Abstract: OBJECTIVE This qualitative review compares state-led efforts to obtain continuing education credits (CEU) for water operators who complete CDC’s Fluoridation Learning Online (FLO) training. The review identifies themes for successful implementation and analyzes the impact on registration rates among the training’s target audiences. METHODS CDC staff is conducting open ended discussions with oral health program staff from states who have worked through their state water quality agencies to obtain state-level CEU for FLO. Common themes around challenges, benefits, and lessons learned are being extracted and analyzed. CDC staff are using proprietary training registration data to examine whether state-level water operator CEU leads to an increase in training sign-ups among learners who identify themselves as working for a water system. RESULTS Interviews and related analyses are ongoing. Preliminary analysis of registration data indicates states with water operator CEU show more signups than states that don’t, and there appears to be an increase in registrations once CEUs become available. CONCLUSIONS Rules or requirements issued by state agencies that certify water operator training are not standardized, emphasizing that individualized state-level efforts to obtain training certification are necessary. These efforts are effective: States that obtain CEU for FLO see an increase in the number of water operators who access training in community water fluoridation. CDC assists states as they work to obtain state-level CEU for water operators by communicating lessons learned from other jurisdictions.
