PRCHN to sponsor Ohio Evidence-Based Public Health Training Course June 16-19

The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN) at Case Western Reserve University will sponsor the Ohio Evidence-Based Public Health (EBPH) Training Course June 16-19 at Case Western Reserve. As with the first course offered last year, 35 local and state public health department officials will be in attendance. PRCHN collaborates with the Ohio Research Association for Public Health Improvement (RAPHI), a practice-based research network of local health departments across Ohio, to offer this nationally recognized, three and a half day Evidence-Based Public Training Course. The specially tailored Ohio course will feature Ohio-specific data, insight from successful Ohio initiatives, and guidance from instructors who practice public health in Ohio. Faculty include:

• Elaine Borawski, the Angela Bowen Williamson Professor of Community Nutrition in the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Medicine and the director of the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded center focused on community-based prevention research
• Scott Frank, associate professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Family Medicine and the founding director of the Master of Public Health Program at School of Medicine
• Mendel Singer, associate professor and vice chair of education in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the director of research in the Master of Public Health program at School of Medicine
• Christopher Kippes, director of epidemiology, surveillance and informatics (ESI) at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH)

Highlighting the linkages between data systems and program/policy initiatives, participants will learn how to access, interpret and use data to make evidence-based program and policy decisions.  As state and local health departments prepare for accreditation, the topics, techniques and tools provided through this course will enhance current understanding of the principles of evidence-based public health, health assessment, improvement planning and evaluation. Evidence-based public health is the "development, implementation, and evaluation of effective programs and policies in public health application of principles of scientific reasoning (Kohatsu, et al. Am J Prev Med 2004:27(5).” Applied use of evidence-based interventions at the state and local levels is critical to achieving successful public health outcomes, a skilled and adaptable workforce, and more efficient and effective use of resources. For more information about the course or the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods, visit prchn.org.