Council on
Linkages Between Academia and Public Health PracticeCouncil on
Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, July 14, 1999
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
NACCHO Annual Conference
Dearborn, Michigan
Members Present: Susan Allan, Ronald Brown, Gary Coleman, Diane Downing, C. William Keck (Chair), Charles Mahan, Janet Porter, Randy Schwartz, Hugh Tilson, Martin Wasserman
Other Participants Present: Ned Baker, Grace Duncan, Matthew Guidry, Alan Melnick, Ron Merrill, Carol Roddy, Mark Smolinski Staff Present: Ron Bialek, Dianna Conrad, Sima Patel
I. Opening Business
Dr. C. William Keck, Chair, opened the meeting, welcomed all participants, delivered a thank you to the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for the meeting room, and led introductions. The minutes from the previous Council meeting on March 17, 1999 were unanimously approved.
II. Public Health Workforce Skills and Competencies – {Objectives 2, 4, 7, 8}
Mr. Ron Merrill of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) opened discussion on the Council’s proposal to refine and validate desirable workforce skills and competencies for the delivery of the Essential Public Health Services. He began by announcing that HRSA plans to allocate $50,000 to $60,000 through a cooperative agreement with the Public Health Foundation (PHF) to engage in this proposed activity. Mr. Ron Bialek followed up with a suggestion that the Council coordinate with initiatives already being pursued in this area by Dr. Kristine Gebbie to ensure that Council activities are complementary and not duplicative.
Mr. Merrill also informed the Council that the fiscal year 2000 competitive grant and cooperative agreement schedule will include establishing Public Health Training Centers. Council members requested that staff e-mail the corresponding HRSA website address for further information on this Request for Proposals (RFP).
Dr. Keck informed the Council of the American Public Health Association’s $50,000 grant from the National Center on Environmental Health for establishing a panel of experts to identify core environmental health competencies for practicing public health at the local level. He indicated that more information could be obtained from Annette Ferebee at APHA (e-mail: annette.ferebee@apha.org, phone: 202-777-2494).
Several Council members and participants expressed concern that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) was moving away from initiatives on public health work force training. She indicated that this was especially notable in light of the Pew Foundation’s decision not to pursue workforce development issues because of a misperception that the RWJF and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation were also pursuing workforce development related agendas.
III. National Public Health Research Agenda – {Objectives 1, 5, 6}
As discussion turned to the National Public Health Practice Research Agenda, Dr. Hugh Tilson suggested that the Council serve as the steering group for this project, bringing together the various important agencies and parlaying information between the academic and practice communities. It was agreed that Dr. Martin Wasserman, Mr. Randy Schwartz, and Dr. Tilson would form the initial working group within the Council focusing on the importance of fostering a complementary relationship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its prevention research effort. Also noted was the need to distinguish between prevention research and practice research. While the CDC’s focus is on prevention research, coordination with Dr. Ruth Berkelman, head of the Office of Prevention Research at CDC, is vital.
Dr. Charles Mahan outlined the importance of developing a research agenda particularly to help secure funds for primary prevention efforts. Accordingly, a motion was made for the Council, PHF, and CDC to sponsor a forum for bringing together health prevention professionals through a national audioconference. As a related Council activity, Ms. Diane Downing, Dr. Janet Porter, Mr. Schwartz, Dr. Keck, and Dr. Tilson volunteered to look into the possibility of forming a pilot forum, "Scholarly Practice Advice Forum." Under the guidance of the Council, and with the possibility of spin-off later, this forum would seek to create a medium of discussion for public health professionals in the public health practice research arena. Dr. John Eisenberg, of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) were mentioned as parties that may be interested in these ideas.
Dr. Tilson also informed members of the Council’s session at the APHA annual meeting – "Developing a National Public Health Practice Research Agenda," on Monday, November 8, 1999 from 2:15 PM - 3:45 PM at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in the San Francisco Room.
IV. Report Card - {Objective – All}
Ms. Dianna Conrad presented a report highlighting Council accomplishments since its inception in 1991. Council members agreed that the contents of the report were more a Performance Review than a "Report Card" and should be renamed as such. Dr. Susan Allan added that this report would be useful for new members of the Council as a review of all activities.
