Region IV Public Health Training Center

Colorectal Cancer: The latest research and guidance on risk, screening recommendations, and resources to support public health professionals Note: This is a recording of a live webinar held on March 26, 2024. Training Overview: In 2024, an estimated 159,600 cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in the US, and a total of 53,010 people will die from these cancers. Raising colorectal cancer screening rates is more critical than ever as incidence grows among people younger than 55 years of age. Even more concerning are recent findings that show colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second in women under 50 years old. This leads us to ask questions about why rates have gone up and what we should be looking for. This webinar will discuss current nutrition and colorectal cancer research being conducted through the American Cancer Society. It will also address the basics of colorectal cancer by touching on current guidelines and the importance of making this cancer an area of focus. The webinar will introduce the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and provide several resources available to public health practitioners.    About the Presenters: Caroline Um, PhD, MPH, RD, is a Principal Scientist in Population Science at the American Cancer Society (ACS). Her research focuses on understanding risk factors of colorectal and other gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular interest in colorectal cancer in younger populations. She first joined ACS as a postdoctoral fellow and investigated how various foods and nutrients are related to colorectal cancer risk. Now, to investigate the role of the gut and oral microbiomes in cancer risk and progression, she leads the CPS-3 Gut & Oral Microbiome Sub-Study, which has collected over 10,000 paired stool and saliva samples from participants of the CPS-3 cohort. Caroline received her BS and MPH degrees in Nutrition at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill and her PhD in Nutrition at Emory University.  Emily Bell, MPH, is the director of the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, a national coalition established by the American Cancer Society, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1997. In this role she leads a number of projects that support the 80% in Every Community initiative, a movement in which more than 1,800 organizations are working toward the shared goal of reaching colorectal cancer screening rates of 80% and higher in communities across the nation. Having worked in the field of cancer prevention and control for over 15 years, she is passionate about improving the quality of health and health care for underrepresented communities. Emily received her master’s in public health from Boston University and lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and two young children. CERTIFICATE:  The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation and resources module. After accessing these modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. 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 October 26, 2020. Training Overview As we begin discussions of re-opening the nation, we are all faced with the reality of walking back into a world that is vastly different than just a few months ago. Perhaps most noticeably, many public places have initiated mask policies. In a recent study completed in Hong Kong, it was determined that wearing a mask can decrease infection by 75%. In short, by wearing a cloth mask you significantly reduce your own risk of exposure to and spread of virus containing particles. Wearing a mask can be an effective protective measure in preventing community spread of COVID-19, however, we can’t ignore its effects on day to day life. Masks are annoying, uncomfortable, and inconvenient, especially when you need to vocally communicate while wearing one. The workforce is also moving towards virtual platforms in with thunderous acceleration. Virtual platforms also create challenges for communication from home-office ergonomic blunders to prolonged conference calls with less than superb equipment. This webinar is purposed to equip a diverse, public-facing group of professionals with information and skills necessary to overcome these communication barriers with excellence. Topic areas will include the anatomy and physiology of communication, purposeful enhancement of communication techniques to overcome physical and digital barriers, and recovery techniques to combat work and life related vocal fatigue. The webinar will be presented by Nathaniel Sundholm, MS, CCC-LSP, of the Emory Voice Center. 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 Nathaniel Sundholm, MS, CCC-LSP Nathaniel Sundholm, originally from Brooklyn New York, has a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology with voice specialization from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his clinical fellowship at the Emory Voice Center and has since remained a permanent member of the team. Clinical interests and growing expertise include singing voice rehabilitation, cough suppression, reactive airway therapy, dysphagia management, and community outreach/engagement. Nathaniel also has a rich performance background with experience in classical voice, Gospel, R&B, Musical Theatre, and CCM. 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 self-paced online course. Training Overview Plain language is important to use to increase the understanding of our health promotion, education, and communication efforts for the communities we serve. After completing this course, you will know the basic principles of plain language and understand the benefits of clearer communication in all your work. You will also learn how to apply the principles to content ranging from educational materials to social media posts.  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. The entire training is expected to take 20 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 June 11, 2020. Training Overview The COVID-19 pandemic has provided and continues to provide huge challenges to our public health system. One challenge has been behavioral, in that mitigating the consequences of the disease involves huge behavioral changes and long term cooperation on the part of the public at large. Changing behavior and gaining the public’s cooperation is in part a problem in communication and persuasion. In this webinar, we will discuss four challenges to communicating successfully during the COVID-19 pandemic including: (1) the need for clear, consistent, credible and apolitical communication (CCCaP); (2) how various types of informational uncertainty challenge CCCaP; (3) how misinformation challenges CCCaP and how it can be addressed (and not addressed); and (4) looking ahead to the virus’ demise with the development of a successful vaccine, public health campaigns must ready the public to accept vaccination especially in communities which have traditionally had low vaccination rates. 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 Joseph N. Cappella, PhD Joseph N. Cappella is the Gerald R. Miller Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at The University of Pennsylvania. Professor Cappella has been a visiting professor at Northwestern University, the University of Arizona, and a visiting scholar at Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research has resulted in more than 185 articles and book chapters and four co-authored books in areas of health and political communication, social interaction, nonverbal behavior, media effects, and statistical methods. The articles have appeared in journals of psychology, communication, health, and politics. His research has been supported by grants from NIMH, NIDA, NSF, NCI, NHGRI, the FDA, the Twentieth Century Fund, and from the Markle, Ford, Carnegie, Pew, and Robert Wood Johnson foundations. He has served on the editorial boards of 20 different journals and directed 50 doctoral dissertations. 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 self-paced online course. Training Overview This course provides an introduction to community assessment, data collection and sharing data findings. It is an introductory-level course designed to build competence in data analytics and assessment as well as community engagement in public health professionals, especially those in the governmental public health workforce. There are no prerequisites. The course contains four modules: the content module, reflection questions, tools and resources, and an evaluation. After finishing all four modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. The entire training is expected to take 45 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. The content was developed by Kirsten Rodgers, EdD, MSPH, MCHES®, Principal and Owner of Proximate Learning.  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 self-paced online course. Training Overview: Community assessments use qualitative methods to learn about beliefs, values, and perspectives of needs and assets of a community. Qualitative methods include interviews, focus groups, and forums. The purpose of this course is to introduce focus groups as a method to gain valuable community-level data and provide a practical strategy to plan for, conduct, and analyze the results of a focus group. It is an introductory-level course designed to build competence in data analytics and assessment as well as community engagement in public health professionals, especially those in the governmental public health workforce. There are no prerequisites. This course contains six modules: an interactive video, an activity, a handout, reflection questions, resources and an evaluation. The entire training is expected to take 60 minutes to complete. After finishing all modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion. When the certificate is available, learners will see a Certificate button on their dashboard. 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. The content was developed by Kirsten Rodgers, EdD, MSPH, MCHES®, Principal and Owner of Proximate Learning.    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