Objectives and Indicators
for the Southeast Public Health Training Center

HRSA’s overarching goal in funding Public Health Training Centers across the United States is “to improve the Nation’s public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial and leadership competencies and capabilities of the current and future public health workforce,” particularly in under-served regions. The Southeast Public Health Training Center proposal adopts this goal as its mission in six Southeastern states – Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia – with demonstrable geographically and medically under-served populations. Furthermore, in funding these centers, HRSA expects delivery of programs that help meet national Healthy People 2000/2010 objectives, that increase the number of health practitioners in under-served areas, and that help increase diversity in the health professions.

The SPHTC will be designed and managed to accomplish the aforementioned five public health goals. The Training Center will: 1) be efficient and effective, 2) be “virtual”, 3) offer  customized planning and educational products designed for the adult learner, 4) build educational capacity within the states, and 5) be outcomes-driven. The Training Center’s goals, outcomes and indicators are described below in the format requested by HRSA. The time frames referenced for outcomes reflect completion date by quarter and year and are also presented in the timeline.

Goal 1: Assess the public health workforce competency needs and educational programming in the six-state Southeastern region.

 Outcome 1:  PIs develop STPHC Office (First Qtr, Year One)

  Indicator: SPHTC  staff hired and oriented.
Outcome 2: PIs develop web-site as a vehicle for communication and promotion as well as service as a data repository. (First Qtr, Year One)
Indicator: 1: SPHTC web-site designed.
Indicator: 2: SPHTC web-site operational.
Indicator 3: SPHTC web-site reports increasing volume and recognition as data resource .
Outcome 3: SPHTC establishes Coordinating Council of SPHTC academic and practice partners. (First Qtr, Year One)
Indicator 1: State and academic partners for six-state region defined.
Indicator 2: Support agreements, clarifying expectations and final support, signed between SPHTC and the partners.
Outcome 4: SPHTC orients Coordinating Council, each state’s status in terms of public health workforce assessment, SPHTC project goals. (Second  Qtr, Year One)
Indicator  1: Successful meeting held to introduce and orient Coordinating Council.
Indicator 2: Coordinating Council identifies benefits of regionalization of public health workforce training and innovative means for regionalization to occur.
Outcome 5: SPHTC Coordinating Council adopts a set of objectives and workplan for the SPHTC. Assessment objectives are monitored and revised as necessary throughout grant period. (Second Qtr, Year One)
Indicator: Set of objectives and workplan adopted by SPHTC Coordinating Council.
Outcome 6: SPHTC Coordinating Council defines public health workforce for consistent data collection across the Southeastern region. (Second Qtr, Year One)
 Indicator: SPHTC Coordinating Council establishes scope of SPHTC for consistent data collection and communication.
Outcome 7: SPHTC Coordinating Council adopts measures of public health  competencies  and goals for  2010. (Second Qtr, Year One)
Indicator: Coordinating Council adopts definitions of public health competencies
Outcome 8: SPHTC staff and academic and practice partners compile information on public health workforce surveys, studies, reports and research for each of the states. (Second Qtr, Year One)
Indicator: Compendium of current information regarding workforce in Southeastern region available on the SPHTC web.
Outcome 9: SPHTC staff compile information on current public health educational programs. (Third Qtr, Year One)
Indicator 1: Catalogue of public health educational offerings available on the SPHTC web-site.
Indicator 2: Links established on the SPHTC web to public health educational offerings in the Southeastern region
Outcome 10: SPHTC academic partners conduct needs assessment (market research) for defined public health professionals to identify competency needs. (Third Qtr, Year One)
Indicator: Needs assessment report prepared by the academic partners for the practice partners in each state.
Outcome 11: SPHTC staff and academic partners adopt measures of competencies and educational levels of the public health workforce in the Southeastern region. (Third Qtr, Year One)
Indicator 1: Database available reporting competency levels for defined  competencies by type of public health professional
Indicator 2: Database available reporting education level attained by type of public health professional
Goal 2: To design a state-specific customized plan for public health workforce education and training.

Outcome 1:  SPHTC partners establish state Advisory Committee(s) or utilize an existing public health organizational entity to serve as the state Advisory Committee. (Third Qtr, Year One)

Indicator 1:  SPHTC Advisory Committee established.
Indicator 2: State Advisory Committee or other oversight state organizational entity which links public health academics and practitioners established
Outcome 2: SPHTC staff and academic and practice partners identify gaps between desired and actual competencies for targeted public health professionals. (Fourth Qtr, Year One)
Indicator 1:  Report identifying gaps prepared and distributed.
Indicator 2: Data on gaps serves as foundation for plan.
Outcome 3: SPHTC Coordinating council produces state and Southeastern region public health workforce plans. (Fourth Qtr, Year One)
Indicator 1: State plans are adopted and endorsed by state health departments and key public health organizations in the states and region
Indicator 2: State plans available on SPHTC web-site
Indicator 3: Regional plan/role adopted.
Outcome 4: The SPHTC planning process for each state and region is evaluated. (First Qtr, Year Two)
Indicator: Evaluation conducted and published evaluating effectiveness of planning process and lessons learned.
Goal 3: To coordinate the delivery of educational programs according the SPHTC plan