Dr. Tilson recommended the report take a more output-oriented perspective that focuses on outcomes. It was also proposed that the Council begin setting measurable objectives at the start of each year. Evaluation of these measurable objectives would serve as the Council’s yearly report card. It was agreed that a summarized version of the Performance Review would be included in a future issue of The Link, with access to the full copy on the Council website.
V. State Association of County Health Officials (SACHO) Demonstration Project –
{Objective 7}Dr. Keck updated the Council on his plans to promote the SACHO demonstration project in Ohio through meetings with the Ohio Public Health Association, the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, and the Ohio Department of Health, in August. Dr. Keck also agreed to look into a possible collaboration with the Ohio chapter of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). It is anticipated that through this demonstration project, tools/models and lessons learned will result which will be useful to other states that are trying to make the link between state/local public health agencies and academic institutions.
VII. Academic/Practice Linkage Activities – {Objectives 1, 3, 7}
Dr. Keck thanked Mr. Milne and NACCHO for their valuable assistance in distributing the Council’s Academic/Practice information gathering instrument in NACCHO’s membership monthly.
Ms. Conrad related findings from this information gathering instrument, aimed at securing information about local health departments that self-identify as having linkages with academic institutions. She indicated that an overwhelming majority of the 123 respondents stated that they do have a relationship with academic institutions of higher learning. An overwhelming majority also indicated a willingness to be contacted for further questioning; including two respondents who reported not having any relationship with academe. Next steps for staff include following up with willing survey respondents to learn more about their academic partnerships as well as determine desire and availability of respondents to meet informally as a group in the future.
In response to Ms. Conrad’s presentation, Ms. Downing suggested the formation of an electronic list server for local health departments to serve as a type of support group in their pursuit of successful student intern management. Dr. Wasserman suggested cultivating a working relationship with the various local health departments to obtain information on outcomes and successful processes in bridging academic public health to community level practice efforts. Dr. Allan suggested as a follow up to the initial survey, a plan to collect additional information - including characteristics of local health departments with active linkage activities as well as average geographic proximity of departments to schools of public health.
Dr. Tilson suggested Council staff compile all past abstracts submitted for Linkages Awards and past Link articles to illustrate examples of academic/practice linkages, which may indeed represent "best practices." Mr. Bialek mentioned that the information gathering database of health department contacts reporting partnerships with academe might be of interest to the CDC Office of Prevention Research. It was decided that sharing of the list of contacts would be explored with permission from the survey respondents.
Dr. Keck reaffirmed the purpose of the information gathering activity as an inexpensive way to identify some local health departments who have relationships with academe and to build from that information. Dr. Porter suggested that the Council try to establish a baseline of academic/practice linkages and establish objectives for increasing the number and types of linkages. This could be used for monitoring the impact of Council activities. Volunteers to brainstorm and discuss this idea more included Dr. Mahan, Dr. Allan, Dr. Wasserman, and Mr. Gary Coleman.
VII. National Public Health Performance Standards Program –
{Objectives 1, 6}Dr. Tilson led the discussion on performance standards by proposing that the Council take a role in the initiative by helping to bring academic partners to the three states serving as pilot sites. He suggested a meeting with Dr. Paul Halverson from the CDC to explore this possibility as well as invite him to speak at a future Council Meeting. Dr. Tilson volunteered to develop an objective statement for the Council in this area and bring it to a future meeting. The Council agreed with the goals of increasing accountability and improving performance. Involving the academic community in helping local health departments with performance measurement and quality improvement could be of benefit to both the academic and practice communities.
It was also noted that the American College of Preventive Medicine went on record at the American Medical Association meeting as supporting the accreditation of local health departments.
VIII. Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) Accreditation –
{Objectives 1, 2}Dr. Keck brought attention to a letter received on behalf of the Council from CEPH addressing some of the recommendations made by the Council. The Council also discussed the status of the University of Hawaii School of Public Health. There are indications that the School may be merged into the school of medicine as a graduate program, rather than remaining a school of public health due to financial constraints.
IX. Linkages Awards – {Objectives 1, 5, 8}
Mr. Bialek spoke briefly about the Linkages Award, highlighting the large number of responses this year at twenty-three submissions. It was decided that in light of Council objectives to solidify actual linkages, joint authorship would be required for award submissions. The Council also agreed that either party could submit the proposal. Furthermore, it was determined that all awards be community-based/population-based activities, not activities that primarily involve direct delivery of individual clinical services.
