Online Workshop – Persuasive Communication: Influencing Patients, Partners, and the Public

Do you like to be told what to do or how to think? Most people don’t! But, as public health professionals, we are tasked with influencing behaviors, communities, and systems for the greater good. How do we persuade others in way that everyone wins?

This online workshop on 11/3/2022 borrows techniques from improvisational theater to help practitioners convey resonant, compelling public health messages to a variety of audiences. Participants will throw out the script and—instead of simply dispensing information—learn how to be present, show empathy and build real relationships with stakeholders. They will learn to quickly build connections, listen fully to get valuable information about an individual’s motivations, master body language to send signals of similarity, and strategize an effective plan so people feel heard, understood, and taken care of.  Public health professionals can apply this training when building coalitions, working with teams, crafting public information messages, and developing partnerships across other sectors.

Because listening and communication skills cannot be taught in a lecture or in a book, this workshop is full of fun and memorable learning experiences. Participants will be engaged in hands-on exercises, demonstrations, group activities, and games. Everything is designed to build participants’ abilities to be confident, effective communicators when they get back to workplace.

About the Trainer:
The Founder of Merlin Works, Shana Merlin, is a lecturer in the College of Medicine Texas A&M University and an associate at the Center for Health Communication at the University of Texas. Some of her most requested programs are on the topics of team building, communication, persuasion, leadership, medical communications, and creativity.

Shana is one of the most experienced and effective improv teachers in Texas. Presenting and performing nationwide, some of her clients have included Dell, Goodwill, The Four Seasons, The University of Texas and HP. Winner of “Best Improv Teacher” in Austin from the Austin Improv Collective, Shana founded Merlin Works, in 2003 to provide custom training, interactive presentations, and comedy shows to businesses and organizations using improvisation.

For more information and to register, please click here. 

Career Information Session, Medpace

Virtual Information Session, Avalere Health

Strategies for Combatting Health Misinformation – Webinar

Overview:

This is a live webinar scheduled for October 13, 2022 at 12PM CT.

Misinformation has been a risk factor throughout the pandemic, leading to more disease and death from COVID-19. Dr. Katrine Wallace (UIC School of Public Health) is an epidemiologist and social media science communicator who debunks misinformation and false claims about COVID-19 and the vaccines. In this webinar, Dr. Wallace will explain the difference between misinformation vs disinformation, discuss why disinformation is such a widespread public health issue, and identify strategies to combat health misinformation among your own friends/family/workplace.

This webinar is co-sponsored by Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

For more information and to register, click here. 

The ABC’s of Viral Hepatitis: Update for Public Health Professionals

Overview:

This is a live webinar scheduled for October 18, 2022 at 12PM CT.

This webinar will provide a snapshot of viral hepatitis epidemiology and an overview of the 2021-2025 US National Strategic Plan/Roadmap for Elimination which is highly relevant to the public health community. We will include a discussion about current surveillance data that reveals trends, challenges and opportunities, prevention through vaccination and approaches to treatment.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this webinar, participants should be able to:

1. Describe key approaches to stopping the spread of viral hepatitis, eliminating it as a public health threat, and saving lives
2. Discuss key strategies to increase vaccination and improve care and treatment of viral hepatitis
3. Describe the social determinants of health that contribute to the viral hepatitis epidemic and the unequal burden of viral hepatitis in the United States

Speaker: Barbara DeBaun, MSN, RN, CIC, Improvement Advisor at Cynosure Health

Barbara DeBaun has over 40 years of experience in the field of infection prevention and quality improvement. She is currently an Improvement Advisor with Cynosure Health where she provides vision and leadership in the development, implementation and facilitation of infection prevention and quality improvement initiatives for healthcare organizations. Barbara is a certified Infection Control Practitioner and holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Pace University in New York and a Master of Science Degree in Nursing from San Francisco State University. Barbara served two years as an elected member of APIC Board of Directors. Barbara has lectured nationally and internationally on a variety of patient safety and infection control topics and has published over a dozen articles and several book chapters. In 2008, she was selected as Infection Control Today’s Educator of the Year.

