Problems and progress in public health education

An Insight Into the Acceptance and Hesitancy of COVID-19 Vaccines in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 vaccines are found to be effective interventions to tackle COVID-19. However, the hesitancy towards its acceptance has been rising in Pakistan. This study highlights the opinion of the general population in Pakistan regarding the acceptance and hesitancy of COVID-19 vaccination.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional survey study was conducted among Pakistanis from December 2021 to January 2022. Adult respondents that have and have not received COVID-19 vaccinations were included in this study. Data collection was obtained through questionnaires that assessed acceptance and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS software version 25 for Windows.

RESULTS

We obtained 367 respondents with 333 respondents completing the questionnaire. There were 259 respondents who have been vaccinated. A total of 67.9% of responses agreed that vaccines could control the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasons for not getting vaccination were afraid of adverse effects (48.6%) and COVID-19 vaccines not being tested thoroughly (30.9%). The main reason for vaccine acceptance was awareness about vaccines (23.1%), a belief that vaccines can stop severe COVID-19 disease (16.8%), and self-protection (14.7%).

CONCLUSION

Most Pakistanis agreed that vaccines could manage the pandemic. Vaccine acceptance was contributed by the awareness and belief regarding the protective effects of vaccines while vaccine hesitancy was due to the public's doubt about the vaccines' side effects and testing. The Pakistan government should focus on emphasizing knowledge about vaccines, educating the vaccines' adverse effects, and utilizing social media in doing so.

An overview of public health education in South Asia: Challenges and opportunities

Over the past two decades, there has been an increased demand for Public Health Education (PHE) in South Asia. While this region has a large number of Public Health (PH) institutions, the quality of PHE has not been aligned with the core PH competencies. In this article, we present an overview of Master of Public Health (MPH) programs across South Asian countries. An extensive systematic search on various web search engines regarding PH course offerings was conducted, including specific institute and educational websites. By 2021, more than 180 institutions in South Asia provided an MPH degree. Most of these institutions/universities were found in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and a few among these institutions were established as independent Schools of Public Health (SPH), separate from medical colleges, and had a multidisciplinary faculty. But, dedicated training facilities in the specialized field of public health were not found in most of these institutions. Generally, a well-defined MPH curriculum is not currently available except in India where the University Grants Commission (UGC) guideline for a model MPH curriculum has been proposed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The entry criteria for an MPH degree in India is accepting students in multidisciplinary fields, while in other South Asian countries this is primarily restricted to medical/paramedical students with a basic understanding of preventive medicine. The aim of this review was to document the current and future PHE opportunities and challenges in South Asia.

Acceptance Rates and Beliefs toward COVID-19 Vaccination among the General Population of Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Developing countries like Pakistan have previously suffered from barriers to acceptance of vaccination by the public because of financial and belief barriers. This study aims to explore these beliefs and highlight concerns regarding vaccine hesitancy in the general population of Pakistan since they are a hindrance to an effective coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) immunization in the country. A cross-sectional study was performed involving 1,778 participants from all four provinces of Pakistan. Results from the study showed more than half of the participants to be unsure of the safety (50%) and efficacy (51%) of the vaccine, whereas 42% were concerned about the side effects of the vaccine. About 72% of the respondents planned to get vaccinated, whereas 28% refused to do so. Internationally made imported vaccines were more trusted by the participants. Forty-four percent of the participants agreed to receive the vaccine upon recommendation from a physician. Lastly, participants who believed in the efficacy of the polio vaccination also considered the COVID-19 vaccine to be safe and effective.

Barriers to the implementation of sexual and reproductive health education programmes in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Health education programmes (HEPs) have been associated with a number of benefits. These include providing individuals with information on matters related to their mental, social, physical as well as emotional health. HEPs also play a major role in preventing diseases and reducing the level of engagement of individuals in risky behaviours. While this is the case, there are barriers to the effective implementation of HEPs, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) where resources are scarce. Available evidence has revealed socioeconomic challenges ranging from literacy issues, discomfort about issues of sexuality, and cultural barriers to financial constraints as key barriers to the implementation of sexual and reproductive health HEPs in LMICs. We will focus on HEPs related to sexual and reproductive health; all age groups will be considered with no restrictions on geographical setting nor model of HEP delivery. This review will map literature on the barriers to the effective implementation of HEPs in LMICs to guide future implementation research.

