong
Learning
NCCPHP is collaborating with the North Carolina Institute for Public Health on their Public Health Academy project. This quarter, NCCPHP staff worked on a Workforce Development Task Force document and provided data from our Workforce Development System about health directors across the state to assist in the planning process. The Academy will provide training and support for local health department employees across North Carolina in public health and leadership topics.
NCCPHP staff
have provided training and assistance to Yadkin and Buncombe counties
on various issues related to lifelong learning and the online
workforce development system (WDS).
Project
Public Health Ready
NCCPHP assisted the 25 northeastern North Carolina counties in the PHRST 1 region to apply for Project Public Health Ready certification. NCCPHP staff completed data analysis and reporting for the regional assessment instrument available to all PHRST 1 counties, and assisted with completion of the application process. Final documents were submitted to NAACHO in mid-September.
Work
with Partner States
This quarter,
NCCPHP assistance to partner states included the following activities:
- Georgia:
NCCPHP exhibited at Georgia's annual Public Health Association meeting September 5-8, distributing NCCPHP marketing materials and answering questions about NCCPHP activities.
- Mississippi:
We presented the Mississippi Department of Health After Action Report methods and results to public health, emergency medicine, emergency medical services personnel, and met with RAND corporation health division to discuss after action report and preparedness measures.
-
Tennessee:
NCCPHP staff facilitated 2 stakeholders' meetings on pandemic
influenza for the Nashville-Davidson Metro Public Health Department
on July 21, and August 30. A total of 180 business, school
and faith leaders attended the meetings.
Job aids featuring instructions for collecting biological samples were printed and delivered to the Tennessee Department of Health Laboratory Service. These pocket guides were distributed to all staff at the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Tennessee Department of Health.
- West
Virginia:
NCCPHP is assisting with implementation of West Virginia's Statewide Training Plan with a pilot near Morgantown, including contact with the Bureau for Public Health regarding current plans for hosting training for local health officers and a web conference to discuss implementation steps and measures. Staff also discussed a plan for sustaining the implementation effort after August 31 with the Bureau for Public Health and the state nursing director.
NCCPHP also exhibited at West Virginia's annual Public Health Association meeting September 23 & 24, distributing NCCPHP marketing materials and answering questions about NCCPHP activities.
Back
to Top
|
|
|
Have you seen us?
Publications
MacDonald
PDM,
Langley RL, Gerkin SR, Torok MR, MacCormack JN. Human and
canine pulmonary blastomy-cosis, North Carolina, 2001-2002. Emerg
Infect Dis. 2006;12:1242-1244.
Pathela P, Hajat
A, Schillinger J, Blank S, Sell R, Mostashari F. Discordance
between sexual behavior and self-reported sexual identity: a population-based
survey of New York City men. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:416-425.
Presentations
Horney JA.
Pandemic and what it means for the hazards and disasters community.
Horney JA.
Rapid response project: public health utilization of handheld
technology to conduct rapid needs assessments following outbreaks
and disasters.
Both papers
presented at the Natural Hazards Center Workshop, University of
Colorado; July 9-12, 2006; Boulder, CO.
NCCPHP
in the News
UNC
preparedness experts help train avian flu responders world-wide.
ASPH Friday Letter 1424. August 4, 2006.
Mississippi
releases Hurricane Katrina report conducted by North Carolina
[press release]. North Carolina Division of Public Health. August
3, 2006.
NC
Center for Public Health Preparedness adds researchers. University
of North Carolina SPH web site. August 1, 2006.
UNC
preparedness experts help train avian flu responders around the
world. University of North Carolina SPH web site. July 25,
2006.
First
"Service in Action" award recipients named [press
release]. UNC Department of Health Policy & Administration.
August 23, 2006.
|
|
