Answering the call: Health equity education and the public health workforce in Florida

The state of Florida has a richly diverse population and is poised to become a majority minority state within a generation; the majority of children in the state are from minority populations. This wonderful melting pot of populations brings an inherent responsibility – addressing the disparate health status of these populations – to meet the Florida Department of Health's vision “To be the healthiest state in the nation”.

Although the state has an Office of Minority Health, four HBCU's, Hispanic-serving colleges, and three CEPH accredited colleges of Public Health, none of these offer graduate level certificates/degrees in health equity. To address this need, the USF College of Public Health (COPH) and Bethune Cookman University have launched a health equity certificate which represents the first collaboration between a Florida research university and a Florida HBCU.

A key component of the certificate is the inclusion of the Odessa Chambliss Center for Health Equity as the field placement site where students will practice the integration of their acquired knowledge/skills. Students can apply courses from this certificate into an MPH or doctoral degree program at the USF COPH. These courses include foundational classes in social and behavioral science and health disparities, an immersion in the social determinants of health and health equity, with additional coursework addressing community engagement and advocacy with systems/policy implications.

The evaluative component of the program will monitor student success and track subsequent matriculation into graduate level programs, employment status after completion, and suitability as a pipeline initiative for underrepresented students.