This webinar is co-sponsored by Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

For more information and to register, please click here. 

Practical Evaluation Skills for Public Health Practitioners – Online Interactive Workshop

Training Overview
This workshop is designed for people who are familiar with the value of evaluation and are looking to hone their practical evaluation skills. This course begins with a review of the CDC’s Six-Step Framework for Evaluation, partner engagement, logic models, and types of evaluation. Next, we will cover strategies for designing and implementing quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including surveys, interviews and focus groups. At the completion of the course, participants should be able contribute constructively to the design and implementation of evaluations for public health programs. Participants are highly encouraged to review these materials before the workshop:

• Community Tool Box – Developing an Evaluation Plan
• A Six-Step Model for Evaluation of Community-based Physical Activity Programs

About the Trainer
Dr. Ariela Freedman is a strengths-based Learning and Development Consultant with 20 years of experience in community and academic settings. She is a skilled adult educator and has taught a wide range of learners, including public health practitioners, health care professionals, students, nonprofit workers, and community members. Dr. Freedman began her career as a high school English, Drama, and Debate teacher in Chicago. She later directed health programming at Head Start in Minneapolis, worked as an ORISE fellow at CDC, then as an Assistant Research Professor in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. At Emory, Dr. Freedman taught classes and served as an evaluator to the Emory University Medical School and the Emory Public Health Training Center.

For more information and to register, click here.

Virtual Documentary Night, Emory Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response

Virtual Documentary Night is a monthly online event designed to give people the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions on a wide range of topics with people from various backgrounds. This Virtual Documentary Night is in collaboration with Emory University’s Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response. They serve as the center for Emory enterprise-wide planning and coordinated response to catastrophic events affecting Emory and the broader community. The office strives to empower our community through a variety of initiatives across preparedness, training, community outreach, education, and more to strengthen disaster resiliency.

We are meeting on October 2 to talk about the documentary, Flint’s Deadly Water. This FRONTLINEdocumentary, drawing from a two-year investigation, uncovers the extent of a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak during the Flint water crisis — and how officials failed to stop it. We will be joined by Abby Ellis (Journalist and Director) and Kayla Ruble (Journalist and Producer) for a special guest Q&A! You can watch the film for free HERE. You will first watch the film on your own prior to our event. For the event we will meet on Zoom, where you participate in multiple rounds of small group discussions with a different discussion prompt and different randomized groups for each round. This gives you the opportunity to hear a variety of perspectives throughout the night. We will end with the Q&A before closing out the night with final words and announcements from Emory University’s Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response. Again, you must watch the film on your own BEFORE the event. You will receive the Zoom link and password once you register for the event.

For more information and to register, please click here.

PhD Application Bootcamp, Emory University Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health

Rigor and Reproducibility Seminar Series: Introduction to the upcoming NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing

The Mystery and Epidemiology of Long COVID Webinar

Overview:

This is a live webinar scheduled for September 29, 2022 at 12 pm CT.

Two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is emerging evidence that in some patients, its symptoms may linger for months or even years after the initial infection. While prevalence estimates vary widely, such ‘long COVID’ symptoms likely persist in more than 10% of all COVID-19 cases. This webinar will summarize the current scientific debate about long COVID– is it an autoimmune disease, a consequence of comorbidities, or something else? We will draw on a recent study of 100,000+ COVID-19 cases to understand who is susceptible to long COVID, how long the symptoms can last, and whether vaccination can improve long COVID outcomes.

This webinar is presented by Stella Aslibekyan, PhD, Senior Scientist, Genetic Epidemiology, 23andMe; Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham & University of Kentucky. This webinar is co-sponsored by Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance, the Region IV Public Health Training Center, and the Deep South Center for OH&S .

For more information and to register, please click here.