Practice-based service-learning for MPH students? Curriculum renewal to support the social justice commitments and 21st century competencies of the public health workforce

Most MPH programs are built upon the core commitment of public health to social justice; key differences arise in the degree to which those commitments are explicit, infused throughout the curriculum, and reflected/evaluated in both individual learning and overall program outcomes. Participation in the Health Disparities Service Learning Collaborative, an initiative of Community Campus Partnerships for Health funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, stimulated our MPH program leadership to analyze and then reinforce iterative learning opportunities for the central social justice issue of eliminating health disparities throughout our graduate curriculum. Central to that curriculum renewal was the introduction and infusion of graduate level service-learning from the introductory seminar through foundational and advanced courses, fieldwork and the capstone graduate project, all designed to address health disparities, health equity, and social justice through community-based participatory action, learning, and research. This presentation will address exportable strategies for curriculum analysis, creation of social justice, CBPR, and disparities outcome objectives and related learning modules, and process and outcome evaluation of the effort and its impact on student learning, faculty engagement, community partners, and public health. Specific examples of successful and not-so-successful efforts will be presented, with emphasis on lessons learned and factors that could influence success across academic settings. Points of resistance and how those were understood and addressed will be highlighted, as well as the invaluable contributions of diverse community partners in making graduate level service-learning a central part of a social justice and health equity MPH curriculum.