Region IV Public Health Training Center

Note: This is a self-paced online course. Training Overview The ability to understand and use health information can significantly impact the health and well-being of communities. This module provides an overview of health literacy from the individual and organizational levels and introduces some techniques and tools to improve health literacy. The course contains three modules: the content module, a resources module, and an evaluation. After finishing all three modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. 30 minutes to complete. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Course Developers This course was developed by the Region IV Public Health Training Center at the Emory University Rollins Schools of Public Health. We would like to thank Cynthia Jorgensen, DrPH, Adjunct Professor at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and former Associate Director for Communication Science for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for her contribution as the subject matter expert. We would like to thank Sheryl Golub, MPH and Tanya Hauth of Lexicon Strategies, for their contribution to the instructional design of this module.  This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on July 30, 2018. Training Overview This webinar is presented in partnership with the Georgia Society for Public Health Education (GASOPHE) and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). More than ever, public health needs to clearly convey priority messages and policies to the public through mass media. This webinar will share concepts and tools that are useful whether you have a direct role in speaking to the media or assist public health teams that present priorities, talking points, and data to those directly representing public health in the media. The course contains two modules: a content module and a resources and evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This recording is approximately 90 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Trainer John’s work has spanned nonprofits, government agencies and private business. Today, he leads the partnership and public affairs efforts of the NACDD, a 7,000 member public health nonprofit comprised of state and territorial health department employees working in prevention and control.    For the last four years, John has worked with CDC to scale and sustain the National Diabetes Prevention Program which has included work with media and technology companies to create disease prevention and awareness campaigns and tools.   He received his degree in Mass Communications from the University of Delaware, including media studies at the City of London Polytechnic.  He later completed a fellowship at the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C. and led his own communications and marketing firms for over 15 years. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on May 18, 2020. Training Overview Youth suicide in the United States is on the rise and suicide is a leading cause of death for this population. Youth suicide is a public health challenge and requires a comprehensive approach to address its multiple risk and protective factors. Strategies with the best available evidence to prevent suicide range from strengthening economic supports of families, to reducing access to lethal means among people at risk, to promoting connectedness, teaching coping and problem-solving skills, and identifying and supporting people at risk. The course contains two modules: a content module and a resources and evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This recording is approximately 90 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. About the Trainer Alex E. Crosby, MD, MPH Alex E. Crosby, was raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is the son of Emeral and Corene Crosby and is a husband and father of four children. He graduated with a BA in chemistry from Fisk University, an MD from Howard University's School of Medicine, and an MPH in health administration and management from Emory University's School of Public Health. He completed training programs in Family Medicine then General Preventive Medicine and Public Health and epidemiology. He has responded to numerous public health emergencies and led investigative teams, addressing adolescent suicide clusters, civil unrest, school-associated violence, sniper attacks, firearm-related injuries due to celebratory shooting, Hurricane Rita, and Ebola. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications. His work as a medical epidemiologist focuses on prevention of suicidal behavior, child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, interpersonal violence among adolescents, and assault injuries among minorities. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on February 23, 2022. Training Overview Series Description: Systems problems, by definition, are complex and can seem impossible to tackle. However, there are tools and innovative approaches that might help public health professionals and partners make progress on these problems. Join us for a 3 part webinar series to learn tools and approaches for tackling large-scale community challenges, from maternal health to opioid overdoses. In the first webinar, we will cover stakeholder mapping and how understanding the whole ecosystem of players can help you decide who to include in co-creating solutions and what communications approaches to use. The second webinar will cover right-sizing your problem so that you can effectively approach and tackle it. Finally, building off the identified parts of the ecosystem, in the third webinar, we’ll journey map the current, as well as the ideal, situation. From there, we can look at the gaps between the two states and ideate possible solutions. These are interactive webinars in which learners will engage with the instructor and other participants.   