METHODS

Arksey and O'Malley's 2005 scoping methodological framework will act as the guide for this review. We will search the following electronic databases: EBSCOhost (Academic search complete, PsycINFO, Health Sources, CINAHL and MEDLINE with full text), Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS, Science Direct and Web of Science. Grey literature from Mount Kenya University theses and dissertations, governments' as well as international organisations' reports, such as WHO, and reference lists of included studies will be searched for eligible studies. We will limit our search to publications from 1 January 2000 to 30 September 2019. Using thematic content analysis, we will employ NVivo V.12 to extract the relevant outcomes from the included articles. We will conduct a quality appraisal of the included articles using the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT) version 2018.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

No ethical approval is needed for the study as it will not include animal nor human participants. The results of the proposed scoping review will be disseminated electronically, in print and through conference presentation as well as at key stakeholder meetings.

Schools of public health in low and middle-income countries: an imperative investment for improving the health of populations?

BACKGROUND

Public health has multicultural origins. By the close of the nineteenth century, Schools of Public Health (SPHs) began to emerge in western countries in response to major contemporary public health challenges. The Flexner Report (1910) emphasized the centrality of preventive medicine, sanitation, and public health measures in health professional education. The Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care (PHC) in 1978 was a critical milestone, especially for low and middle-income countries (LMICs), conceptualizing a close working relationship between PHC and public health measures. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005-2008) strengthened the case for SPHs in LMICs as key stakeholders in efforts to reduce global health inequities. This scoping review groups text into public health challenges faced by LMICs and the role of SPHs in addressing these challenges.

MAIN TEXT

The challenges faced by LMICs include rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, unfair terms of global trade, limited capacity for equitable growth, mass displacements associated with conflicts and natural disasters, and universal health coverage. Poor governance and externally imposed donor policies and agendas, further strain the fragile health systems of LMICs faced with epidemiological transition. Moreover barriers to education and research imposed by limited resources, political and economic instability, and unbalanced partnerships additionally aggravate the crisis. To address these contextual challenges effectively, SPHs are offering broad based health professional education, conducting multidisciplinary population based research and fostering collaborative partnerships. SPHs are also looked upon as the key drivers to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

CONCLUSION

SPHs in LMICs can contribute to overcoming several public health challenges being faced by LMICs, including achieving SDGs. Most importantly they can develop cadres of competent and well-motivated public health professionals: educators, practitioners and researchers who ask questions that address fundamental health determinants, seek solutions as agents of change within their mandates, provide specific services and serve as advocates for multilevel partnerships. Funding support, human resources, and agency are unfortunately often limited or curtailed in LMICs, and this requires constructive collaboration between LMICs and counterpart institutions from high income countries.

Health visitor education for today's Britain: Messages from a narrative review of the health visitor literature

OBJECTIVES

This paper draws on a narrative review of the literature, commissioned to support the Health Visitor Implementation Plan, and aimed at identifying messages about the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by health visitors to work within the current system of health care provision.

DESIGN

The scoping study and narrative review used three complementary approaches: a broad search, a structured search, and a seminal paper search to identify empirical papers from the health visitor literature for review. The key inclusion criteria were messages of relevance for practice.

DATA SOURCES

378 papers were reviewed. These included empirical papers from the United Kingdom (UK) from 2004 to February 2012, older research identified in the seminal paper search and international literature from 2000 to January 2016.

REVIEW METHODS

The review papers were read by members of the multidisciplinary research team which included health visitor academics, social scientists, and a clinical psychologist managed the international literature. Thematic content analysis was used to identify main messages. These were tabulated and shared between researchers in order to compare emergent findings and to confirm dominant themes.

