163941 Public health education at an innovative SPH in Bangladesh: Updates, achievements and challenges

Monday, November 5, 2007: 11:10 AM

Richard Cash, MD, MPH , Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
A. Mushtaque Chowdhury, PhD , School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Gregory Pappas, MD PhD , Senior Deputy Director, Dept. of Health, District of Columbia, Washington, DC
           
BRAC, one of the most influential NGOs worldwide, based in Bangladesh, has implemented a new paradigm in public health education in the developing setting. The newly established James P. Grant School of Public Health (part of BRAC University) benefits from the unique opportunities that Bangladesh and BRAC offer in the area of public health, community development, and a variety of global health experiences. The MPH offered by the Grant School of Public Health is firmly rooted in rural and urban communities, with students learning directly from the people. The SPH offers a 12-month MPH program; thus far, two cohorts have graduated and all are gainfully employed. We present data on the backgrounds of the students (from 12 countries of Asia, Africa, North and South America), and their subsequent post-graduate placements. BRAC works closely with the ICDDR,B, a renowned Bangladesh-based center in public health research, and several reputed public health schools in the North in implementing this new idea. We also discuss challenges to the implementation of this unique model of South-South and North-South collaboration, which has as its aim the improvement of the health of the world's poorest through education of the brightest public health professionals.

Learning Objectives:
To describe the components of a global MPH program based in a low income setting. To identify the similarities and differences between international public health education methodologies in such settings. To describe the development, from the ground up, of public health training institutions and curricula in low income settings.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: WFPHA Panel: International Public Health Education: The Experience from MPH Programs in Developing Settings Worldwide (WEBCAST)
See more of: APHA-World Federation of Public Health Associations