Description of Webinar 3 (Journey Mapping): Now that we have a clear picture of what the problem is and who the problem affects, we are going to explore the weeds of it through journey mapping. This is done by walking through each step of the experience that accompanies your problem as it currently exists, paying particular attention to the pain points which can become opportunities. For example, you might consider the current experiences that community members have when trying to access fresh and healthy food in their neighborhood. The first step may be online research to find local, and affordable food sources. A pain point that could be identified is that people don’t know what to search or where to look. Using this same process, we will comparatively make an ideal experience, then contrast the two to identify possible solutions. This recording is approximately 90 minutes. There are no prerequisites. Participants will need a broadband internet connection (Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred browsers) and computer speakers. For technical support, please contact emoryphtc@emory.edu. CERTIFICATE:  The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard.   About the Trainer Meaghan Kennedy Meaghan’s experience intersects innovation, public health, and social entrepreneurship. After an epidemiology research career at CDC, she founded Orange Sparkle Ball, an innovation and impact consultancy that accelerates initiatives in the private and public sector and works with both domestic and global partners. With an acceleration methodology rooted in design thinking, Orange Sparkle Ball focuses on open innovation, innovation program design, social entrepreneurship and community activation. Meaghan has taught at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. She has been a guest reviewer at Georgia Tech since 2007, a judge and mentor for the Global Social Venture Competition and Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), a mentor for social entrepreneurs and is a frequently invited to speak on innovation and entrepreneurship. Sophie Becker Sophie is a design strategist who joined Orange Sparkle Ball after being a design apprentice at their sister organization, Spark Corps. She is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Industrial Design and a minor in psychology. She focuses on strategy and communications for community networks and public health innovation projects. She has a particular interest in how design and innovation can drive progress addressing in systemic challenges, which a particular interest in housing and health. Previously she has worked as an industrial designer for a startup, a product designer at a traditional design agency, and a graphic designer at a corporate sustainable beauty company. Liris Berra Liris Berra is a Public Health Innovation Analyst who joined the Orange Sparkle Ball team through the Rollins Earn and Learn partnership with Rollins School of Public Health. She is a graduate of the University of Miami with a dual BS degree in Public Health and Elementary Education with minors in Psychology and Biology. As part of the Orange Sparkle Ball team, Liris works to develop public health communications, explores the intersection of implementation science, innovation, and design, and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data. Her previous work has been primarily in community-based settings, working as an educator, the social service sector, and with NGOs at the local level. Liris is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health and a certificate in the Social Determinants of Health. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on January 19, 2022. Series Description:  Systems problems, by definition, are complex and can seem impossible to tackle. However, there are tools and innovative approaches that might help public health professionals and partners make progress on these problems. Join us for a 3 part webinar series to learn tools and approaches for tackling large-scale community challenges, from maternal health to opioid overdoses. In the first webinar, we will cover stakeholder mapping and how understanding the whole ecosystem of players can help you decide who to include in co-creating solutions and what communications approaches to use. The second webinar will cover right-sizing your problem so that you can effectively approach and tackle it. Finally, building off the identified parts of the ecosystem, in the third webinar, we’ll journey map the current, as well as the ideal, situation. From there, we can look at the gaps between the two states and ideate possible solutions. These are interactive webinars in which learners will engage with the instructor and other participants.   Description of Webinar 2 (Right-Sizing Problem Statements): We often approach problems with the aim to solve everything at once. How often do we hear people saying they are passionate about solving big issues like ‘climate change’ or ‘vaccine hesitancy’? The sentiment of this instinct is good, however, we live in a deeply interconnected world full of complex problems. It is never as simple as we want to be. In order to optimize the efficiency of solutions, it’s crucial to strategically narrow down problem statements, which through problem exploration, peer support, and the 5Ws, we will do in this session. Speaker Information Meaghan Kennedy Meaghan’s experience intersects innovation, public health, and social entrepreneurship. After an epidemiology research career at CDC, she founded Orange Sparkle Ball, an innovation and impact consultancy that accelerates initiatives in the private and public sector and works with both domestic and global partners. With an acceleration methodology rooted in design thinking, Orange Sparkle Ball focuses on open innovation, innovation program design, social entrepreneurship and community activation. Meaghan has taught at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. She has been a guest reviewer at