The Council further decided to strive to have the projects described in these abstracts written up and published in peer reviewed journals. APHA is expected to announce a major new initiative to make its journal more practice oriented. This may improve the likelihood of getting these published in the future. Another journal suggested was SOPHE’s Health Promotion Practice. It was also suggested that the Council refer authors to respective journal editors in advance and that the Council update the list of journals that publish public health practice articles. Once updated, the list should be posted on the Council web site.
X. Healthy People 2010 Objectives Update – {Objectives 1, 6}
Dr. Matthew Guidry from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) joined the Council meeting to share information regarding the Healthy People 2010 initiative, including the Healthy People 2010 Launch Conference slated for January 24 to 28, 2000 in Washington D.C. He also provided an update from the Surgeon General’s Office on the status of the Leading Health Indicators.
Dr. Guidry reported that of the 550 Healthy People Objectives, 57 percent are measurable. The Healthy People 2010 document is separated into three volumes - volume one: introduction and leading health indicators; volume two: specific objectives; volume three: scientific data on how objectives were developed. He further reported that the Healthy People 2010 Toolkit was slated for an August distribution by ODPHP to all healthy people state action contacts, with additional plans to use National Public Health Awareness Week to have states introduce their individual Healthy People 2010 plans, drafts, or other materials they have developed.
Dr. Mark Smolinski reported on a memorandum sent to Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, listing a set of 12 leading health indicators as proposed by the IOM committee on Leading Health Indicators. These Leading Health Indicators will guide Health Status Reports for the nation over the next decade. A set of ten to twelve indicators will be finalized by Dr. Satcher and released in January 2000.
A motion was raised and passed for Council staff to prepare an abstract for the Healthy People 2010 Launch Conference in January 2000. Staff will draft and circulate an abstract to Council members.
XI. Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
Management Committee Work Force Meeting,
Status of Recommendations – {Objective 6}Dr. Wasserman reported on the status of action steps resulting from the ASTHO Management Committee Work Force meeting in January. A draft memorandum of Understanding was circulated to Council members in their meeting packets and Dr. Wasserman reflected that the challenge now is to add specifics to designated actions.
Ms. Roddy of HRSA reported that this week HRSA and CDC both submitted budgets with greater emphasis on workforce development and advised Council members to look for results of CDC/HRSA coordination in this area in January 2000.
XII. National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) –
Request for Council Membership – {Objectives 1, 4, 8}NALBOH, represented by Ms. Grace Duncan and Mr. Ned Baker, attended the Council meeting to request Council membership. In their presentation, they outlined the need to educate local boards of health about the importance of working with the students of public health and provided a description of NALBOH. They discussed how NALBOH is divided into seven districts throughout the nation and board members include two university professors. NALBOH membership is comprised of over 530 boards of health, totaling about 5,000 board members.
A motion to accept NALBOH as a full member of the Council was made by Dr. Mahan, seconded by Dr. Porter, and unanimously approved by all members.
XIII. Other Council Activities – {Objectives 1, 5, 7, 8}
Dr. Keck led discussion on the revised Council objectives and strategies. Dr. Allan suggested that the Council develop a subset of measurable objectives within the more general objectives. Dr. Tilson supported the formation of an official Council workplan and it was decided that Council staff would begin drafting a subset of measurable objectives for calendar year 2000. The June 1999 revised objectives and strategies were adopted.
It was suggested that Council staff develop a short summary of articles for each issue of The Link to include in member organization newsletters. This page would also include the web address for the latest issue.
Mr. Bialek reported that the Council would continue to be funded by HRSA for Fiscal Year 2000.
There was a call for organizational updates to be presented at the next Council meeting. Staff will send a reminder notice with guidelines for this update to Council members and their staff contact persons.
XIV. Other Business
Council members were reminded of the next meeting date, October 18, 1999 in Washington, D.C.
Council members requested that the dates for next year’s meetings be set as soon as possible, and it was suggested that the Council coordinate one of its year 2000 meetings with the joint ASTHO/NACCHO meeting being held in Los Angeles, California from July 19-22, 2000.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.
***