Applying competency-based training to international public health law

Competencies for public health law provide a framework for developing practitioners prepared to engage across the fields of international law and public health. Given the success of competency-based training in public health, there is a growing awareness that public health law practitioners should possess certain 'competencies,' specific combinations of knowledge, attitude, and skills necessary for practice. This research identifies these competencies necessary for lawyers and public health practitioners to participate successfully in international public health law—describing the activities that can be undertaken by well-prepared practitioners trained to participate in legal decisions for the public's health—and assesses how these competencies can be converted into public health law curricula.

This research reviews existing competency-based training efforts in public health law, including efforts to train both lawyers and non-lawyers in the legal competencies necessary for communicable disease prevention, health promotion, and emergency preparedness at the national and international level. With the identification of (1) competency statements, (2) sectors ripe for competency development, and (3) levels of competence for select sectors, this research analyzes the advantages of including competency-based legal training in international law and public health curricula.

Competency statements written for curricula will allow for the education of a new generation of practitioners competent to work in international public health law and the evaluation of those practitioners throughout their careers. Based on the advantages of competency-based education in public health law, this research concludes by reviewing methods to disseminate these competency-based training methods throughout the international law and public health communities.