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School of Public Health #Core Curriculum: |
The core curriculum of the school of public health should be
composed with wide vision appropriate to the existing and emerging
health problems in the communities and at the national and global
levels. It should address issues that directly or indirectly affect the
health status of the people. In addition, the core curriculum should be
organized according the skill areas so that necessary competencies could
be developed to prepare the graduate to be effective problem-solvers,
innovators, advocates, and leaders in addressing community and national
health problems. The graduates should be prepared to work in varied
settings such as in communities or in district, national, zonal,
regional, ct levels, in NGOs or International Institutions and
philanthropic organizations. In view of the needs, the following are the
competencies the graduates need to acquire:
- Assess health needs and resources.
- Critically examine and apply epidemiological information.
- Design interventions to improve health at individual, community
and societal levels.
- Train and support the development of other workers in the
community.
- Engage and mobilize communities for public health work.
- Address the social and cultural issues that affect community
health.
- Respond to new challenges in health care delivery such as health
care financing, health costing.
- Plan, implement, manage and evaluate public health programs.
- Analyze and develop health policy.
- Communicate effectively with the people and with other
professionals.
- Practice evidence-based health promotion and interventions.
- Practice health advocacy.
To make the students with broad vision in public health and for
right approach in health the curriculum must cover, in addition to basic
subjects, the following areas
- Health Policies
- Health and Human Rights (Health for All)
- Health and Multisectoral Entities
- Health and Economic Development (Macroeconomics and Health)
- Health and Health Financing
- Health and Equity
- Gender and Health
- Trade-Related Intellectual Proprietary Rights (TRIPS)
- Health and Essential Medicine
- Health Accounts (Public Health Accounts)
- Health and Geriatric Problems
- Environment and Health
- Population and Health
- Decentralized Health Care Delivery System
- Health Insurance
- Reproductive Health/Safe Motherhood/Healthcare of the New born
- Child Health Care
- Public-Private and NGO Partnership in delivery and financing of
health care
- Sector-wise approach in and Health Development
- Primary Health Care Approaches
- Essential Health Care
- Preventive
- Promotive
- Curative
- Rehabilitative
- HIV/AIDS
- Conflict caused health problems, widows, orphans and other
health effects
The course should offer an innovative method of public health
training that prepares the students to be effective problem-solvers,
innovators, advocates, and leaders in addressing community health
problems. They should be prepared to work in varied settings. The
program should build on approaches to learning that are especially
effective for adult learners who are seeking to integrate rigorous
academic trainings and practice.
The program also should use teaching methods that use original,
relevant, and timely case studies about public health issues. In the
case studies methods students can learn through active enquiry and
analysis rather than through a traditional lecture approach. With the
assistance of faculty facilitators students work in groups to examine
cases, identify key issues, find needed information, and apply the
information to solve community health problems. This method generates
self-directed learners and team players, and it cultivates recognition
of the complexities of the real world public health challenges.
At the end of the program the students should have attachments to
service organizations as interns for extensive fieldwork which will
enable students to integrate course work with real-world experiences.
This could be done simultaneously with the thesis/project work. At the
beginning of the program, in the first year itself, the students may
select a community-based project to do this work. We need to explore
institutions and programs in the communities where the students can get
such opportunities.
On the basis of experience of other schools, the duration of the MPH
program that could be started initially should be of 24 months as
required by the curriculum. The first year should be devoted to core
course while the following six months could be allotted to electives.
The last block of six months could be allotted to research work together
with internship. Such internship could be a part of the work if the
student is already an employee in a health-related institution. For
other programs, besides MPH, the duration would be decided on the basis
of the curriculum and the required work.
All the SPH curricula should be community-based and should have a
maximum of field activity with an ideal about 50% being based on direct
field experience.
In view of the shortage of faculty that may remain as a constraint even
in the future, "block teaching" method would be adopted. In this method
of block teaching, courses should be taught as modules with one topic
being covered exclusively over a period of three to eight weeks. The
advantage of modular model might be that the visiting faculty could be
more effectively used, as they could teach a full-course in a short
stay. Each module could also be used as a short course for participants
who would not be enrolled in the entire MPH program. And several modules
could be put together over a number of allowable years (3-4 years) to
earn a MPH or other degree under the study. This would be ideal for
employees and other people who would not be able to take leave for two
years at a time. This would also ease the problem of having a smaller
number of basic faculty.
In block teaching there is possibility of program managers or
professionals and related employees other than the students joining the
course. This would give opportunity for dynamic interaction between the
students, the academicians and the program managers making the course a
real learning experience. All would benefit from their interactions
tremendously solving the live problems faced by the country’s health
system.
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