About the PERLC Training Catalog
From 2010 to 2015, the CDC funded 14 Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLCs), housed at different academic institutions across the country, to develop a range of in-person and online learning materials and consultation services. In 2016, the CDC funded the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) at the University of Washington to review available PERLC online learning materials and consolidate them into one user-friendly, searchable catalog.
For local, state, and tribal public health agencies, maintaining a skilled workforce that can prepare for and respond to a variety of emergencies is a continuing challenge. The PERLC Training Catalog preserves the work of the learning centers and provides public health agencies with improved access to PERLC online training and resources.
How to use this catalog
Users can access over 400 PERLC-developed online courses and other learning materials through the searchable database, where they can search by keyword and filter by format, topic, or Public Health Preparedness (PHEP) Capability. Different formats include:
- Online courses: Self-guided training courses that can be completed online.
- Informational briefs: Documents that outline information about a specific topic.
- Exercises and drills: Materials for exercises and drills meant to be delivered in-person.
- Toolkits and guides: Documents guiding users through processes and best practices they can implement in their organization.
The PHEP Capabilities were developed by the CDC to identify and describe preparedness training and workforce development priorities for state and local public health departments.
Courses and other materials are hosted on their developer's website, external to this website. Accessing a course will require registering on the site where it is hosted. Most courses will be accessed through TRAIN, a national public health learning network managed by the Public Health Foundation.
Training levels (introductory, intermediate, advanced) were assigned based on how they were described by the developers. The majority of available online PERLC materials are introductory-level. Therefore, most of the material in this catalog is best suited for users who are looking to build awareness or begin their education in these topics.
Training Bundles
In addition to the searchable database, the team developed a set of 21 training bundles addressing the 15 Public Health Preparedness (PHEP) Capabilities and six additional topic areas. Courses that were identified as being of particularly high quality with respect to interactivity, real-world applications, and multimedia were prioritized for inclusion in these bundles. Subject matter experts and pilot testers from public health agencies also provided input on materials for the bundles.
More about Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers
The Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLCs) were collaborations across academia, local and state public health agencies, and tribal and community organizations to help public health authorities meet their unique workforce development needs in emergency preparedness and response through specialized training and education. The Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) is the national coordinating center for these efforts, working in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support this work. Links to individual PERLC websites can be found at the right of the Resources page.
If you experience difficulties with this website, please contact NWCPHP.