October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Many factors over the course of a lifetime can influence your breast cancer risk." Some of these factors are out of our control (e.g. family history of cancer or age), but there are some things we can do to help lower our risk. 

You can lower your risk of breast cancer by:

• Keeping a healthy weight
• Being physically active
• Choosing not to drink alcohol, or drinking alcohol in moderation
• Asking your doctor about the risks of hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
• Breastfeeding your children, if possible

For more information and resources on breast cancer, please click here.

How Can I Reduce My Risk of Breast Cancer?

CDC experts answer some frequently asked questions young women have about breast cancer and breast health. There are healthy lifestyle choices you can make to help you reduce your risk of breast cancer.

Many agencies have declared racism a public health issue and have implemented DEI trainings in response, but this alone will not change the structures and systems upholding racism and marginalization.

Therefore, the Public Health Training Center Network (PHTCN), with support from the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), formed a racial justice workgroup in 2020 with the aim to assist individuals and organizations in putting racial equity and justice principles into practice.

As a result, the workgroup developed the Racial Justice Competency Model for Public Health Professionals (RJCM) as an educational and operational framework for the public health workforce. The RJCM gives public health professionals a single, clear, specific competency set for intentionally promoting equity and racial justice.

The PHTCs, partners, and other public health professionals can use the RJCM for training, hiring, performance management, and policy development while addressing racism in public health. Visit the RJCM website to learn more about the process and to download the competencies.

Fall officially arrived on September 22, 2022.

The Region 6 South Central Public Health Training Center wants everyone to have a happy and healthy autumn. We've compiled several resources to help keep you and yours safe this fall. 

Course Spotlight: Integrating Infection Prevention and Control Science into POD-based Planning

Course Description:

The primary goal of the Integrating Infection Prevention and Control Science into POD-based Planning training is to increase awareness and integration of infection prevention and control (IPC) principles and environmental health and exposure sciences into rapid dispensing operations of any available medical countermeasure (including vaccines) to the population in need. 

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how Point of Dispensing (POD) strategies of medical countermeasures (MCM) are operationalized during public health emergencies
• Understand the various considerations of choosing POD sites and carrying out operations
• Understand the POD support functions
• Understand how POD exposure and safety allow for the continuity of safe POD operations
• Understand how to effectively manage countermeasures

For more information about this training,

please click here.

Featured Course Bundle:

Tribal Behavioral Health

Course Bundle Description:

The Tribal Behavioral Health curriculum is designed to provide general guidance and understanding to increase the knowledge of behavioral health in the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) population and among tribal health departments, including issues and challenges and organizations seeking to improve AI/AN behavioral health. 

Trainings in this course bundle include:

• Tribal Behavioral Health 101: Overview of American Indian/Alaska Native Behavioral Health - 1 hour
• Tribal Behavioral Health 102: Health Issues for American Indian/Alaska Native Men - 1 hour
• Tribal Behavioral Health 103: The Opioid Epidemic and American Indian/Alaska Native Communities - 1 hour
• Tribal Behavioral Health 104: Culture is Prevention! - 1 hour

For more information about this course bundle, please click here.