Center for Public Health Practice

The Center for Public Health Practice (CPHP) is located within the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

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CPHP was established in 1995 with an appropriation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. CPHP’s vision is a sustainable and resilient public health system in Pennsylvania. The Center’s mission is to be a catalyst for engaged scholarship in public health through applied research, practice-based teaching, and professional service.

Since 1995, CPHP has strengthened the public health workforce, improved emergency preparedness and response capacities, and focused research on improving the health of Pennsylvania citizens. The Center leverages the Commonwealth’s support to bring in more than $5 million additional dollars each year. These funds come from a diversity of partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH), the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), and a variety of other sources.

Major Activities

Interdisciplinary research, teaching, and service. The Center for Public Health Practice’s activities interface with all departments at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), the Dean’s Office, and the MMPH program, utilizing and sharing expertise throughout the school. The Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Education, and Law and the Library System are also highly active partners at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, CPHP collaborates closely with the Center for Rural Health Practice (CRHP) at the University of Pittsburgh Bradford Campus to bring training and service opportunities to Pennsylvania’s rural counties and populations. CPHP’s Director also co-chairs the University's Center for National Preparedness. The Center hosts the 15-credit “Graduate Certificate Program in Public Health Preparedness and Response”, the GSPH-wide “Capstone” course, and numerous other courses and classes. The Center supports dozens of students every year through internships, fellowships, awards, projects, and in a host of other ways.

In 2007, CPHP trained hundreds of professionals responsible for the health of the public. CPHP offered an array of continuing education programs through hands-on training, and distance learning on leadership skills, environmental health assessment, rural/public health preparedness, public health preparedness law, and public health preparedness for nurses.

• CPHP developed on-line courses for the Pennsylvania Department of Health Learning Management System on a wide variety of topics, including “Vaccine Development for Pandemic and Public Health Use,” “Disaster Nursing,” “Stress Response During Disasters,” and “Emergency Preparedness for Pandemics and All-Hazards.”
• CPHP maintained a “one-stop shop” to provide continuing education accreditation for the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s May 2007 Public Health Institute and PA Prepared: Health and Emergency Preparedness Online Learning Management System (LMS). The LMS provides distance learning for more than 50,000 public health professionals across the Commonwealth. The one-stop shop accredited 64 new or revised courses and lectures on topics that included bioterrorism preparedness, vaccine development, disaster nursing, and wellness in schools. To date, in excess of 1,592 continuing education contact hours have been awarded.
• CPHP collaborated on an online learning infrastructure to deliver distance learning content beyond Pennsylvania. By partnering with the University’s Center for Continuing Education in the health Sciences on their Internet-based Studies in Education and Research site, learners from across the U.S. can access expert content.
• CPHP aided two counties in the Lehigh Valley (Northampton and Lehigh) in planning for an Act 315 bi-county health department.
• CPHP will provide Interactive Television equipment to GSPH as part of its relocation back to the school of public health building.

Grant-Funded Subsidiaries

The Center for Public Health Practice houses several subsidiaries – the University of Pittsburgh Center for Public Health Preparedness (UPCPHP), the Pennsylvania & Ohio Public Health Training Center (POPHTC), the Pennsylvania Preparedness Leadership Institute (PPLI); and it administers the Pittsburgh Influenza Prevention Project (PIPP) – a ground-breaking collaborative activity with the CDC addressing population health protection during pandemics.

The University of Pittsburgh Center for Public Health Preparedness (UPCPHP)

The Pennsylvania Preparedness Leadership Institute (PPLI)

The Pennsylvania & Ohio Public Health Training Center (POPHTC)