Online Education for Public Health Professionals : Assessing the Needs, Interests, and Current Capacities of Wisconsin Public Health Professionals

The need to develop online continuing education opportunities for public health professionals has been clearly documented nationwide and specifically in Wisconsin. Preliminary evaluations have identified the advantages of online learning and have shown these programs to be as effective as traditional in-class public health education. However, few studies have examined public health professionals' use of, confidence with, and interest in online education technologies, formats, and topics. These data are pertinent to the development of online education modules that reflect Wisconsin public health professionals' unique learning needs. This book documents the findings from a descriptive prospective survey that assessed the specific technology and public health content needs, capacities, and preferences of a selection of Wisconsin public health professionals. Methods, results, and conclusions are discussed at length, including what types of technologies and courses were most preferred by respondents. Recommendations are presented for future research and practice in the arena of public health online education.