Training health promotion workforce in Latin America: Competencies for social impact

Background: Health Promotion (HP) workforce development in Latin America has consolidated in the last two decades. There is a growing trend towards establishing university-based programs for training those responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating HP programs. Universities in the region are committed to advancing field. There are some descriptive compilations of training initiatives in the region. However, there are very few critical studies that contrast what is being taught, at what level, and what content and skill are they offering to assure social impact and change. Methods: Qualitative critical content analysis was used to assess the HP curriculum of ten Latin American countries, including countries in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America. Three categories were used for the analysis: 1) predominant curricular perspective, 2) levels of specialization, and 3) presence of content and skills that could lead to competencies related to social change. Directors of the programs under study provided written detailed descriptions of the programs by country. The authors based their analysis on these documents. Results and Conclusions: The region has primarily adopted a competency-based model. Elements of other less prescriptive curricular models, as the humanistic, are present. The level of specialization varies greatly posing challenges to regional accreditation and certifications. Tenets of social justice, advocacy and community involvement figure predominantly in terms of content and skills. Universities in Latin America are committed to HP advancement as a practical and scholarly field. This should facilitate the use of HP as a strategy for improving health in the region.