SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " competency " 16 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Sign in to save shuffle history.
Man accused in chainsaw killings ordered into emergency mental health treatment, court documents say
Court records show the order was filed Friday, October 16. It says 47-year-old Thomas Steele’s mental condition has “deteriorated” since a judge first ordered a competency evaluation Tuesday, October 13.
Gov. Laura Kelly signs bills altering defendant competency process, child health care program
Gov. Laura Kelly announces the signing of more than 50 bills approved by the 2026 Kansas Legislature.
Milwaukee County judge weighs in on rising mental health felony cases
Investigative reporting found that mental competency evaluations in felony cases have roughly doubled since 2013, straining resources for the state criminal justice system.
Experts agree at landmark event that simulation should be built into health system
On 15 June 2026, over 80 representatives from simulation societies, ministries of health, hospitals, universities, international organizations, professional associations and industry partners met at the WHO Academy in Lyon for a joint event of WHO and the Society for Simulation in Europe (SESAM). Together they tackled a pressing question: how can simulation move from isolated initiatives to systematic integration within health systems? The consensus was clear: simulation is no longer a niche educational tool. Beyond training, it strengthens health systems by improving quality of care, patient safety, workforce preparedness, team performance and organizational resilience.Participants agreed the evidence for simulation’s value no longer needs to be demonstrated, but that implementation remains fragmented and too often dependent on individual local champions. Bridging that gap, they said, means both generating further evidence and raising awareness among decision-makers.Discussions pointed to a shared path forward. To achieve scale and lasting impact, simulation must be embedded in national policies, workforce development plans, education systems and financing mechanisms. No institution can do this alone; stronger collaboration between governments, health institutions, academia, professional societies, international organizations and industry partners will be essential.“At the WHO Academy, we see simulation not simply as a training methodology but as a strategic tool for capacity-building, workforce readiness and stronger health systems,” said Dr Bart Janssens, Unit Head, Health Learning and Capacity Building. “This event is not only about discussion; it is about moving from ideas to action.”As health systems worldwide face workforce shortages, growing complexity of care and rapidly evolving competency needs, participants concluded that the question is no longer “Why simulation?” but rather how to scale it, how to sustain it, and how to ensure it becomes an integral part of stronger health systems.Looking aheadThe event marked the beginning of a collaborative effort rather than the end of a conversation. Over the coming weeks, WHO and SESAM will consolidate the discussions, recommendations and priorities that emerged, with a joint WHO–SESAM report to be published soon.
Advancing health equity for people on the move
On International Migrants Day, WHO celebrates the contributions of 304 million international migrants and calls for health equity for people on the move. This year’s theme, “My Great Story: Cultures and Development”, underscores that refugee and migrant health is a right, essential for resilience and thriving communities. WHO works with Member States and partners to build inclusive, culturally sensitive health systems, guided by its Global Action Plan on Refugee and Migrant Health. Recent initiatives include the WHO Dashboard on global experiences, leadership training through the Health and Migration School, and free competency courses for health workers. WHO urges continued action to remove barriers, invest in migrant-sensitive systems, and achieve health for all.
MSU Vet Tech program awarded $150k NIFA-USDA grant
Morehead State University's nationally ranked veterinary technology program was recently awarded significant financial support to help it maintain its place as the #1 program of its kind in Kentucky. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), awarded MSU's vet tech program a $150,000 NIFA-USDA grant for equipment to support small and large veterinary technology education and workforce competency at MSU. Learn more about veterinary technology programs at MSU by emailing Staton at a.staton@moreheadstate.edu or calling 606-783-2328. Find out more about MSU's veterinary technology program by calling 606-783-2662.
She showed warnings of a failing behavioral health system in rural AZ. Her crisis turned deadly.
"She was failed by the system as much as society was." As Angela Bouck crossed the center line in a fatal 2025 crash, her history of bipolar disorder & lack of a mental competency evaluation reveals a breakdown in Arizona’s behavioral healthcare system.
