The Western Region Public Health Training Center (WRPHTC) is funded by HRSA to support the public health workforce in HRSA Region 9, which includes Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii and US Associated Pacific Islands.

We are a consortium of public health professionals that have a mission to develop, provide and monitor need-based trainings for current and future community health workers to strengthen their public health competencies. We also provide additional expertise on nutrition, physical activity and obesity to the national network of PHTCs.

The consortium consists of a local performance site (LPS) in University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; University of Nevada, Reno, School of Community Health Sciences; University of Hawai’i, Manoa, Department of Public Health Sciences; Pacific Island Health Officers Association; and University of California, San Francisco, California Area Health Education Center Program.

Our vision is to have a strong collaborative public health network and public health workforce that collectively works towards the development of healthy communities in HRSA Region 9 and the Nation.
Visit the WRPHTC website to learn more...

The Arizona Smokers' Helpline (ASHLine) has provided telephone tobacco cessation services to all tobacco users who wish to quit tobacco in the State of Arizona since 1997. The ASHLine is a comprehensive quitline providing callers with information, counseling and medications in their efforts to quit tobacco. The ASHLine is uniquely partnered with the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease to reach communities and increase the use of the quitline. ASHLine has a highly trained group of health educators that work directly with health care systems to incorporate tobacco assessment and referral into the daily operations of providers. ASHLine has a robust referral program partnering with thousands of health professionals and hundreds of health networks statewide. The focus of these partnerships is 'health systems change' as laid out in the 'US PHS Clinical Practice Guideline: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, 2008 Update.' Through these partnerships ASHLine receives almost 15,000 proactive client referrals annually, in which health professionals fax or electronically submit client consent for contact to ASHLine and our staff reach out via phone to offer quit tobacco services. Visit the ASHLine website to learn more...

The American Lung Association has opened an Asthma Clinical Research Center (ACRC) at the University of Arizona. The ACRC is the nation's largest not-for-profit network of clinical research centers dedicated to asthma treatment research, attracting some of the best asthma investigators worldwide. Professor Lynn Gerald, PhD, MA, MSPH, at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is principal investigator of the Center, a collaboration between the College and the Arizona Respiratory Center.

The Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion (CRCPHP) is dedicated to helping people achieve and maintain healthy lives by providing a variety of opportunities that facilitate and support growth toward health and well-being. The CRCPHP fosters the collaboration of academic, community and public health stakeholders by using research, education, advocacy, awareness, and service delivery to improve the health and well-being of the Tucson community. The CRCPHP supports practical application of strategies that can assist individuals and communities in adopting and maintaining healthy lifestyles. The center has partnered with local health service providers, other colleges within the university, and faith-based organizations to deliver quality health education in the area of diet, physical activity and obesity prevention. The goal of the CRCPHP is to promote health and wellness in the greater Tucson area, thus establishing Tucson as the center of wellness for the U.S. Read more...

The Center for American Indian Resilience (CAIR), an Exploratory Center for Excellence supported by the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. Northern Arizona University (NAU), University of Arizona (UA) and Diné College together with community partners collaborate to understand, teach, and share stories of resilience in American Indian communities. Their mission is to partner with American Indian communities to promote health and resilience. Read more...

In October 2003, the WCOE was awarded the prestigious designation as one of 20 model National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The mission of the WCOE is to improve the health and wellness of women throughout the lifecycle, with an emphasis on Hispanic and underserved women. The WCOE has a history of productive partnerships with local health and human services, community-based agencies, and communities throughout southern Arizona. Read more...

The AzCRH mission is to “improve the health and wellness or Arizona’s rural and vulnerable populations.” Established in 1982 as the Rural Health Office, it became the AzCRH in 2011 in MEZCOPH. The Center is a hub for collaboration with rural and underserved communities in Arizona, the southwest, and the border. In 1990, congressional legislation authorized establishing the Arizona State Office of Rural Health (AzSORH) with federal funding matching 1:3 ongoing state appropriations. AzSORH is a core Center program providing technical assistance, disseminating information, and coordinating rural health partnerships and activities, in conjunction with other programs and activities to positively impact rural and border health outcomes. AzCRH houses state and federally funded programs: the Arizona Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (HRSA), the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (HRSA), the AzCRH Navigator Consortium (CMS/CCIIO), the Arizona Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Initiative (CDC-Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Interagency Services Agreement (ISA), and the First Responders Opioid Training Initiative (SAMHSA-ADHS-ISA). Center faculty and staff provide data, synthesis, analysis, reports, and education to inform state, federal, and border legislative, regulatory, and program evaluation processes. For more information about the AzCRH, visit the Center for Rural Health Web site.

The Global Health Institute's goal is to provide a comprehensive and integrated focal point for innovative public health education, scholarship, research, advocacy, and leadership training for the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, UA and GHI' s partners. The GHI is dedicated to finding evidence-based solutions to global health problems through the education and training of tomorrow's global health leaders. The overall mission of GHI is to promote the health of individuals and communities in Arizona, the Southwest and globally through excellence in education, research & service. Read more...

The Healthy Aging Lab, directed by Dr. Zhao Chen, is an epidemiologic research laboratory investigating causes, consequences, and effective interventions for common health conditions in older people. Ongoing studies in the lab focus on similarities and differences in etiologies and health effects of osteoporosis (low bone mass and high fracture risk), sarcopenia (low skeletal muscle mass and strength), and anemia (low hemoglobin level) across different racial/ethnic groups of older women. More...

The Skin Cancer Institute (SCI) is a unique partnership focused on patient care, community outreach, research, and education as strategies to prevent and cure skin cancer. The Institute’s vision is to serve as the model for community-based skin cancer research and care in the United States. The partnership includes faculty from MEZCOPH and the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Optical Sciences, Pharmacy, and the Arizona Cancer Center. Dr. Robin Harris, an epidemiologist at MEZCOPH, is the Co-Director of SCI. The Skin Cancer Institute unifies many skin cancer related activities at the University into one coordinated entity, bringing together innovative research, visionary clinical care, and life-changing education and outreach “under one roof.” Visit Skin Cancer Institute website

The University of Arizona is ranked first in the U.S. and second in the world for environmental science research (1). UA researchers excel at interdisciplinary collaboration across a broad range of topics related to environmental hazard identification and human health effects. The Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center (ESRAC) at the University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, integrates public health impact assessment across existing environmental research disciplines. 1 (Journal Science of the Total Environment, 2012) Visit ESRAC website

The University of Arizona created the Western Mining Safety and Health Resource Training Center under the NIOSH Western Training Grant to support the occupational health needs of the mining community. This interdisciplinary collaborative program spans the Departments of Mining and Geological Engineering; Teaching, Learning, and SocioCultural Studies in the College of Education; and Community, Environment and Policy in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

The Training Resource Center provides timely and relevant mining community-specific information, resources, and methods that increases the capacity and efficacy of exposure measurement, safety training, and leadership for miners. The Training Resource Center offers (1) a full range of MSHA safety courses on a regular schedule; (2) courses on adult and English language learner education for trainers, (3) mining leadership; (4) industrial hygiene and occupational health support; and (4) technology integration (e.g., interactive fatalgrams for use in safety training). Visit the Western Mining Safety and Health Resource Training Center to learn more.