Incorporating disability into public health education

Background and Importance: In a shift from the traditional focus on preventing disability, there is increasing awareness that public health has a responsibility to better understand disability. Yet, public health professionals have had few opportunities to learn about disability. A new objective for Healthy People 2020 is to “Increase the number of U.S. master of public health programs that offer graduate-level courses in disability and health.” The purpose of this presentation is to examine the development and implementation (since 2003) of a MPH course on disability and public health.

Methods & Results: A transdisciplinary focus group (including experts in special education, social work, law, psychology, ethics, public health, epidemiology, cultural competence, social policy analysis, and medicine) identified curriculum topics, competencies and experiential activities, and curriculum authors. Topics in the seminar-style MPH course included: disability models, history of public health, history of disability, contemporary experience of disability, disability policies and programs, epidemiology and disability, health promotion and disability, and public health as change agent. Curriculum modules were converted to full chapters, with added topics including: disaster preparedness, and health determinants and disparities. Innovative course features include varied guest lecturers (including persons with disabilities) and student access to disability data sets and disability and health projects. Course evaluations have been very high, but sufficient enrollment has been challenging. Building capacity of non-disability experts to teach the course may also be difficult.

Conclusions: The disability and public health course has been successful, but achieving the Healthy People objective may present some additional challenges.