Strengthening One Health Field Epidemiology Capacity in the WHO South-East Asia Region
Recent public health emergencies—including the COVID-19 pandemic, recurrent zoonotic disease outbreaks, and the high level of antimicrobial resistance—have underscored the urgent need for strong, multisectoral field epidemiology capacities. This reinforces the importance of a workforce equipped with One Health field epidemiology competencies. To address this need, WHO works with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), as part of Quadripartite Alliance for One Health, to strengthen field epidemiology training programmes using a One Health approach.These efforts are aligned with WHO SEARO’s Strategic Framework for Action for Strengthening Surveillance, Risk Assessment and Field Epidemiology and the Regional Roadmap to Advance Field Epidemiology Capacities 2025–2029 emphasize workforce development, multisectoral collaboration, and enhanced preparedness for health emergencies. With funding from the Pandemic Fund, The Competency for One Health Field Epidemiology (COHFE) integration within Field Epidemiology Training Programmes (FETPs) or similar initiatives has been initiated in Bangladesh and India and is planned in Sri Lanka.BangladeshIn Bangladesh, COHFE is being adapted to strengthen the Field Epidemiology Training Programme, Bangladesh (FETP-B) Advanced programme. Initiated in July 2025 and led by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), the process brought together stakeholders from human, animal, and environmental health sectors, academia, and laboratories.A Multisectoral Working Group (MWG) was established to guide implementation, conduct readiness assessments, and identify opportunities to institutionalize One Health collaboration. Through national multisectoral consultations and a competency prioritization workshop held in Dhaka in November 2025, stakeholders identified priority technical competencies for surveillance, outbreak investigation, data analysis, and risk assessment, alongside functional competencies related to leadership, coordination, and the laboratory–epidemiology interface. The process also surfaced systemic barriers—such as challenges in data sharing and limited joint investigations—enabling targeted recommendations. These outcomes are guiding curriculum revision, the introduction of One Health simulations and joint field exercises, and the development of a national multisectoral mentorship pool, with updated training materials expected to be implemented in the upcoming cohort.Figure 1. Competency prioritization involving multisectoral stakeholders“COHFE represents a significant step forward in operationalizing the One Health approach. The collaboration between national institutions and the Quadripartite partners is critical for building resilient systems to address complex health challenges in the region.”, Prof. (Dr) Tahmina Sirin, Director, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Bangladesh.Aligning India’s One Health Training with COHFEIn India, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has strengthened One Health workforce development through its SectorConnect initiative. WHO supported a comprehensive competency mapping and curriculum review to align the Field Epidemiology Programme in One Health (FEP-OH) with all 14 COHFE domains. The review identified strong foundations while generating actionable recommendations to strengthen One Health learning outcomes, expand joint field-based learning, and enhance competency-based assessment. These improvements are informing programme refinement and phased scale-up across additional states.Figure 2. Strengthening learning outcomes for the SectorConnect FEP OH CurriculumThrough these efforts, WHO SEARO will continue to support countries to move from separate sector-based training toward an integrated, impact-driven One Health field epidemiology workforce capable of addressing complex health threats at human-animal-environment interface.ReferencesFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Health Organization, & World Organisation for Animal Health. (2024). Competencies for One Health field epidemiology (COHFE) framework. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240080058World Health Organization. (2023). Strategic framework for action for strengthening surveillance, risk assessment and field epidemiology for health security threats in the WHO South-East Asia Region. WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789290210030World Health Organization. (2024). Regional roadmap to advance field epidemiology capacities in the WHO South-East Asia Region 2025–2029. WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789290229544
How integrating tradition and self-care has strengthened public health in the Americas
On 13 May 2026, a regional dialogue for the Americas titled, Innovative Experiences to Strengthen Health and Self-Care through Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine, was hosted by EsSalud, the government agency responsible for social security and health care in Peru.The event brought together representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO collaborating centres, the health sector and academia. It presented regional perspectives from BrBolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru to explore how self-care and traditional medicine can strengthen public health, empower communities and support more inclusive models of care. Across all four countries, a clear message emerged: traditional medicine is not being positioned as an alternative to formal systems, but as a way to strengthen them. In the Americas region, the challenge is to consolidate intercultural and holistic care, with the aim of strengthening the healthcare system – making care more preventive, culturally relevant and community-based.Peru: institutionalizing complementary care over 28 years Dr Martha Villar López from EsSalud Peru demonstrated how integration can be institutionalized over time. With nearly three decades of investment, including a research programme dating back to 1998, traditional medicine is now embedded within public health infrastructure. EsSalud’s flagship programme, Reforma de Vida, operating as Prevenir, takes multidisciplinary teams into workplaces to reduce and detect risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases. Education cycles are structured around three pillars: celestial nourishment, focused on life purpose and movement; terrestrial nourishment, centred