Cultivating university and community partnerships in the development of an undergraduate public health program

Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to 1) describe the development of an accredited undergraduate public health program (minor in public health and Bachelor of Science in Public Health) that draws upon university and community partnerships and 2) describe student engagement since the program was initiated in Fall 2010.

Methods: The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies convened a public health committee consisting of an interdisciplinary group of faculty from nursing, medicine, anthropology, health policy and Latin American studies with professional training and expertise in public health to develop a curricular program that emphasizes both public health theory and practice. Coursework was developed with guidance from the Association of Schools of Public Health. Faculty drew from existing relationships with local and global community based-organizations, governmental agencies and academic institutions to provide additional learning and fieldwork opportunities for students. Student engagement was assessed by tracking student enrollment and analyzing course evaluations.

Results: In the 1.5 years of the program, 44 students declared minors in public health. The core public health courses (Introductory Epidemiology, Introduction to Public Health, Environmental Health, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and Global Health) have been well-enrolled (244 students in a total of 11 classes). Quantitative and qualitative course evaluations indicate strong interest in the public health program. Local and international fieldwork experiences will be piloted beginning summer 2012.

Conclusions: Undergraduate interest in public health programs is high. Cultivation of community and university partnerships facilitated the successful development of an undergraduate degree program.