Rationale and Design of Distance-Based Training to Persuade Local Health Department Employees that Addressing Social Determinants of Health Is Their Job, Too

• Published in: Journal of public health management and practice Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 448 - 453
• Main Authors: Bernstein, Melissa F, Cinnick, Samantha E, Franzosa, Emily, Murrman, Marita K, Freudenberg, Nicholas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-09-2019
• Subjects: Education, Distance - methods; Education, Distance - trends; Health Personnel - education; Health Personnel - psychology; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Local Government; Public Health - education; Public Health - methods; Public Health - trends; Social Determinants of Health; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1078-4659; 1550-5022
• DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000827

Public health workers in local health departments frequently rate skills needed to address social determinants of health among their top training needs. These workers have the ability to impact social determinants of health, but many may believe this responsibility is not part of their job description or that they do not have the necessary skills or resources. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion and employing the case study method of instruction, the Region 2 Public Health Training Center designed a 45-minute, self-paced, online training module, titled Strategies to Advance Health Equity: How Health Departments Can Promote Living Wages, to persuade public health workers that addressing social determinants of health, especially those related to income disparities, is part of their day-to-day responsibilities. This article describes the module design, promising preliminary assessment data, and the formal evaluation plan.