on regional food and healthy diets; and human nourishment, addressing identity, relationships, stress and spirituality. Grounded in Andean cosmovision and the principle of the ayllu, the programme aligns with local cultural values. Since 2007, it has trained over 6600 health leaders, certified more than 3100 health-friendly organizations and built alliances with nearly 11 000 employers.Bolivia: legal recognition and medical pluralism Adelino Pau Carpacheco, an 82-year-old Callawaya healer, described working with more than 220 medicinal plants, supported by deep generational knowledge. Traditional healers and plant medicine are highly respected in the country. Bolivia’s contribution also highlighted the role of policy in enabling integration. Through Law 459, traditional medicine has been formally recognized within a legal framework and led the country to medical pluralism where traditional medicine coexists with biomedicine, and both are now offered free of charge through the public health system. Mexico: preserving Indigenous knowledge and reinventing food culture Mexico presented two complementary approaches focused on knowledge preservation and food systems. In Veracruz, communities partnered with a university to safeguard Totonac traditional medicine through a diploma programme launched in 2019. This collaboration has already produced practical outputs, including manuals and a dictionary, helping to sustain knowledge at risk due to migration and generational change. Alongside this, Dr Hernán García, Directorate of Traditional Medicine and Intercultural Development – Mexico, explained how the Dieta de la Milpa programme addresses Mexico’s dual burden of malnutrition and rising noncommunicable diseases. Rooted in traditional Mayan cultivation systems and ingredients, it promotes healthier diets through community-led, intercultural approaches involving local authorities, Indigenous leaders and cooks. By reconnecting food, culture and health, it offers a practical pathway to prevention. Brazil: community therapy as a public health tool Brazil’s experience centred on Integrative Community Therapy, a methodology developed over 40 years ago by Dr Adalberto Barreto and now used in more than 47 countries. Therapy circles create spaces where participants share experiences and coping strategies, building social support networks at very low cost. Within Brazil’s Unified Health System, the approach has expanded rapidly since its inclusion in national policy in 2017. By 2025, more than five million integrative practice procedures were delivered annually in primary care, with registrations for this therapy increasing by over 500% in eight years. The main challenge now is equity, with access still concentrated in urban areas such as São Paulo. A shared regional direction against a global backdrop Drawing these experiences together, Dr Natalia Aldana of the TCIM Network of the Americas highlighted the shared outcomes of the interventions discussed. Such approaches strengthen healthy behaviours, social networks and community resilience; they are low-cost, adaptable and enable active participation in care, while showing potential to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases.The regional momentum mirrors a broader global shift. Dr João Paulo Souz, Director of BIREME (Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information), the specialized center of PAHO/WHO, emphasized that the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 promotes a vision centred on people, evidence and integrated use. He noted that health should be understood through the relationships between people, community, nature and spirituality. Self-care interventions as a critical pathway towards universal health coverage Dr Manjulaa Narasimhan, Unit Head for Sexual Health and Well-being across the Life-course at WHO, delivered a presentation titled Advancing Self-Care in Traditional Medicine: Aligning the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 with the WHO Self-Care Framework, co-authored by Dr Geetha Krishnan Gopalakrishna Pillai, Unit Head for Research, Data and Innovation at the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. WHO recommends self-care interventions for every country and economic setting as a critical path to reach universal health coverage – and traditional medicine acts as a bridge for self-care. Dr Narasimhan explained that traditional medicine contributes most effectively to self-care when embedded directly into primary health care, not operating in parallel, siloed systems. This, she stated, “is possibly the only sustainable way to deliver continuity of care that meets the needs, rights and priorities of communities and individuals”. The Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 is a move towards a more people-centred approach to health care that champions holistic approaches to health equity and patient autonomy.The integration of traditional medicine and self-care requires collaboration across disciplines, clear referral pathways, trained health and care workers, and strong leadership that supports integration. The WHO self-care competency framework defines 10 key competencies for health and care workers to support self-care in their clinical practice, supported by the WHO guideline on self-care interventions for health and well-being. These documents help health-care workers safeguard their own well-being and ensure that care is consistent, safe and grounded in shared standards and values.Together, the discussion through this dialogue points to a fundamental shift in how health systems are designed in the region, and globally, towards models that are more inclusive, culturally-grounded and responsive to the needs of the communities they serve. It is a move towards a system where traditional medicine is respected and responsibly integrated, where self-care provides empowerment and evidence-based care, and where health systems are supportive rather than being distant from these systems.Traditional medicine perspectives from Bolivia, Mexico and Peru - WHO's "Restoring Balance" seriesInnovative Experiences to Strengthen Health and Self-Care through Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine was streamed in Spanish, with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Recordings are available through the CABSIN YouTube channel with Portuguese subtitles and on the BVS MTCI Americas YouTube channel with Spanish subtitles. Dr Narasimhan’s session can be watched in English on both channels.