RESULTS

The analysis identified an 'orientation to practice' based on salutogenesis (health creation), human valuing (person-centred care), and viewing the person in situation (human ecology) as the aspirational core of health visitors' work. This was realised through home visiting, needs assessment, and relationship formation at different levels of service provision. A wide range of knowledge, skills, and abilities were required, including knowledge of health as a process and skills in engagement, building trust, and making professional judgments. These are currently difficult to impart within a 45week health visitor programme and are facilitated through ad hoc post-registration education and training. The international literature reported both similarities and differences between the working practices of health visitors in the UK and public health nurses worldwide. Challenges related to the education of each were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The breadth and scope of knowledge, skills, and abilities required by health visitors make a review of current educational provision desirable. Three potential models for health visitor education are described.

Impact of MPH programs: contributing to health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries?

BACKGROUND

The "health workforce" crisis has led to an increased interest in health professional education, including MPH programs. Recently, it was questioned whether training of mid- to higher level cadres in public health prepared graduates with competencies to strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Measuring educational impact has been notoriously difficult; therefore, innovative methods for measuring the outcome and impact of MPH programs were sought. Impact was conceptualized as "impact on workplace" and "impact on society," which entailed studying how these competencies were enacted and to what effect within the context of the graduates' workplaces, as well as on societal health.

METHODS

This is part of a larger six-country mixed method study; in this paper, the focus is on the qualitative findings of two English language programs, one a distance MPH program offered from South Africa, the other a residential program in the Netherlands. Both offer MPH training to students from a diversity of countries. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 graduates (per program), working in low- and middle-income health systems, their peers, and their supervisors.

RESULTS

Impact on the workplace was reported as considerable by graduates and peers as well as supervisors and included changes in management and leadership: promotion to a leadership position as well as expanded or revitalized management roles were reported by many participants. The development of leadership capacity was highly valued amongst many graduates, and this capacity was cited by a number of supervisors and peers. Wider impact in the workplace took the form of introducing workplace innovations such as setting up an AIDS and addiction research center and research involvement; teaching and training, advocacy, and community engagement were other ways in which graduates' influence reached a wider target grouping. Beyond the workplace, an intersectoral approach, national reach through policy advisory roles to Ministries of Health, policy development, and capacity building, was reported. Work conditions and context influenced conduciveness for innovation and the extent to which graduates were able to have effect. Self-selection of graduates and their role in selecting peers and supervisors may have resulted in some bias, some graduates could not be traced, and social acceptability bias may have influenced findings.

CONCLUSIONS

There was considerable impact at many levels; graduates were perceived to be able to contribute significantly to their workplaces and often had influence at the national level. Much of the impact described was in line with public health educational aims. The qualitative method study revealed more in-depth understanding of graduates' impact as well as their career pathways.

Primary health care teaching to postgraduate public health students, comparison of two models: A natural experiment

Background:

Primary health care as an approach forms an integral part of any public health curricula. The knowledge regarding primary health care can be delivered to public health trainee through conventional or the modular teaching models.

Objectives:

We aimed to observe whether there was any difference in the summative assessment scores between two different modalities of teaching primary health care to public health trainee at School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.

Methods:

The present study was a natural experiment. Students of Masters of Public Health (MPH) and MD (Community Medicine) formed two natural groups. They were taught by modular and conventional methods of teaching respectively. A total of seven MPH students and nine MD students, participated in the study.

Results:

Overall summative assessment score among MPH students was 63.9 ± 10.0 in comparison to 61.1 ± 10.9 among MD students. The difference in total scores was not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

We conclude that approaching a complex topic such as primary health care requires a mix of both modular and non-modular teaching to maximize outputs.

[Public health competencies and contents in Spanish undergraduate medical degrees]

OBJECTIVE

To reach a consensus among public health faculty from various Spanish universities about the core public health competencies that should be integrated into undergraduate medical degrees.

METHODS

The 2nd Forum of University Teachers was held at the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, 11-12 December 2014). Twenty-four university professors and lecturers from 19 Spanish universities imparting medical degrees participated in the forum. They were distributed in three working groups during three working sessions. In the first session, they were asked to identify and classify core public health competencies for medical degrees. In the second, they were asked to propose public health contents for the identified competencies. In the third session, the participants organized these contents in thematic blocks. The results were discussed in distinct plenary sessions.

