The purpose of this learning event is to create an engaging participatory experience that builds the capacity of public health and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to work together in ensuring reach to vulnerable, at-risk, hard to reach, and minority populations during pandemic preparedness action and response. The focus of this modified table top exercise is on how outreach through networks of faith-based and community organizations can mobilize the strengths of FBOs alongside health departments to reach hard-to-reach populations with disease prevention and treatment services and overcome barriers associated with culture, poverty, mistrust (historical and legal), and geographic isolation.

• Moderator: Mimi Kiser, DMin, MPH, RN
• Panelists:   Roundtable TTX exercise participants will be pre-selected from the meeting attendees and introduced at the beginning of the webinar. They will represent state and local health agencies and local faith and community-based organizational leaders from different parts of the country.

For the past five years, IHP has partnered first with the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on H1N1 and now with the CDC and ASTHO on seasonal influenza. We collaborate with 10 diverse sites around the country to mobilize trusted networks of faith-based and community organizations and demonstrate effective practices for extending the reach of public health to vulnerable, at-risk, and minority populations. For the current project year, in addition to influenza prevention outreach in the participating 10 sites, IHP and its partners are hosting this event to further disseminate lessons learned from the project and increase capacity building through a webinar available to public health, FBO programs, and community leaders.

After participating in the webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Identify commitments, practices, and capacities of public health agencies and faith and community-based organizations that are key to ensuring the well-being of vulnerable, at-risk, and hard-to-reach populations.
2. Describe effective strategies for establishing and sustaining partnerships between public health and local trusted networks of faith-based and community partners for the purposes of planning and implementing interventions to reach priority populations.
3. Report action steps that incorporate lessons learned into local and state planning and partnership building activities.

An application has been submitted to award Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to up to a total of  1.5 Category I Continuing Education Contact Hours (CECH).  An application has been submitted to award 1.5 CPH Renewal Credits.

These activities have received support from the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cooperative Agreement to Improve the Nation’s Public Health Infrastructure with State Public Health Agencies/Systems (Cooperative Agreement #U50/CC U313903-05).

The webinar presentation will be available on-screen throughout the webinar.  If you would like to review in advance and/or have available for viewing  in a separate window during the webinar, please click here to download the presentation.