Trainings and Workshops

Iowa Public Health Association hosts a wide variety of opportunities to learn and grow as a public health professional throughout the year. Conferences, trainings and workshops are generally open to anyone unless otherwise indicated. Because events take time, energy, and resources to produce and implement there is sometimes a cost to attend. IPHA members almost always receive discounted registration as a benefit of membership.

Find additional upcoming trainings and other professional development opportunities on IPHA’s full event calendar.

Healthy communities don’t happen by accident. They’re built by people who show up, speak up, and get involved. Health outcomes are shaped by elected officials who shape the investments and policies that define daily life. Do you know them? Do they know you? They should, because you know what your community needs! Public health professionals and community health workers have expertise that policymakers need. The problem is most of them have never been in the same room. 

Developed in partnership with the Local Public Health Workforce Development Consultants at Iowa HHS, this course changes that. It will help you understand when to show up, how to frame your message, and how to build relationships that last beyond a single meeting. Because when public health has a seat at the table, communities are better represented. And when communities are better represented, healthier outcomes follow. 

The IPHA Social Media Community of Practice (SM COP) is dedicated to increasing the capacity of agencies and organizations working in a variety of public health areas. The SM COP facilitators send out bi-monthly message sets and information, host a monthly virtual meeting, plan additional training and networking opportunities, and conduct various other activities to support social-media and more general outreach work. COP activities are catered to the specific needs of public health professionals like public information officer (PIO), social media manager, communication managers, and health educators.

The SM COP also occasionally supports scholarships for external conferences and mini-grants for innovative social media work.

Staff from any of Iowa’s local public health agencies and select other groups (healthcare, human services agencies) are encouraged to join the SM COP by emailing the COP Facilitators and providing a description of why you would benefit from joining.

Public health practitioners who are not current COP members but who would like to present or otherwise share resources with COP members via group emails can also email the COP Facilitators to determine the best approach for this. Not all requests maybe able to be accommodated.

Email COP Facilitators at: comms@iowapha.org

Because public health advocacy is a major focus, IPHA conducts multiple trainings and other opportunities for public health practitioners, students, and others to better understand how to advocate on behalf of public health.

IPHA’s Legislative 101 Training

In addition to trainings, IPHA occasionally brings in national or regional speakers and trainers for skill-building workshops. Due to the cost of bringing in speakers, workshops almost always involve a registration fee.

Past workshops have included focuses such as a Dare to Lead Workshop with Dr. Rosie Ward from Salveo Partners, and a Strategic Planning for Local Public Health Workshop and Toolkit. Workshops are not recorded for public use.