RESULTS

The highest number of core competencies was identified in the activities related to the public health functions «Assessment of the population's health needs» and «Developing health policies». The final programme included basic contents organised into five units: Concept of health, public health and its determinants; Epidemiology and health research; Determinants and health problems; Strategies, interventions and policies; and health systems, clinical and healthcare management.

CONCLUSIONS

The public health core competencies and contents identified in this Forum may be considered as a starting point to improve and update public health training programmes for future medical professionals.

Outcome and impact of Master of Public Health programs across six countries: education for change

BACKGROUND

The human resources for health crisis has highlighted the need for high-level public health education to add specific capacities to the workforce. Recently, it was questioned whether Master of Public Health (MPH) training prepared graduates with competencies relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to examine the influence of the MPH programs geared towards LMICs offered in Vietnam, China, South Africa, Mexico, Sudan, and the Netherlands on graduates' careers, application of acquired competencies, performance at the workplace, and their professional contribution to society.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire was sent to graduates from six MPH programs. Frequency distributions of the answers were calculated, and a bivariate analysis and logistic regression of certain variables was performed.

RESULTS

The response rate was 37.5%. Graduates reported change in leadership (69%), in technical position (69%), acquiring new responsibilities (80%), and increased remuneration (63%); they asserted that MPH programs contributed significantly to this. Graduates' attribution of their application of 7 key competencies 'substantially to the MPH program' ranged from 33% to 48%. Of the 26 impact variables, graduates attributed the effect they had on their workplace substantially to the MPH program; the highest rated variable ranged from 31% to 73% and the lowest ranged from 9% to 43%. Of the 10 impact variables on society, graduates attributed the effect they had on society substantially to the MPH program; for the highest rated variable (13% to 71%); for the lowest rated variable (4% to 42%). Candidates' attribution of their application of acquired competencies as well as their impact at the workplace varied significantly according to institution of study and educational background.

CONCLUSIONS

This study concludes that these MPH programs contribute to improving graduates' careers and to building leadership in public health. The MPH programs contribute to graduates' application of competencies. MPH programs contribute substantially towards impact variables on the workplace, such as development of research proposals and reporting on population health needs, and less substantially to their impact on society, such as contributing equitable access to quality services. Differences reported between MPH programs merit further study. The results can be used for curriculum reform.

Public health education in South Asia: a basis for structuring a master degree course

Countries in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) lack enough public health workforces to address their poor public health situation. Recently, there have been efforts to develop capacity building in public health in these countries by producing competent public health workforce through public health institutes and schools. Considering the wide nature of public health, the public health education and curricula should be linked with skills, knowledge, and competencies needed for public health practice and professionalism. The 3 domains of public health practice and the 10 essential public health services provide an operational framework to explore this link between public health practice and public health education. This framework incorporates five core areas of public health education. A master degree course in public health can be structured by incorporating these core areas as basic and reinforcing one of these areas as an elective followed by a dissertation work.

Making mapping matter: a case study for short project international partnerships by global public health students

BACKGROUND

A large number of global public health students seek international experience as part of their academic curriculum. These placements are often short, given the constraints of cost and time available within the academic calendar. In contrast to international electives for clinical students there are few published guidelines on practical, ethical or feasible projects. This paper describes a ten-day sanitation mapping project in Mumbai, India and explores the broader implications for global public health student electives.

METHODS

Three graduate public health students conducted a geographic review of sanitation facilities in Cheeta Camp informal settlement, Mumbai. Forty-six toilet blocks with 701 individual seats were identified. The project was reviewed ethically, educationally and logistically as a possible model for other short-term international projects.

CONCLUSIONS

Clearer guidelines are needed to support non-clinical placements by global public health students. Projects that are feasible, relevant and meaningful should be foster maximise benefit for learners and host communities.

