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Annotation: Dr. Henning-Smith and Ashley Hernandez, MPH, of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center present new research on racial and ethnic disparities in health and healthcare among rural residents. Results included differences in county-level premature death by county racial and ethnic composition; individual-level differences in health status by race and ethnicity; and differences in healthcare access and use by race and ethnicity.

Learning Objectives: • Learn county-level differences in mortality • Distinguish individual differences in self-rated health • Describe disparities in access to care

Annotation: In this one-hour webinar, which is part of the Hot Topics series, 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. The intended audience is local, state, and tribal public health professionals; Program staff and managers working in environmental health and communicable disease prevention. A recording, slides, and a slides handout are available.

Learning Objectives: • Describe ways in which local health department administrative data can be used to demonstrate the value of public health services. • Describe the need for and value of standardized public health services data for public health performance, advocacy, and building evidence. • Describe opportunities for filling critical gaps in local public health services data.

Special Instructions: NWCPHP trainings are accessed through PH LearnLink.

Annotation: This presentation equips public health workers with tools for motivating, initiating, and sustaining work to address health equity. These tools include the “Cliff Analogy” animation which distills three levels of health intervention; a definition of racism which can be generalized to become a definition of any structured inequity; the “Gardener’s Tale” allegory which illustrates and encourages discussion about three levels of racism; data on the relationship between “socially assigned race” and self-rated health; a three-part definition of health equity including what it is, how to achieve it, and how it relates to health disparities; and information on an international anti-racism treaty which can serve as a platform for action.

Learning Objectives: • Describe the relationship between medical care, secondary prevention, primary prevention, addressing the social determinants of health, and addressing the social determinants of equity using the “Cliff Analogy.” • Define racism, and distinguish three levels of racism using the "Gardener's Tale" allegory. • Describe the relationship between “socially-assigned race” and self-rated general health status on the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. • Identify the status of the United States with regard to the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination.

Special Instructions: To access this course, you first need to create an account. Mac users need to download Silverlight to view.

Annotation: This four-module course describes the basics and some advanced components of public health. Module 1 considers the philosophical and historic foundation of public health with additional focus on the concept, determinants and measurement of health. After defining public health and its unique features, this module also discusses the history of the development of the core functions and essential services of public health. Module 2 covers public health at the federal, state, and local levels, with particular emphasis on the application of essential services and connections between levels. Module 3 discusses the concept of assessment in more detail, describing common elements, methods, and data sources. Module 4 describes the ethical foundations of public health, with an introduction to schools of ethical thought, fundamental principles and future ethical challenges. Note: A multi-step registration process is required to access the module.

Learning Objectives: Module 1: Philosophical and Historical Perspectives of Public Health Module 1, Part 1 • Recognize the difficulty in defining health. • Explain the various definitions of health. • Develop your own definition of health based on your own work priorities. Module 1, Part 2 • Describe population-based measurements of health. • Recognize tools for health promotion and behavior change are available. • Discuss future goals for the nation. Module 1, Part 3 • Identify the domains of health determinants. • List and critically evaluate examples of health determinants in each domain. Module 1, Part 4 • Explain public health. • Argue the pros and cons of public health as a profession. • Describe components and images of public health. Module 1, Part 5 • Discuss the evolution of public health. • Describe the actions of historical heroes in public health. • Discuss public health’s achievements during the 20th century. Module 1, Part 6 • Identify the three core functions for public health work. • Translate the core functions into public health practice. • Apply the core functions of public health to your own work. Module 1, Part 7 • Discuss the unique features (core values) of public health. • Critically evaluate the interaction of these unique features. Module 1, Part 8 • Identify public health’s 10 essential services. • Discuss the practical implications of the essential services. • Compare your own work with the essential services that form the framework of public health. Module 2: The Structure of Public Health • Differentiate and compare local, state and federal public health roles and responsibilities. • Identify funding sources and how they are appropriated via the three levels. Module 3: Assessment as a Core Function Module 3, Part 1 • Explain how assessment fits in as a public health core function. • Describe ways to measure health status and disease rates in population. • Name the importance for monitoring trends in diseases. • Identify ways to find subpopulations at elevated risk. • Determine modifiable antecedents to disease. Module 3, Part 2 • List methods of assessment in assessing the health of a population. • Name forms of surveillance data collection. • Explain how to analyze, interpret and disseminate surveillance data. • Explain how vital statistics are used in assessment and the purpose of using special studies. • List questions and measures that are useful when evaluating public health programs. • Name both federal and state sources of data for overall health assessment. Module 4: The Culture of Public Health • Compare and contrast the ethical bases of public health and medical care. • Explain similarities and differences between law and ethics. • Define the philosophical and religious bases of ethics. • Explain the ethical foundations of public health and their impact on target constituencies.

