February 2026
Spotlight: Correct Car Seat Usage Videos
We receive a lot of newsletters just like the one you’re reading now, and in the January edition of the Road to Zero newsletter, a new set of videos on car seat safety caught our eye. These videos help parents and caregivers understand why proper installation is critical for protection in the event of a crash.
Here’s what the Road to Zero newsletter said:
“Funded by a Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant, the Ohio State University Injury Biomechanics Research Center and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia collaborated to create a series of videos showing the importance of using child car safety seats correctly and the potential consequences of misuse. With their grant, they devised computer-simulated footage showing outcomes of virtual test crashes. These videos are now publicly available through CHoP’s Child Passenger Safety YouTube channel and OSU’s Buckle Up With Brutus channel.”
Click the links above to see the videos and share them with the communities you serve.
Safe States 2026 Annual Conference Call for Proposals
The Safe States Alliance is excited to invite your participation in the 2026 Virtual Conference on June 24th and 25th. The theme of the 2026 Conference is “The Path Forward.” We know you are doing exciting work in your communities, states, and nationally, and the Safe States Annual Conference is a great way to share your work and insights with colleagues from across the country. We look forward to reviewing each proposal submission.
Learn more and submit your proposal here.
Save-the-Date: 3rd National Conference on American Indian and Alaska Native Injury & Violence Prevention
Please mark your calendar for the 3rd National Conference on American Indian and Alaska Native Injury & Violence Prevention, taking place Wednesday, July 15 – Friday, July 17, 2026, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This year’s conference will offer a dynamic program featuring interactive workshops, engaging roundtables, informative breakout sessions, and inspiring keynote presentations, all designed to encourage learning, collaboration, and meaningful dialogue.
More information on registration and abstract submission will be shared soon. Sign up for the NNPHI newsletter to be notified.
Social Media Calendar
(View social media calendars here.)
Feb 2-8: National Burn Awareness Week
Feb 9-15: Product Safety & Recalls
Feb 16-22: Choking Prevention
Feb 23-March 1: TV & Furniture Tip-Overs
Upcoming Events
Webinar: Frontiers of Technology: Attention Please!
Date: February 3, 2026, 1:00 PM ET
Join Road to Zero for a conversation with Dr. Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist in the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and author of the new book, "How to Make AI Useful: Moving beyond the hype to real progress in business, society and life." Dr. Reimer will join Road to Zero's Julia Kite-Laidlaw for a virtual fireside chat on his work with the AHEAD Consortium, developing the next generation of driver attention measurement tools. Learn about why distracted driving is not simply a matter of cognitive overload, and what the move toward greater automation in driving means for human driver performance.
Register here.
Webinar: Workforce Wellness Recharge: Drivers, Detours, and Destinations: Strength-Based Goal Setting for the Public Health Workforce
Date: February 3, 2026, 12-1:30 PM ET
After the holidays, many public health professionals return to work feeling depleted, scattered, and pressured to “get back on track.” They continue to make meaningful contributions in their communities while carrying heavy workloads, public responsibility, and personal stress. Drivers, Detours, and Destinations reframes goal setting as a reset rather than a restart, acknowledging that progress is rarely linear and that detours are part of the journey.
Grounded in recovery-informed practice and neuroscience, this webinar introduces a strength-based, brain-informed approach to goal setting that honors burnout, setbacks, and real-world constraints. Participants will explore why traditional goal-setting often fails under stress, how capacity and follow-through are impacted by burnout, and how to create small, sustainable actions that build momentum over time. If you slip, you don’t stop—you recalibrate, reset, and keep moving forward.
Please note: This webinar is designed to be more interactive and will not be recorded.
Hosted by the Region IV Public Health Training Center. More information and registration here.
Webinar: Outreach Tabling Tips, Tricks, and Tools for Safe Routes Success!
Date: February 4, 2026, 2:00 PM ET
Tabling events are great for connecting with community members and raising awareness about Safe Routes programs. But sometimes, they can feel a bit transactional. This webinar explores how to design and implement quick, yet meaningful, outreach tabling activities to advance Safe Routes projects. You’ll walk away with an “outreach tabling in a box” checklist, grab-and-go activities, creative questions to spark thoughtful conversations, and more!
More information and registration here.
Webinar: Persuasive Communication: Influencing Patients, Partners and the Public
Date: February 5, 2026, 9:15 AM - 12:30PM ET
Do you like to be told what to do or how to think? Most people don’t! But, as public health professionals, we are tasked with influencing behaviors, communities, and systems for the greater good. How do we persuade others in way that everyone wins?
This workshop borrows techniques from improvisational theater to help practitioners convey resonant, compelling public health messages to a variety of audiences. Participants will throw out the script and—instead of simply dispensing information—learn how to be present, show empathy and build real relationships with stakeholders. They will learn to quickly build connections, listen fully to get valuable information about an individual’s motivations, master body language to send signals of similarity, and strategize an effective plan so people feel heard, understood, and taken care of. Public health professionals can apply this training when building coalitions, working with teams, crafting public information messages, and developing partnerships across other sectors.
Because listening and communication skills cannot be taught in a lecture or in a book, this workshop is full of fun and memorable learning experiences. Participants will be engaged in hands-on exercises, demonstrations, group activities, and games. Everything is designed to build participants’ abilities to be confident, effective communicators when they get back to workplace.
Hosted by the Region IV Public Health Training Center. Learn more and register here.