Should we adjust health education methodology to low-educated employees needs? Findings from Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and Spain

OBJECTIVES

The presented study explored health beliefs and experiences as well as health education needs of low-educated employees (LEEs) (incomplete primary, primary, lower secondary and basic vocational education) in comparison to those with higher education (secondary and tertiary education) in four European countries: Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and Spain. The main aim was to identify a specificity of low-educated employees (LEEs) by capturing their opinions, experiences, attitudes and needs concerning health education.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The sample consisted of 1691 individuals with the status of an employee (approximately 400 respondents in each of 4 countries participating in the project). The respondents were aged 25-54 (both the control group and the target group consisted in 1/3 of the following age groups: 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54). The respondents were interviewed during the years 2009 and 2010 with a structured questionnaire concerning their health, health behaviours as well as educational needs concerning health education.

RESULTS

The study revealed substantial differences in the attitudes of people from this group concerning methodology of health education. LEEs prefer more competitions and campaigns and less written educational materials in comparison to those with higher education. Additionally, they more often perceive a fee, longer time, necessity to take part in a knowledge test and a concern that their health will be checked as factors that can discourage them from taking part in a health training. On the other hand, LEEs can by encouraged to take part in such a training by a media broadcast concerning the event, snacks or lottery during the training, or financial incentives.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the study proved the need for specific health education guidelines to conduct health education for low-educated employees. These guidelines should take in account the sources of health education preferred by LEEs as well as the factors that can encourage/discourage their participation in trainings concerning health.

Extending professional education to health workers at grass root level: an experience from all India institute of medical sciences, new delhi

Background:

In India, the opportunities for professional education of the grass root level health workers are grossly inadequate. Capacity building of all categories of health workers is needed for enhancing health outcomes.

Objectives:

To plan and implement a professional development training program for all categories of allied health workers and to assess its outcomes in terms of knowledge and skills

Materials and Method:

We planned and organized a ‘one week’(15 h) training program for 10 categories of allied health workers (1260) working in our hospital. The program included nine generic skills/topics: the prestige of AIIMS, sterilization & infection control, universal precaution, biomedical waste management, public health, life style & healthy nutrition, fire safety, communication skills and office procedure besides subject specific skills. Trainers were drawn from 12 departments. Training methodology included interactive lectures, narratives, demonstrations, videos, PPT slides, and informal discussions with participants. The effectiveness of the program was judged on the basis of participants’ feedback, feedback from the supervisors, and our own observations post training.

Results:

Feedback from the participants and their supervisors after training was encouraging. The participants described training as a “life time experience”. The supervisors reported improvement in confidence, communication skills, and awareness of workers.

Conclusion:

The success of the program was due to the use of interactive methods, involvement of multidisciplinary team, and commitment from leadership. We recommend that professional education should be linked with career advancement. Academic institutions can play a key role in taking such initiatives.

Education for public health in Europe and its global outreach

INTRODUCTION

At the present time, higher education institutions dealing with education for public health in Europe and beyond are faced with a complex and comprehensive task of responding to global health challenges.

REVIEW

Literature reviews in public health and global health and exploration of internet presentations of regional and global organisations dealing with education for public health were the main methods employed in the work presented in this paper. Higher academic institutions are searching for appropriate strategies in competences-based education, which will increase the global attractiveness of their academic programmes and courses for continuous professional development. Academic professionals are taking advantage of blended learning and new web technologies. In Europe and beyond they are opening up debates about the scope of public health and global health. Nevertheless, global health is bringing revitalisation of public health education, which is recognised as one of the core components by many other academic institutions involved in global health work. More than ever, higher academic institutions for public health are recognising the importance of institutional partnerships with various organisations and efficient modes of cooperation in regional and global networks. Networking in a global setting is bringing new opportunities, but also opening debates about global harmonisation of competence-based education to achieve functional knowledge, increase mobility of public health professionals, better employability and affordable performance.

CONCLUSIONS

As public health opportunities and threats are increasingly global, higher education institutions in Europe and in other regions have to look beyond national boundaries and participate in networks for education, research and practice.

