Celebrating 20 Years of the Council on Linkages
2012 marked 20 years of leadership in public health workforce development for the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages). During that time, the Council on Linkages has grown to include 19 organizations representing a wide variety of stakeholders within the public health community, including state and local health departments, schools and programs of public health, local boards of health, public health laboratories, environmental health specialists, health educators, and more. The Council on Linkages collaborates to enhance public health practice, education, and research through efforts such as the Academic Health Department (AHD) Learning Community, the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies), the Public Health Training Impact initiative, and the Public Health Workforce Development Inventory initiative.
AHD Learning Community
The AHD Learning Community grew significantly in the past year, reaching over 230 members.
Meetings were held throughout the year, culminating in the second in-person meeting this fall during the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Resources and discussion continued to develop, and strategies for sustaining the community and member engagement were explored.
Public Health Training ImpactThe Training Impact Task Force concluded its work related to exploring strategies and methods for improving and measuring the impact of training in 2012. Literature on evaluation and training was gathered, and steps were taken toward the development of practical resources aimed at public health practitioners and educators.
Public Health Workforce Development Inventory
In late 2012, the Council on Linkages began a new effort to collect information on workforce development plans and activities from its organizational members, as well as to identify organizations not part of the Council on Linkages that engage in significant workforce development activities within the field of public health. This information could serve to support efforts related to more systematic planning for the public health workforce.
|