New Extension-Backed Online Portal Provides Tools, Training for Public Health Outreach

Many Maryland communities struggle with health problems like substance abuse, mental health crises and chronic health issues that require both prevention and intervention efforts. The new multi-institutional Prevention Learning Portal aims to provide the latest training in science-based public health education for people who work directly with their communities, focusing on evidence-based teaching and methods to implement those programs successfully.

Ali Hurtado, an associate professor in the University of Maryland School of Public Health and a University of Maryland extension specialist, and Alex Chan, an Extension mental health specialist, partnered with Penn State University researchers to develop this comprehensive set of free, online trainings.

The portal offers practical tools that assist with follow-through from planning stages into actual implementation. “The people who will use this system are interested in building community change,” Chan said. “They might see there is a lack of unity in how their community addresses substance abuse or other health crises, so the portal provides some basic science behind community outreach so that people can be more unified in how they address those problems.”

The portal tackles topics including engaging state and local government, creating evidence-based programs, implementation science and how to work with youth groups. Each course provides a self-paced module with videos and interactive components and is designed to provide deeper insight for users on how early prevention efforts can help keep health problems from becoming community crises.

The Prevention Learning Portal is supported by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.