Special Instructions: Registration to the South Central Public Health Partnership is required. For new users it will take one weekday to receive an access email. If you are registered in TRAIN, you should login using that username and password. Click on “Course Offerings” and search for “Orientation to Essentials of Public Health, Advanced Level.”

Continuing Education: A completion certificate will be awarded if you receive 70% or higher on the course quiz.

Annotation: This module introduces learners to epidemiologic designs and their uses. First, the course describes the goals of epidemiology studies, and then defines the information needed to answer the “five W’s” (what, who, where, when and why). Next, the module describes the differences between descriptive and analytic studies, and gives examples of study designs within each category, using the recent SARS outbreak to illustrate concepts. Learning is reinforced with short exercises and a final assessment.

Learning Objectives: • List the differences between descriptive and analytic epidemiology • Describe the main types of epidemiologic studies and their uses • Identify and provide examples of person, place, and time in descriptive studies • Describe the main differences among case-control, cohort studies, and environmental studies

Special Instructions: Registration is required. Look to the right of the screen and click on "Register in PHLearnLink".

Continuing Education: Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits are available. Participants who successfully complete the course are eligible to receive a certificate for 1.0 contact hours for a processing fee of $35.

Annotation: The Strategic Skills Training Series developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) aims to help prepare public health practitioners to develop the practices and competencies associated with being a Chief Health Strategist. The modules in this series use the community health improvement planning process to introduce you to the basics of the following four strategic skills areas. This first set of modules has been developed at an introductory level; the next part of the series will build on these foundational modules.

Learning Objectives: • Consider events, patterns, and structures related to a complex problem • Explain what a complex adaptive system is • Explain how mental models impact the way we perceive a problem • List some key systems thinking habits to develop

Annotation: After defining common terms in epidemiology, the interactive presentation describes the roles of epidemiology in public health. The module describes the difference between descriptive and analytic epidemiology, demonstrates the usefulness of charts and graphs, and provides a brief history of the field. Next, the course describes uses and types of data, with particular focus on rates, ratios and proportions. The module also describes different types of studies that are commonly used in epidemiology. The course concludes with two examples of epidemiology in practice: a case study on firearm injuries in Minnesota and the history of Smallpox eradication. Short exercises and a post-test are used to reinforce learning.

Learning Objectives: • Describe the foundations of epidemiology and how it is applied in public health practice. • Explain the origins of epidemiology. • Define the terms used in epidemiology. • Describe types of epidemiology studies. • Outline the basic principles of data collection and analysis. • Identify visual representations of epidemiological data.

Special Instructions: Registration to the University of Minnesota School of Public Health is required. For new users click here to register. Then scroll down to "Introduction to Epidemiology". (https://cpheo1.sph.umn.edu/login/?desturl=https%3A%2F%2Fcpheo1%2Esph%2Eumn%2Eedu%2FMCLPH%2FIntroEpi%2Easp)

Continuing Education: 1 Continuing Education Credit (CEUs) is available after the completion of the module.

