The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #35541

Donna J Petersen, MHS, ScD, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1530 3rd Avenue South, RPHB 120, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, 205/934-3912, dpeters@uab.edu

An essential accreditation criteria for public health degree programs is the requirement that students develop a broad understanding of the areas of knowledge basic to public health (Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Health Policy and Social and Behavioral Science). This has historically been accomplished by requiring a set of individual courses in the core disciplines of public health. To better prepare our graduates as public health professionals and meet the spirit of the accreditation criteria, we developed and launched in Fall 2001 an integrated public health core curriculum. This two-semester, 15 credit hour course is taught by a team of six faculty from across the public health disciplines and includes weekly skills-building sessions (“labs”) facilitated by doctoral-level teaching assistants. Students are exposed to the core disciplines of public health through the examination of specific topics through a series of modules (History, hanta virus, tobacco and polio in the Fall; lead, breast cancer, STD’s/HIV, injury control, food safety and strategic planning in the Spring). The first 116 students performed well on lab exercises, module quizzes and an integrated final exam and evaluated the course quite favorably. Faculty believe the quality of teaching is greater, that all discipline-specific content is covered, that the discussions and applications of knowledge add value to the instruction, and that students have a better appreciation of and respect for the roles of the various disciplines in analyzing and resolving public health problems.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to

• Describe the integrated core curriculum and articulate its benefits and limitations;
• Discuss how this model more fully meets the ccreditation criterion to develop in public health professional degree program students a breadth of knowledge in the core discipilnes of public health.

Keywords: Accreditation, MPH Curricula

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.