Webinar: National Child Exploitation Prevention Programming
Date: February 10, 2026, 1:00 PM ET
Please join Children’s Safety Network on Safer Internet Day for a webinar on programs aimed at creating healthy and safe spaces for children and adolescents. During this webinar, we will hear from Special Agent Britney Hays from the Secret Service’s Child Safety Outreach Programs, as well as Ale Levi and Rene Young from the Department of Homeland Security.
More information and registration here.
Webinar: Insight and Inspiration | Steady Hands, Steady Teams: Leading with Confidence and Composure
Date: February 11, 2026, 4:00 PM ET
In an era of immense pressure on public health leaders, intentional leadership can determine organizational stability, confidence, and credibility. This session examines how clear, purposeful leadership strengthens both internal and external trust. Through insights and reflection, we will examine how leaders embody steadiness amid uncertainty, set a sustainable pace, and provide calm direction that builds trust and drives performance. This conversation aims to inspire participants to recognize their composure and capacity not as a personal indulgence but as a fundamental leadership function that shapes the overall tone, focus, and confidence of their organizations.
Hosted by ASTHO. More information and registration here.
Webinar: Creating a Plan for Grant Writing Success: Decoding Requests for Funding Proposals (RFPs) and Preparing for Proposal
Date: February 12, 2026, 8:45 AM-12:00 PM ET
Public health practice depends on funding to function, but unless you are the primary grant writer for your health department or have years of related experience, the process of seeking and applying for funding can be confusing and daunting. This 3-hour interactive workshop focuses on preparing your organization to apply for funding, finding and evaluating funding sources, and coming up with a plan for the proposal development, including a timeline and division of team assignments. Special focus will be given to decoding the request for funding proposals (RFPs) including understanding the key components of a grant proposal (including budget, goals/objectives, evaluation) and what to include in each.
More information and registration here.
Webinar: Claves del Éxito CPST: Pólizas y Mentoría
Date: February 17, 2026, 2:00 PM ET
The first Spanish webinar from the National Child Passenger Safety Board!
En la labor de un CPST, el conocimiento técnico es solo la mitad de la educación. Para generar un impacto real y duradero en la comunidad es vital contar con una estructura organizativa robusta. En nuestro primer seminario web en español, hablaremos sobre pólizas de protocolo y como encontrar y convertirte en un mentor efectivo para fortalecer la red de técnicos de habla hispana.
English: In the work of a CPST, technical knowledge is only half of the education. To produce a real and lasting impact in the community, it is vital to have a robust organizational structure. In our first Spanish webinar, we will discuss protocol policies and how to find and become an effective mentor to strengthen the network of Spanish-speaking Technicians.
Register here.
Webinar: State Technical Assistance Webinar: Top Trends Driving Public Health Communication in 2026
Date: February 18, 2026, 2:00 PM ET
In a fast-paced changing world, the role of public health is ever more critical. Join Katrina Boylan, co-host of the podcast Communications Breakdown, for a discussion on what’s trending in the public health communications world, like finding an authentic voice, reaching audiences, addressing mis- and disinformation, using AI ethically and effectively, and creating content that meets your audience’s needs.
Learn more here. No registration required (this link will directly open the meeting)
Webinar: Collaborating to Save Lives: Interdisciplinary Pathways in Unintentional Overdose Prevention
Date: February 19, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
This webinar will explore how this complex social, legal, medical, public health, and societal health issue is addressed by many disciplines. Via a lively discussion format, we’ll talk with researchers and practitioners in the fields of injury and violence prevention and other areas of public health, sociology, social work, healthcare, policy, and criminal justice. The speakers will provide insight into how their fields approach this topic, give updates on current innovations in their work, and provide examples of how strong connections and interdisciplinary collaboration can advance a more holistic approach to preventing and responding to unintentional overdose.
This IVP Grand Rounds is intended for anyone working on unintentional overdose, with the goal of bringing together researchers and practitioners from multiple disciplines to engage around this issue. Participants will gain new perspectives on how to approach unintentional overdose prevention and response, and identify new partners with whom to collaborate to better inform and enhance their work. Students and recent graduates will also gain insight into the value of an interdisciplinary approach and how their field of study connects with others addressing a broad, multi-faceted issue.
Co-hosted by Safe States Alliance and the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR), this Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) Grand Rounds is part of a series presented through a CDC-funded initiative to expand pathways into the injury and violence prevention workforce.
More information and registration here.
Webinar: Public Health on the Pitch: Radiation Readiness for the FIFA World Cup
Date: February 24, 2026, 1:00 PM ET
Join ASTHO for a webinar focused on public health preparedness and response related to the upcoming FIFA World Cup. This session will highlight response operations to a radiological incident during a mass gathering. The discussion will be led by Dr. Ziad Kazzi, an emergency physician and medical toxicologist with internationally recognized expertise in poisoning and radiation toxicology.
More information and registration here.
Webinar: Power of Communications #1: Navigating Conflict and Communication Issues with Teams and Partners in Rural Settings
Date: February 26, 2026, 12-1:30 PM ET
This live training session is part of a 4-part series on rural health communications. This first session is about navigating conflict/communications issues with teams and partners. Additionally, session 2 will focus on navigating conflict/communications issues with the public, and sessions 3 and 4 will focus on navigating these issues with the media. Participants are encouraged to attend as many sessions as they are interested in. Stay tuned for more information!
Sign up for the Region V Public Health Training Center’s newsletter to receive updates (form is at bottom of page).