Overview
Bill Bower, M.P.H. is Senior Lecturer at the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health. He worked with international health programs for 19 years (Latin America, Africa, Asia), focusing on the training of lay health workers, clinicians, and program managers. He has contributed to classic books on the training of lay-workers ""Where There Is No Doctor"" and ""Helping Health Workers Learn."" In the US, he directed TB education and training efforts for 16 years for the New York City Department of Health Bureau of Tuberculosis Control and the Charles P. Felton National Tuberculosis Center at Harlem Hospital. The pocket reference cards he developed on treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) are the most widely distributed educational materials on this subject. These tuberculosis training efforts joined with the New Jersey Medical School Global Tuberculosis Institute and the State of Massachusetts Department of Health to form the Northeastern Regional Training and Medical Consultation Consortium, serving 20 state and city tuberculosis control programs.
Mr. Bower also worked with the education and training efforts of the MTCT-Plus Initiative, launching HIV/AIDS care treatment programs in 13 sites in sub-Saharan Africa and Thailand, and was a co-investigator on the TAPAS Study, a randomly controlled trial of the effect of peer workers who assist clients in completion of treatment of LTBI. Through the DOT Provider Education and Training project, he worked with colleagues organizing and evaluating training for providers of directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis in New York City. As Director of Training and Technical Assistance of the Peer Advanced Competency Project (PACT), he participated in the overall guidance of training and technical assistance efforts designed to enhance the contributions of HIV/AIDS peer workers in programs in New York City. As evaluation consultant to the MENTORS Project in Uganda, he designed tools for this innovative effort testing the use of clinical mentors to improve mid-level practitioners' management of tuberculosis and HIV. He has expertise in developing educational materials, training for community-based health workers, and professional education support for implementing service delivery and behavioral/operational research efforts.
Academic Appointments
- Special Lecturer in Population and Family Health
Administrative Titles
- Director of Education and Training, Charles P. Felton National TB Center at Harlem Hospital
Research
Urban Health Activities
TAPAS Project: Mr. Bower was a co-investigator of the NHLBI-funded TAPAS Study, a randomly controlled trial of the effect of peer workers who assist clients in completion of treatment of latent tuberculosis infection.
DOT Provider Education and Training: Through the NY state DOH-funded DOT Provider Education and Training project, Mr. Bower works with colleagues organizing and evaluating training for providers of directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis in New York City
PACT Project: As Training Advisor of the Peer Advanced Competency Project (PACT), Mr. Bower participates in the overall guidance of training and technical assistance efforts designed to enhance the contributions of HIV/AIDS peer workers in programs in New York City.