Public health professionals are regularly asked to recommend training programs for their constituents. For this assignment, you will assess a CDC environmental health training program of your choice.
Identify a training program that addresses Healthy People 2030: Objectives and DataLinks to an external site. associated with environmental health from the CDC's Environmental Health Services EHS Training.Links to an external site.
Write an evaluation of the program in which you complete the following:
Describe the approach the EHS training program uses to address Healthy People environmental health goals.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the program in meeting the requirements of the related environmental health policy.
Determine whether the program's design addresses the needs of the intended audience.
Create a list of questions to evaluate an environmental health training program.
Provide an academic rationale to support the evaluation criteria used.
Capacity Building: By providing standardized, expert-vetted knowledge, EHTER strengthens the foundational skills needed for local agencies to manage environmental hazards, which is a key requirement for achieving all environmental health goals in a resilient manner.
2. Effectiveness in Meeting Environmental Health Policy Requirements
The EHTER program is highly effective in meeting the requirements of related environmental health policy, particularly those concerning disaster preparedness, response, and recovery mandated by federal frameworks (e.g., the National Incident Management System, or NIMS).
Policy Compliance: EHTER instructs local officials on how to integrate EH functions into the federally mandated Incident Command System (ICS). This ensures that environmental assessments are done legally and systematically, adhering to procedural requirements during a crisis.
Standardization: By teaching standardized protocols for emergency food safety, shelter sanitation, and potable water access post-disaster, the program ensures that local responses meet minimum federal and state public health standards. This prevents fragmented and non-compliant responses that could lead to secondary public health crises.
Evidence-Based Practice: The program is developed by the CDC, ensuring the protocols taught are based on current scientific evidence and best practices, fulfilling the policy requirement for effective, science-based intervention.
Sample Answer
Evaluation of the CDC's EHTER Training Program
1. Approach to Healthy People 2030 Environmental Health Goals
The CDC's Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) program directly addresses the Healthy People 2030 domain of Environmental Health (EH), particularly the objective EH-05: Reduce the risk of harm from environmental emergencies.
EHTER's approach is to build the capacity of the local environmental health workforce (e.g., sanitarians, inspectors) to effectively assess, mitigate, and control environmental risks (water, food, sanitation, vector control) that are amplified during emergencies and natural disasters.
Risk Reduction: The training provides tools and protocols for rapid environmental assessments, ensuring swift action to prevent disease outbreaks (e.g., cholera, foodborne illness) following disruptions. This directly contributes to the EH-05 objective of reducing harm from emergencies.