Outcome 1: SPHTC Coordinating Council identifies priority conferences, courses and workshops for each state according to plan (First Qtr, Year Two)

Indicator 1:  Increased participation in conferences, workshops, etc.
Indicator 2: Number of public health professionals trained in the public health core services
Outcome 2: SPHTC Coordinating Council identifies appropriate teaching methodologies. (First Qtr, Year Two)
Indicator: SPHTC conducts conference annually for faculty in Southeastern region on distance education, use of technology and priority public health competencies
Outcome 3: SPHTC academic partners facilitate delivery of priority courses for each state’s public health workforce development plan in appropriate format and frequency. (On-going)
Indicator 1: Priority courses developed and delivered for target audience.
Indicator 2: Competency improved for in priority areas for select professionals.
Outcome 4: Market regional public health educational programs. (First quarter, Year Two)
Indicator: User-friendly SPHTC web-site operational directing public health professionals to programs within their area.
Outcome 5: Scheduling, registration, records maintained by academic partners  (First Quarter, Year Two)
 Indicator: Courses scheduled to meet educational priorities in each state
Goal 4: To encourage collaborative projects between academia and practice to serve the medically under-served

Outcome 1: The SPHTC Coordinating Council works with Council on Linkages to promote cost-effective means (best practices) in region for linking faculty and practitioners. (On-going)

Indicator: Faculty has increased awareness of models of collaborative practice models and opportunities.
Outcome 2: SPHTC practice partners identify priority medically under-served area in each state. (First Qtr, Year Two)
Indicator: SPHTC practice partners adopt medically underserved target population for each state.
Outcome 3: SPHTC develops criteria, promotes and grants awards to collaborative projects that address improved services to medically underserved target populations. (Second Qtr, Year Two)
 Indicator:  Coordinating Council adopts criteria, grants awards
Outcome 4: SPHTC staff evaluate effectiveness of efforts to promote academic-practice partnerships (First Quarter, Year Three)
Indicator: Assessment identifies barriers and stimulators to academic-practice partnerships.

Goal 5: To place students for field training in public or not-for-profit health agencies and organizations and recruit minorities into the health professions.

Outcome 1:  Moses Goldmon expands NC-HCAP Office. (First Qtr, First Year)

 Indicator: NC-HCAP staff hired and oriented.
Outcome 2: Representatives from each of the six states who lead programs to recruit minorities into the health professions identified and recruited to serve on the Southeastern NC-HCAP Committee. (First Qtr, First Year)
Indicator 1: State and academic partners for six-state region defined.
Indicator 2: Support agreements, clarifying expectations and final support, signed between SPHTC and the partners.
Outcome 3: SPHTC orients NC-HCAP Committee to role of SPHTC and NC-HCAP program, each state’s performance in terms of minority student recruitment into the health professions and current programs across the region. (Second Qtr, First Year)
Indicator 1: Successful meeting held to introduce and orient NC-HCAP Committee.
Indicator 2: SPHTC NC-HCAP Committee identifies benefits of regionalization of minority student recruitment programs and innovative means for regionalization to occur.
Outcome 4: NC-HCAP Committee adopts a set of goals and workplan for the Committee. Revise goals as necessary throughout grant period. (Third Qtr, First Year)
  Indicator: Set of goals and workplan adopted by NC-HCAP Committee.
Outcome 5: NC-HCAP Committee adopts public health workforce definition for consistent data collection across the Southeastern region (Third Qtr, First Year).
Indicator: NC-HCAP Committee establishes scope of SPHTC for consistent data collection and communication.
Outcome 6: NC-HCAP and SPHTC staff compile information and NC-HCAP Committees adopts 2010 goals for minority student representation for targeted health professions in the Southeastern region. (Fourth Qtr, First Year)
 
Indicator: SPHTC website has links to relevant reports and information for minorities on the recruitment in the health professions.
Outcome 7: NC-HCAP Committee writes plan and publishes report regarding recruitment of students into the health professions. (First  Qtr, Year Two)
Indicator 1: SPHTC Coordinating Council endorses NC-HCAP plan
Indicator 2: NC-HCAP plan distributed to key stakeholders in six-state region.
Outcome 8: UNC NC-HCAP Office trains their NC-HCAP counterparts in each state in the development of successful programs to recruit minorities into the health professions. (Fourth Qtr, Year One)
 
Indicator: Conference held with representation from all six states.
Outcome 9: Minority student recruitment programs in the Southeastern region assessed. (First Qtr, Year Three)
Indicator 1: Database available reporting competency levels for defined competencies by type of public health professional.
Indicator 2: Database available reporting education level attained by type of public health professional.
Outcome 10: SPHTC staff produces report on placement of students in field training. (First Qtr, Year Two)
Indicator 1: Report distributed to all schools in six-state region.
Indicator 2: SPHTC faculty conduct workshops and/or meetings at conferences on barriers to field placements and recommendations to increase the number and quality of student field placements in public health.
Outcome 11: SPHTC staff evaluate student field placement programs (First Quarter, Year Three)
Indicator 1: Report prepared identifying barriers and recommendation to enhance student field placements.
Indicator 2: Results shared with other public health training centers.