Extending the reach of public health nutrition: training community practitioners in multilevel approaches.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public health concern in the United States. We developed an annual training course, Nutrition and Public Health, A Course for Community Practitioners (NPH), to address the identified training needs of state staff responsible for designing and implementing the Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program and to support other health professionals working in programs that address chronic disease prevention and management. METHODS: After conducting a needs assessment with state-level WISEWOMAN staff in 2001 to identify topics of interest, we formed an advisory committee to provide guidance on topics, theoretical frameworks, training concerns, and multilevel intervention approaches. The first week-long training course, which included an intensive field practicum, was implemented in the fall of 2002. RESULTS: Participants rated three fourths of the elements listed in a posttraining evaluation as a course strength, giving particularly high ratings to various indicators of course quality (100%) and networking opportunities (95%). Just over half (55%) rated the field practicum as a course strength. Four fifths (83%) of participants responded to a 6-month follow-up evaluation, and most indicated that the course had increased their knowledge and skills and increased their confidence in planning programs. CONCLUSIONS: Unique features of the course include its suitability for public health practitioners not previously trained in nutrition, its promotion of multilevel interventions, and its focus on CVD risk reduction and nutrition interventions for underinsured and uninsured populations.