Annotation: This ten-part lecture provides an in-depth orientation to the field of epidemiology. A short “Introduction” describes the discipline of epidemiology, including its relevant concepts and history. The next three sections cover the topic of surveillance. First, “Proportions, Rates and Ratios” presents differences between these three common measurements and describes specific examples, including differentiation between crude, specific, and adjusted (using both direct and indirect methods) values. Next, “Depictions of Epidemiologic Data” describes various tables, graphs, and charts that can be use to illustrate and examine trend data, also introducing the concepts of cohort, age, and period effects. “Descriptive Epidemiology and Outbreak Investigation” defines key terms and presents a step-by-step overview of conducting outbreak investigation. The middle three sections cover the concepts of precision and validity. “Measures of association” describes the calculation and application of relative risk, odds ratios, confidence intervals, and attributable risk. “Bias” describes types of systematic error that may exist in various studies; specifically information and selection bias, and describes the calculation of sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and kappa statistics. “Confounding” describes the concept, assessment, and methodological considerations of confounding variables. The last three lectures further describe study design. “Experimental Studies” presents various experimental designs and related information, such as recruitment of subjects, blinding, intention to treat analysis, and types of error. “Observational Studies” defines cohort, case-control, and related study designs commonly used in analytic epidemiology. Finally, “Evaluation” describes impact assessment and measures of efficacy/effectiveness/efficiency, with particular focus on process evaluation and pre-test/post-test study design. Examples and a final quiz are used to reinforce learning.

Learning Objectives: Module 1: Intro Module 2: Surveillance Proportions, rates and ratios • To discuss the difference between a rate, ratio and proportion. • To discuss the difference between crude, specific and adjusted rates. • To introduce the concept of confounding. • To discuss the difference between incidence and prevalence. Interpreting patterns of disease frequency. • To discuss different methods of depicting data. • To discuss the elements of a valid statistical association. • To examine some descriptive data and discuss interpretations. • To discuss the term “cohort effect”. Descriptive epidemiology and outbreak investigation • To discuss methods for conducting outbreak investigation. • To discuss descriptive study designs: -cross-sectional -correlational Module 3: Precision and Validity Measures of Association • To state the hypothesis of a study. • To calculate and interpret an odds ratio. • To calculate and interpret a relative risk. • To calculate and interpret a confidence interval. • To discuss the difference between statistical and clinical significance. Bias • Discuss the terms precision and validity. • To describe the types of bias that can occur. • To discuss methods for preventing bias in study design. • To discuss the kappa statistics. Confounding • To discuss the terms: predictor, outcome, confounder and effect modifier. • To an analysis to determine if confounding exists. • To discuss the difference between confounder and effect modifier. Module 4: Study Design Experimental Designs • To discuss the design of community trials. • To discuss the design of clinical trials. Observational Studies • To discuss design issues of the cohort study. • To discuss design issues of the case-control study. • To compare and contrast the two designs. • To discuss additional methods of minimizing confounding. Evaluation • To discuss the difference between impact and efficiency evaluation. • To discuss the difference between process and outcome evaluation. • To discuss formative and process evaluation. • To describe examples of evaluation.

Special Instructions: Registration to the South Central Public Health Partnership is required. For new users it will take one weekday to receive an access email. If you are registered in TRAIN, login using that username and password. Click on "Course Offerings" and search for "Introduction to Epidemiology". [Note: videos may not be compatible with Macs]

Continuing Education: A completion certificate will be awarded if you receive 70% or higher on the course quiz.

Annotation: The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grants to States Program has established 15 National Performance Measures (NPMs) for the 2015-2017 grant cycle. To assist state Title V MCH programs in choosing NPMs, NCEMCH has developed the following briefs of evidence-based/informed programs and materials.

Annotation: This 90-minute module provides an introduction to data interpretation for public health professionals. It utilizes examples and exercises to help participants increase data skills. Some of the topics the course covers include proportions and rates, basic epidemiological measures (such as incidence, prevalence, mortality, and case fatality), basic biostatistical measures (mean, median, mode, confidence interval, and p-value), data presentation, and interpretation of tables and graphs. The module also provides additional resources for further information on data interpretation. The module concludes with a final quiz.

Learning Objectives: • List at least three common data sources used to characterize health or disease status of a community. • Define and interpret basic epidemiology measures, such as prevalence, incidence, mortality, and case fatality. • Define and interpret basic biostatistical measures, such as mean, median, confidence interval, and p-value. • Read and interpret tables and graphs. • Determine the appropriate format for data presentation.

Special Instructions: Registration to PH LearnLink is required. Click on the “Trainings” link and then the “Courses” link. Scroll down to “Data Interpretation for Public Health Professionals” and click on the title to begin.

Continuing Education: 1.5 contact hours for continuing nursing education is available through the University of Washington School of Nursing with the successful completion of the course and a $35 processing fee.