HHS and Education Dept. partner on nutrition curriculum for medical schools
Fifty-three medical schools have agreed to provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education or a competency equivalent starting this fall
Community Foundation celebrates 2026 For Impact Leaders class
The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines has announced the graduating class of its 2026 For Impact Leaders program. The 2026 cohort completed a nine-month leadership program designed to build competency in the Greater Des Moines nonprofit community. Here is the class of 2026:
Forum on harnessing Artificial Intelligence for health equity
Register to this forumOver the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly evolved in complexity, performance, and utility. Its integration across a wide range of industrial sectors has accelerated, with healthcare emerging as one of the most transformative sectors. In this sector, AI has enabled high-impact applications – from enhancing the speed and accuracy of disease diagnosis and supporting clinical decision-making, to strengthening public health initiatives such as disease surveillance and workforce optimization. Moreover, AI holds immense potential to empower individuals, enabling them to take greater control of their personal health and well-being. Yet the central question remains: Who benefits, who is at risk, and do these innovations close or widen health inequities? While the potential of AI-enabled applications is substantial, many countries have approached their adoption with caution. This hesitancy stems from concerns about risks and benefits, including model bias, data breaches, privacy violations, and the erosion of professional skills due to over-reliance on AI. Additional barriers include inadequate data infrastructure and a lack of robust evidence on the most effective forms and interfaces of AI to enhance service delivery and system performance. Moreover, the rapid rise of Generative AI has introduced a heightened urgency for the development of comprehensive governance and ethical frameworks. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Health Practice Team and Digital Sector, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific, are convening the Forum on Harnessing AI for Health Equity on 25–26 March at ADB Headquarters. Senior health officials from 16 developing member countries (DMCs), alongside leading researchers, innovators, and policymakers from across Asia and the Pacific, will engage in discussions on how AI can be governed, financed, and scaled to deliver healthier lives for all. The forum is funded through the High-Level Technology Fund with support from the Government of Japan. Objectives The two-day forum aims to:Identify high-impact, evidence-based health AI use cases suitable for resource-constrained settings and map out a pipeline for potential supportIntroduce and validate the WHO's policy guidance on minimum necessary ecosystem for countries and institutions to self-assess readiness for AI adoptionObtain initial commitment from participating stakeholders to join a pilot regional initiative focused on data/model sharing for a priority health challengeEndorse a prioritized set of actionable policy recommendations focusing on governance, regulation, and sustainable financing necessary to scale high-impact health AI use cases in resource-constrained settings Target participants The forum will convene participants from 16 ADB DMCs including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam. In addition, health system leaders and practitioners, private sector technologists, academic experts, representatives from civil society organizations, development partners, and philanthropic institutions engaged in AI for Health from Australia, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea will also be invited. SessionsDay 1 (25 March)Session 1: AI Use Cases for the Care Continuum: Improving Access and QualitySession 2: Adopting a risk-based approach for AI use case prioritizationSession 3: Establishing the Minimum Ecosystem for Implementation Risk ManagementSession 4: Future-Ready Health Workforce: Building Competency for Human-AI CollaborationDay 2 (26 March)Session 5: The Political Economy of AI in Health: Understanding Stakeholder Interests and their Impact on EquitySession 6: AI and Health Financing: Supporting Fair Coverage and ProtectionSession 7: AI Regulation and Oversight: Pathways for Different RealitiesSession 8: The Way Forward – Building Alliances and Regional Partnership How to registerThe forum will be held in a hybrid format. In-person attendance is by invitation only, while livestreaming of the forum will be available to the public. To register, please complete this form on or before 24 March 2026.Event organizers / partnersAsian Development Bank (ADB)WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific High-Level Technology Fund (HLTF)ContactAkihito WatabeHealth Specialist, SD3-HSDawatabe@adb.org Jae Kyoun KimHealth Specialist, SD3-HSDjkkim@adb.org
WGU Launches Nation’s First At-Scale, Online Bachelor of Science in AI Engineering
Competency-based degree program has potential to transform AI engineering workforce gapSALT LAKE CITY, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WGU, the largest conferrer of technology degrees in the U.S., announced today the launch the nation’s first accredited, competency-based Bachelor of Science in AI Engineering (BSAIE), also among the first bachelor’s degree programs nationally in AI Engineering as a standalone undergraduate discipline. “This represents an important milestone in higher education.
Annual CCAC Summit focuses on trust, equity and responsive care - Welcome to San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County Behavioral Health presents the sixth annual Cultural Competency Advisory Committee (CCAC) Summit on Oct. 27. The San Bernardino County Behavioral Health Department invites community members, behavioral health...
A competency framework for digital public health in Europe: an updated scoping review
npj Digital Public Health - A competency framework for digital public health in Europe: an updated scoping review
Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO said doctors "better find me incompetent"
The prison recording emerged during a three-day competency hearing over the ability of Michael Jefferies to stand trial for sex trafficking.