Validation of public health competencies and impact variables for low- and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

The number of Master of Public Health (MPH) programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is increasing, but questions have been raised regarding the relevance of their outcomes and impacts on context. Although processes for validating public health competencies have taken place in recent years in many high-income countries, validation in LMICs is needed. Furthermore, impact variables of MPH programmes in the workplace and in society have not been developed.

METHOD

A set of public health competencies and impact variables in the workplace and in society was designed using the competencies and learning objectives of six participating institutions offering MPH programmes in or for LMICs, and the set of competencies of the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice as a reference. The resulting competencies and impact variables differ from those of the Council on Linkages in scope and emphasis on social determinants of health, context specificity and intersectoral competencies. A modified Delphi method was used in this study to validate the public health competencies and impact variables; experts and MPH alumni from China, Vietnam, South Africa, Sudan, Mexico and the Netherlands reviewed them and made recommendations.

RESULTS

The competencies and variables were validated across two Delphi rounds, first with public health experts (N = 31) from the six countries, then with MPH alumni (N = 30). After the first expert round, competencies and impact variables were refined based on the quantitative results and qualitative comments. Both rounds showed high consensus, more so for the competencies than the impact variables. The response rate was 100%.

CONCLUSION

This is the first time that public health competencies have been validated in LMICs across continents. It is also the first time that impact variables of MPH programmes have been proposed and validated in LMICs across continents. The high degree of consensus between experts and alumni suggests that these public health competencies and impact variables can be used to design and evaluate MPH programmes, as well as for individual and team assessment and continuous professional development in LMICs.

A systematic review of outcome and impact of master's in health and health care

BACKGROUND

The 'human resources for health' crisis has highlighted the need for more health (care) professionals and led to an increased interest in health professional education, including master's degree programmes. The number of these programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is increasing, but questions have been raised regarding their relevance, outcome and impact. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the outcomes and impact of health-related master's degree programmes.

METHODS

We searched the databases Scopus, Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, Psychinfo and Cochrane (1999 - November 2011) and selected websites. All papers describing outcomes and impact of health-related Master programmes were included. Three reviewers, two for each article, extracted data independently. The articles were categorised by type of programme, country, defined outcomes and impact, study methods used and level of evidence, and classified according to outcomes: competencies used in practice, graduates' career progression and impact on graduates' workplaces and sector/society.

RESULTS

Of the 33 articles included in the review, most originated from the US and the UK, and only one from a low-income country. The programmes studied were in public health (8), nursing (8), physiotherapy (5), family practice (4) and other topics (8). Outcomes were defined in less than one third of the articles, and impact was not defined at all. Outcomes and impact were measured by self-reported alumni surveys and qualitative methods. Most articles reported that competencies learned during the programme were applied in the workplace and alumni reported career progression or specific job changes. Some articles reported difficulties in using newly gained competencies in the workplace. There was limited evidence of impact on the workplace. Only two articles reported impact on the sector. Most studies described learning approaches, but very few described a mechanism to ensure outcome and impact of the programme.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence suggests that graduates apply newly learned competencies in the field and that they progress in their career. There is a paucity of well-designed studies assessing the outcomes and impact of health-related master's degree programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Studies of such programmes should consider the context and define outcomes and impact.

A European union and Canadian review of public health nursing preparation and practice

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the preparation and role of the public health nurse (PHN) across European Union (EU) countries (Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Canadian provinces (Alberta, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island).

METHODS

A literature review including relevant peer reviewed articles from 2000 on, in conjunction, with critical debate was undertaken. The results were considered in relation to the three essential areas of PHN practice, outlined in the World Health Organization (Moving on from Munich: A reference guide to the implementation of the declaration on nurses and midwives: A force for health, 2001b) recommendations, family oriented care, public health action, and policy making.

RESULTS

The major challenge the review revealed across a variety of international education and practice environments was the lack of consistent preparation for and engagement with leadership and policy making in practice.

