Establishing and Sustaining Academic and Local Health Collaborations: A Case Study of Practice-Based Teaching and Workforce Development

The pandemic highlighted significant gaps in the public health infrastructure impacted by shortages of public health workers, an undertrained workforce, and years of disinvestment. These gaps required innovative problem-solving by public health agencies (PHAs), including local health departments (LHDs), to respond to rapidly changing community conditions during and after the pandemic. Many schools and programs of public health (SPPH) worked with PHAs to mobilize public health (PH) students through practice-based teaching (PBT). Current research indicates PBT benefits all stakeholders—PHAs, students, faculty, SPPH, and ultimately the community served. However, more research is needed on the utility of PBT in addressing a community’s systemic public health issues, the extent to which the academic-community collaboration enhances a PHA’s capacity, and the impact of the pedagogy on preparing the workforce for an evolving PH landscape. This paper examines the process of a semester-long PBT course, guided by the PBT STEPS framework, which includes five steps from collaboration to implementation to evaluation of a PBT course. The collaborating PHA and its student group addressed community trauma and resilience issues during the semester. Additionally, it examines the longer-term impacts after the semester for the PHA, community, and the workforce by 1) conducting a formative evaluation to understand needs and gaps in the community;2) redesigning an intervention that merged the results of the formative evaluation with the intervention developed during the semester;and 3) securing funding and resources for intervention sustainability. Through the documentation of a post-course partnership between an LHD and faculty at a large school of public health, this case study illustrates the potential for PBT to lay the foundation for ongoing research that supports more impactful interventions for PHAs while bolstering the workforce abilities of students as future practitioners.

Inequality and workforce development in the post-COVID-19 environment:The case of Maine

The article analyses the interaction between the COVID-19 pandemic and social inequality in the United States,taking the state of Maine as a case study.The pandemic has revealed the effects of high economic inequality on public health in the United States,where in comparison to most developed capitalist democracies,the health care system is expensive,inefficient,and highly skewed in quality and accessibility.Likewise,for industries that were already losing jobs,the pandemic has accelerated a painful transition and intensified the harsh social and economic consequences of high and rising inequality,especially for low-wage workers.The case of Maine underscores the point that policies aimed at reducing the disparities in the distribution of income,health care,education,and opportunity will reduce inequality,protect public health,and stimulate economic growth.

Charting the Future of Nuclear Energy Roadmaps for Fission and Fusion Technologies

As the world faces increasing energy demands and concerns about climate change,nuclear power is experiencing a resurgence as a viable and sustainable energy source.This article explores the strategic initiatives concerning the advancement of nuclear technologies,highlighting the prompt adoption of SMRs(small modular reactors),the ongoing advancements in Generation IV reactors in the medium term,and the long-term aspirations linked to nuclear fusion.SMRs offer enhanced safety,economic viability,and flexible deployment alternatives,making them an attractive solution for meeting pressing energy demands.In the medium term,Generation IV reactors are anticipated to improve efficiency,sustainability,and safety,effectively tackling the challenges associated with conventional fission reactors.However,significant challenges lie ahead,including public perception,regulatory hurdles,financial barriers,and the need for a skilled workforce.By addressing these challenges,nuclear power can play a pivotal role in creating a sustainable and reliable energy future,contributing significantly to global efforts in climate change mitigation.

Recruiting PE Teachers Based on Regional Socio-Economic Status Evaluation and Recommendation Algorithm

The most important step in creating a teaching force for physical education(PE)is finding enough qualified teachers.In order to better absorb the PE teaching talents who aremore suitable for the job requirements,the ability variables of sports talents,the expected regional social and economic status,and historical data are considered,the intelligent matching of talents and positions is made,and the Bayesian variational network recommendation model considering the needs is constructed.According to the experimental findings,this model’s highest recommendation accuracy in the normal scenario is 0.5888 and its maximum recommendation accuracy in the training and test sets is roughly 0.6 and 0.68.The model has good convergence and high accuracy of recommendation,which is conducive to matching PE teaching talents and teaching positions,providing job seekers with positions that meet their needs,providing teaching talents to meet the requirements,and creating a team of PE teachers that match people and posts.

Staff characteristics and care in Chinese nursing homes: A systematic literature review

The need for institutional long-term care(LTC)services,including nursing homes(NHs),is increasing in China's Mainland in part due to the aging population and changing family structures.In developing NH staff training programs,a review is needed to synthesize knowledge about staff and resident characteristics,and care provided in NHs.This systematic review aims to describe,in Chinese NHs,(1)NH staff characteristics and the care they provide,(2)resident characteristics and care needs,and (3)the role of family members.The 45 articles included in this review covered both urban and rural areas of China's Mainland.We found that staff in Chinese NHs were older and had lower education levels in comparison with those in western countries.Most direct caregivers in urban areas were migratory workers from rural area.Chinese NHs had few qualification standards for staff preparation for their roles in NHs.Also,functional levels of residents in Chinese NHs were higher compared to NH residents in western countries.In addition,family members played important roles in caring for NH residents.These findings suggest a need for staff development programs that tailor for lower educated NH staff and care needs of residents with widely varying levels in function from independent to bedbound in China's Mainland.The findings also suggest that staff qualification standards require critically policy development to improve the capacity of Chinese NHs to provide competent and safe care.

Employability Skills Needed by Higher Vocational Education Graduates to Be Successful in the Workplace

The current issues in workforce development are on high competence not only in technical skills, but also in non-technical skills. The term of non-technical skills is also called as employability skills. The research with topic analysis and development ofemployability skills of polytechnic students aims to： describe supervisors＇ perceptions of the importance of the employability skills needed in the workplace; describe supervisors＇ perceptions of the students＇ level of competence at performing the employability skills; and find the attributes of employability skills that are need to prioritize for development. Research sample has been selected by using a stratified random sampling from the supervisor of last year students when they are on the job training in industry. Total 146 supervisors participated in this research. The Employability Skills Questionnaire with a five-point Liken scale was used to assess perceptions level of importance of identified employability skills and students＇ level of competence. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, means and standard deviations, and priority development analysis. Three main groups of the employability skills with highest important level are： workplace health and safety, self-management, and team working. Students have a high level of competence in occupational health and safety, self-management and learning skills. There are three attributes of employability skills in high priority category for developed： knowing the benefits of computer application programs are needed in the work, taking the initiative in organizing activities, and participating in learning activities to gain new experience.