Area of Responsibility: Area VII: Leadership and Management Keywords: Empowerment@@@Partnerships and Coalitions@@@Workforce Development, Subcompetencies: 7.2 Prepare others to provide health education and promotion., 7.1.3 Involve partners and stakeholders throughout the health education and promotion process in meaningful and sustainable ways. Research or Practice: Practice
Professor / Consultant Grand Valley State University / Parasol Health Consulting Hudsonville, Michigan, United States
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Describe key components of a multi-sector partnership model for cross-training non-traditional health professionals to deliver health education interventions.
Identify at least three lessons learned and implementation considerations when preparing non-traditional health professionals to provide health education and promotion.
Evaluate strategies for sustaining multi-sector partnerships and maintaining workforce capacity beyond initial funding periods.
Brief Abstract Summary: Expanding public health education capacity requires leveraging trusted community relationships beyond traditional workforce models. This presentation examines a partnership model that cross-trained non-traditional health professionals to deliver evidence-based health education to underserved populations. Partners identified shared competencies, developed a standardized curriculum integrated with existing workflows, established cross-sector referral pathways, and provided ongoing technical assistance to trained professionals. Results demonstrated enhanced workforce capacity, improved referral networks, and increased reach to underserved populations. Lessons learned address compensation structures, adapting materials for diverse contexts, navigating the scope of practice, and sustaining partnerships beyond initial funding. Findings demonstrate how strategic partnerships leverage community assets and trusted relationships to advance health equity and workforce sustainability.
Detailed abstract description:
Background: Traditional public health education workforce models may overlook non-traditional health professionals who have regular community contact and established trust with populations facing health disparities. This presentation examines an innovative partnership model that cross-trained non-traditional health professionals to deliver evidence-based health education, expanding reach to underserved communities.
Methods: We developed a collaborative partnership structure across multiple sectors to design and implement a cross-training program for non-traditional health professionals. The partnership framework included: (1) identification of priority health topics and shared competencies across professional roles; (2) development of standardized training curriculum integrating health education principles with existing professional workflows; (3) creation of referral pathways and communication protocols between sectors; and (4) ongoing technical assistance and community of practice support for trained professionals.
Results: The cross-training initiative yielded several key outcomes: enhanced workforce capacity to address local health priorities, improved referral networks between clinical and community settings, and increased health education reach to populations facing access barriers. Critical lessons learned include the importance of compensation/incentive structures, adapting educational materials to fit diverse practice contexts, navigating scope of practice considerations, and sustaining multi-sector partnerships beyond initial funding periods.
Conclusions: Cross-training non-traditional health professionals represents a promising strategy for expanding public health education infrastructure. This model demonstrates how strategic partnerships can leverage existing community assets and trusted relationships to improve health equity and workforce sustainability.