Georgia Tech since 2007, a judge and mentor for the Global Social Venture Competition and Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), a mentor for social entrepreneurs and is a frequently invited to speak on innovation and entrepreneurship. Sophie Becker Sophie is a design strategist who joined Orange Sparkle Ball after being a design apprentice at their sister organization, Spark Corps. She is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Industrial Design and a minor in psychology. She focuses on strategy and communications for community networks and public health innovation projects. She has a particular interest in how design and innovation can drive progress addressing in systemic challenges, which a particular interest in housing and health. Previously she has worked as an industrial designer for a startup, a product designer at a traditional design agency, and a graphic designer at a corporate sustainable beauty company. Liris Berra Liris Berra is a Public Health Innovation Analyst who joined the Orange Sparkle Ball team through the Rollins Earn and Learn partnership with Rollins School of Public Health. She is a graduate of the University of Miami with a dual BS degree in Public Health and Elementary Education with minors in Psychology and Biology. As part of the Orange Sparkle Ball team, Liris works to develop public health communications, explores the intersection of implementation science, innovation, and design, and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data. Her previous work has been primarily in community-based settings, working as an educator, the social service sector, and with NGOs at the local level. Liris is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health and a certificate in the Social Determinants of Health. CERTIFICATE:  The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more

Note: This is a recording of a webinar held on December 8, 2021. Series Description: Systems problems, by definition, are complex and can seem impossible to tackle. However, there are tools and innovative approaches that might help public health professionals and partners make progress on these problems. Join us for a 3 part webinar series to learn tools and approaches for tackling large-scale community challenges, from maternal health to opioid overdoses. In the first webinar, we will cover stakeholder mapping and how understanding the whole ecosystem of players can help you decide who to include in co-creating solutions and what communications approaches to use. The second webinar will cover right-sizing your problem so that you can effectively approach and tackle it. Finally, building off the identified parts of the ecosystem, in the third webinar, we’ll journey map the current, as well as the ideal, situation. These are interactive webinars in which learners will engage with the instructor and other participants.   Description of Webinar 1 (Stakeholder Mapping): The innovation approach is human-centric, so to start we need to first and foremost be centering those affected by the issue. We do this through stakeholder mapping. This goes beyond just identifying one single ‘user’, but rather steps back to look at the multiple tiers of stakeholders and explore how they all relate and affect each other. This is one of the foundational pieces of fully understanding and reevaluating challenges.  Speaker Information Meaghan Kennedy Meaghan’s experience intersects innovation, public health, and social entrepreneurship. After an epidemiology research career at CDC, she founded Orange Sparkle Ball, an innovation and impact consultancy that accelerates initiatives in the private and public sector and works with both domestic and global partners. With an acceleration methodology rooted in design thinking, Orange Sparkle Ball focuses on open innovation, innovation program design, social entrepreneurship and community activation. Meaghan has taught at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. She has been a guest reviewer at Georgia Tech since 2007, a judge and mentor for the Global Social Venture Competition and Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), a mentor for social entrepreneurs and is a frequently invited to speak on innovation and entrepreneurship. Sophie Becker Sophie is a design strategist who joined Orange Sparkle Ball after being a design apprentice at their sister organization, Spark Corps. She is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Industrial Design and a minor in psychology. She focuses on strategy and communications for community networks and public health innovation projects. She has a particular interest in how design and innovation can drive progress addressing in systemic challenges, which a particular interest in housing and health. Previously she has worked as an industrial designer for a startup, a product designer at a traditional design agency, and a graphic designer at a corporate sustainable beauty company. Liris Berra Liris Berra is a Public Health Innovation Analyst who joined the Orange Sparkle Ball team through the Rollins Earn and Learn partnership with Rollins School of Public Health. She is a graduate of the University of Miami with a dual BS degree in Public Health and Elementary Education with minors in Psychology and Biology. As part of the Orange Sparkle Ball team, Liris works to develop public health communications, explores the intersection of implementation science, innovation, and design, and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data. Her previous work has been primarily in community-based settings, working as an educator, the social service sector, and with NGOs at the local level. Liris is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health and a certificate in the Social Determinants of Health. CERTIFICATE:  The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation module. After accessing both modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Read more