Innovative methods in teaching public health preparedness, response, and recovery

The Association of Schools of Public Health, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has developed a draft set of preparedness and emergency response competencies. At the University of Minnesota, a partnership was created to develop an online course for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, to meet these competencies. The partnership comprised the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota's Simulations, Exercises, and Effective Education: Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (U-SEEE PERL), in collaboration with its research center, U-SEEE PERRC (Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center). Faculty and staff from these organizations developed the course "Emergency Preparedness: A Public Health Perspective." I will discuss several aspects of the course: topics areas, assignments, and projects; instructional methods; student demographics; and tuition assistance offered to support enrollment for students taking the course in conjunction with a follow-up simulation class, Disaster 101. In addition, I will describe the advantages of collaboration across organizations and between agencies, demonstrate how an online semester-long course, taught in conjunction with a two-day in-person experiential exercise, helps learners apply newly acquired theoretical principles. The course was piloted in spring 2011 and has since been repeated twice. It draws a diverse student enrollment: graduate students in public health, students in other programs of the University's Academic Health Center, and public policy students. Undergraduate students were in communications, biology, sociology, business marketing, global studies, psychology, geography, and other areas.