Oxford graduates' perceptions of a global health master's degree: a case study

INTRODUCTION

Low and middle-income countries suffer an ongoing deficit of trained public health workers, yet optimizing postgraduate education to best address these training needs remains a challenge. Much international public health education literature has focused on global capacity building and/or the description of innovative programmes, but less on quality and appropriateness.

CASE DESCRIPTION

The MSc in Global Health Science at the University of Oxford is a relatively new, full-time one year master's degree in international public health. The programme is intended for individuals with significant evidence of commitment to health in low and middle income countries. The intake is small, with only about 25 students each year, but they are from diverse professional and geographical backgrounds. Given the diversity of their backgrounds, we wanted to determine the extent to which student background influenced their perceptions of the quality of their learning experience and their learning outcomes. We conducted virtual or face-to-face semi-structured individual interviews with students who had graduated from the course at least one year previously. Of the 2005 to 2007 intake years, 52 of 63 graduates (83%) were interviewed. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data, then linked results to student characteristics.

DISCUSSION

The findings from the evaluation suggested that all MSc GHS graduates who spoke with us, irrespective of background, appreciated the curriculum structure drawing on the strengths of a small, diverse student group, and the contribution the programme had made to their breadth of understanding and their careers. This evaluation also demonstrated the feasibility of an educational evaluation conducted several years after programme completion and when graduates were 'in the field'. This is important in ensuring international public health programmes are relevant to the day-to-day work of public health practitioners and researchers in low and middle-income countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Feedback from students, when they had either resumed their positions 'in the field' or pursued further training, was useful in identifying valuable and positive aspects of the programme and also in identifying areas for further action and development by the programme's management and by individual teaching staff.

Training initiatives within the AFHSC-Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System: support for IHR (2005)

Training is a key component of building capacity for public health surveillance and response, but has often been difficult to quantify. During fiscal 2009, the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) supported 18 partner organizations in conducting 123 training initiatives in 40 countries for 3,130 U.S. military, civilian and host-country personnel. The training assisted with supporting compliance with International Health Regulations, IHR (2005). Training activities in pandemic preparedness, outbreak investigation and response, emerging infectious disease (EID) surveillance and pathogen diagnostic techniques were expanded significantly. By engaging local health and other government officials and civilian institutions, the U.S. military’s role as a key stakeholder in global public health has been strengthened and has contributed to EID-related surveillance, research and capacity-building initiatives specified elsewhere in this issue. Public health and emerging infections surveillance training accomplished by AFHSC-GEIS and its Department of Defense (DoD) partners during fiscal 2009 will be tabulated and described.

Engaging undergraduates to solve global health challenges: a new approach based on bioengineering design

Recent reports have highlighted the need for educational programs to prepare students for careers developing and disseminating new interventions that improve global public health. Because of its multi-disciplinary, design-centered nature, the field of Biomedical Engineering can play an important role in meeting this challenge. This article describes a new program at Rice University to give undergraduate students from all disciplines a broad background in bioengineering and global health and provides an initial assessment of program impact. Working in partnership with health care providers in developing countries, students in the Beyond Traditional Borders (BTB) initiative learn about health challenges of the poor and put this knowledge to work immediately, using the engineering design process as a framework to formulate solutions to complex global health challenges. Beginning with a freshman design project and continuing through a capstone senior design course, the BTB curriculum uses challenges provided by partners in the developing world to teach students to integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines, and to develop leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. Exceptional students implement their designs under the guidance of clinicians through summer international internships. Since 2006, 333 students have designed more than 40 technologies and educational programs; 28 have been implemented in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, southeast Asia, and the United States. More than 18,000 people have benefited from these designs. 95% of alumni who completed an international internship reported that participation in the program changed or strengthened their career plans to include a focus on global health medicine, research, and/or policy. Empowering students to use bioengineering design to address real problems is an effective way to teach the new generation of leaders needed to solve global health challenges.

Improving public health training and research capacity in Africa: a replicable model for linking training to health and socio-demographic surveillance data

BACKGROUND

Research training for public health professionals is key to the future of public health and policy in Africa. A growing number of schools of public health are connected to health and socio-demographic surveillance system field sites in developing countries, in Africa and Asia in particular. Linking training programs with these sites provides important opportunities to improve training, build local research capacity, foreground local health priorities, and increase the relevance of research to local health policy.

