Evaluating a train-the-trainer approach for improving capacity for evidence-based decision making in public health

Table 1 Participant characteristics of public health practitioners (N = 144)

Characteristic	n (%)^a,b
Highest degree earned
Doctoral	14 (9.9)
Master of Public Health	23 (16.3)
Other master’s degree	46 (32.6)
Nursing	21 (14.9)
Bachelor’s degree or less	37 (26.2)
Program area
Obesity, physical activity, nutrition	36 (25.0)^c
Tobacco	27 (18.8)
Cancer	19 (13.2)
Diabetes/cardiovascular health	11 (7.6)
Health promotion	52 (36.1)
School health	20 (13.9)
Environmental health	23 (16.0)
Maternal and child health	22 (15.3)
Communicable diseases/immunizations	26 (18.1)
Epidemiology or evaluation	35 (24.3)
Other^d	48 (33.3)
Agency or organization type
State health department	38 (26.4)
Local health department (city or county)	80 (55.6)
University	7 (4.9)
Community-based organization	7 (4.9)
Other specified^e	12 (8.3)
Job position
Program manager or coordinator	51 (35.4)
Health educator or community health worker	36 (25.0)
Epidemiologist or statistician	9 (6.3)
Division, Department or Bureau Head/Director/Deputy	16 (11.1)
Academic researcher or educator	7 (4.9)
Program planner or evaluator	7 (4.9)
Other specified^f	18 (12.5)
Years worked in public health, mean ± SD	9.5 ± 7.2

^aPercentage reported for valid, non-missing cases
^bSome percentages do not sum to 100 % due to rounding
^cPercentages do not sum to 100 % as participants were able to select multiple program areas
^dExamples of other program areas include family planning, oral health, injury prevention, emergency preparedness, asthma, and healthy aging
^eExamples of other specified organization types include voluntary health organization, consulting business, medical membership organization and other governmental agencies
^fExamples of other job position types include environmental health and other program area specialists, manager of contracts, and program consultant

ISSN: 1472-6963