Academic Health Collaborative of Worcester
Document Type
PosterPublication Date
2018-03-09Keywords
Academic Health Collaborative of Worcesterpublic health
academic partners
Civic and Community Engagement
Community-Based Research
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Public Health
Translational Medical Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The Academic Health Collaborative of Worcester (AHCW) is a formal partnership between local universities and the Worcester Division of Public Health (WDPH) to bridge academics and practice for the purpose of public health improvement. The mission of the ACHW is to foster collaboration between the WDPH, UMass Memorial Medical Center, and academic partners to improve community health and develop public health research and practice leaders. Current academic partners include Clark University, UMass Medical School, and Worcester State University. The collaborative allows the WDPH to work closely with faculty to create a study or project with student deliverables co-designed by faculty and WDPH staff to advance the strategic plan of the WDPH and the Community Health Improvement Plan. Successful AHCW workforce development initiatives have included internships, clerkships, consultancies, and service learning assistantships. Most recently, a consultant developed materials to improve the structure and capacity of the AHCW. Due to this work, we anticipate additional partners to join the AHCW in the coming months. Student education, workforce development, and practice-focused research make the AHCW uniquely positioned to improve the public's health through an interdisciplinary approach. Through the collaborative, WDPH can leverage local expertise to help achieve its goal of becoming the healthiest city in New England by 2020.DOI
10.13028/txb8-0s22Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/26717Rights
Copyright the Author(s)Distribution License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright the Author(s)
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Evidence-Based Public Health: Findings from a Research Project and Resources for PracticeThis presentation to the University of Massachusetts Medical School Preventive Medicine Residency Program presents an introduction to evidence-based public health (EBPH), and overview of the Lamar Soutter Library’s Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health (EBPPH) project and research findings, and selected examples of EBPH information resources available from the project’s website, http://library.umassmed.edu/ebpph.
-
Identifying evidence-based best practices in Maternal and Child HealthThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Information Center has funded a medical library project to develop an electronic resource of current, evidence-based public health best practices identified in the journal literature. This resource will assist university faculty and federal, state and local public health department personnel in identifying evidence-based best practices in maternal and child health. The results to date include a project website; lists of public health journals and bibliographic databases; a chart of public health sources, knowledge domains, and sub-domains; current evidence-based best practices identified in maternal and child health; and a table of public health journals matched with each knowledge domain and sub-domain. This methodology for developing resources related to a specific knowledge domain such as maternal and child health can also be used in other areas of public health. The description of the criteria presently used for defining evidence-based best practices can be used in reviews of the public health literature. Presented at the 131st Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association.
-
Improving Access to Credible and Relevant Information for Public Health Professionals: A Qualitative Study of Information Needs in Communicable Disease ControlIn order to understand the information needs and the current and ideal approaches to information access in one major area of public health, semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with 12 communicable disease control public health professionals in Massachusetts at their worksite. Examples of the types of information they commonly accessed and how it was accessed were solicited and/or observed where feasible. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Information needs ranged from breaking news (e.g. epidemiology of emerging disease outbreaks) and untested programmatic ideas (e.g. how to handle prevention and treatment of West Nile Virus and SARS) to the need for published evidence-based information about better known diseases (e.g. tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS). Current preferences for information delivery mechanisms varied according to the type of information sought. Information about emerging diseases and programmatic interventions to address these were more often obtained from email alert systems and from informal local and national networks of colleagues via telephone, teleconference or special interest listservs. Information about more well-known diseases was often obtained via websites, general or specific journal search engines, or from listservs providing citations to new or updated sources of information about these diseases. Informants identified improvements to the existing information access and delivery systems that could meet their needs more effectively. This session will review areas for improvements identified by informants and suggest models that can be implemented to help public health professionals access credible and relevant information. Oral presentation at the 2004 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