OBJECTIVE

To increase research training capacity in public health programs by providing targeted training to students and increasing the accessibility of existing data.

DESIGN

This report is a case study of an approach to linking public health research and training at the University of the Witwatersrand. We discuss the development of a sample training database from the Agincourt Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance System in South Africa and outline a concordant transnational intensive short course on longitudinal data analysis offered by the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Colorado-Boulder. This case study highlights ways common barriers to linking research and training can be overcome.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

This collaborative effort demonstrates that linking training to ongoing data collection can improve student research, accelerate student training, and connect students to an international network of scholars. Importantly, the approach can be adapted to other partnerships between schools of public health and longitudinal research sites.

Increasing leadership capacity for HIV/AIDS programmes by strengthening public health epidemiology and management training in Zimbabwe

BACKGROUND

Increased funding for global human immunodeficiency virus prevention and control in developing countries has created both a challenge and an opportunity for achieving long-term global health goals. This paper describes a programme in Zimbabwe aimed at responding more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reinforcing a critical competence-based training institution and producing public health leaders.

METHODS

The programme used new HIV/AIDS programme-specific funds to build on the assets of a local education institution to strengthen and expand the general public health leadership capacity in Zimbabwe, simultaneously ensuring that they were trained in HIV interventions.

RESULTS

The programme increased both numbers of graduates and retention of faculty. The expanded HIV/AIDS curriculum was associated with a substantial increase in trainee projects related to HIV. The increased number of public health professionals has led to a number of practically trained persons working in public health leadership positions in the ministry, including in HIV/AIDS programmes.

CONCLUSION

Investment of a modest proportion of new HIV/AIDS resources in targeted public health leadership training programmes can assist in building capacity to lead and manage national HIV and other public health programmes.

The role of schools of public health: learning from history, looking to the future

There is a broad consensus on the need for high-quality public health education and research to tackle the world's many public health challenges. Public health education and research are delivered by a variety of institutions operating very different models, which collectively can be called schools of public health. Given the importance of education and research to public health systems, it is surprising how little research has been done to assess the role of schools of public health in contributing to population health. In particular, it is notable there has been very little research on the strengths and weaknesses of the different models of schools of public health that have evolved over the last 100 years. Thus, a historical perspective is crucial. To date most historical work has focused on US schools of public health. Although the evidence is patchy, a global overview of the history of schools of public health identifies three important themes: capacity building, multidisciplinarity and balancing teaching and research. Newer challenges and opportunities include addressing the impact of climate change and developments in e-learning. Schools of public health have the potential to make a central contribution to progress in public health practice in the twenty-first century.

Strengthening field-based training in low and middle-income countries to build public health capacity: Lessons from Australia's Master of Applied Epidemiology program

Background

The International Health Regulations (2005) and the emergence and global spread of infectious diseases have triggered a re-assessment of how rich countries should support capacity development for communicable disease control in low and medium income countries (LMIC). In LMIC, three types of public health training have been tried: the university-based model; streamed training for specialised workers; and field-based programs. The first has low rates of production and teaching may not always be based on the needs and priorities of the host country. The second model is efficient, but does not accord the workers sufficient status to enable them to impact on policy. The third has the most potential as a capacity development measure for LMIC, but in practice faces challenges which may limit its ability to promote capacity development.

Discussion

We describe Australia's first Master of Applied Epidemiology (MAE) model (established in 1991), which uses field-based training to strengthen the control of communicable diseases. A central attribute of this model is the way it partners and complements health department initiatives to enhance workforce skills, health system performance and the evidence-base for policies, programs and practice.

Summary

The MAE experience throws light on ways Australia could collaborate in regional capacity development initiatives. Key needs are a shared vision for a regional approach to integrate training with initiatives that strengthen service and research, and the pooling of human, financial and technical resources. We focus on communicable diseases, but our findings and recommendations are generalisable to other areas of public health.