Current issues related to education in the five core disciplines of public health at the school of public health in a private university

Abstract

Objectives In Japan, schools of public health (SPH) have engaged in professional education focusing on five core disciplines: epidemiology, biostatistics, social and behavioral science, health policy and management, and occupational and environmental health. However, empirical information is lacking regarding the current state of this education and its associated challenges in Japan. In this article, we showcase this issue, using the master of public health (MPH) course at Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health (Teikyo SPH) as an example.Methods We summarized the current objectives and classes required to complete the MPH course at Teikyo SPH, using the course guideline published in 2022. Current issues and possible future directions in the course were summarized based on the opinions of Teikyo SPH faculty members.Results For epidemiology, lectures and exercises were designed to focus on how to formulating public health issues, collecting and evaluating data, and causal inference. Issues related to the design included ensuring that students had the necessary skills to apply epidemiology to emerging issues, and catching the course up with evolving techniques. For biostatistics, lectures and exercise classes focused on understanding data and statistics, as well as performing analyses. Issues included the understanding of theories, setting the course level, and a lack of appropriate education materials for emerging analytical methods. For social and behavioral science, lectures and exercise classes focused on understanding human behaviors and actions for problem solving. Issues included learning various behavioral theories in a limited timeframe, the gap between the lectures and various needs, and nurturing professionals who had the skills to perform in practical settings. For health policy and management, lectures, exercise classes, and practical training classes focused on identifying and solving problems in the community and around the world, and on integrating the disparate viewpoints of health economics and policy. Issues included few alumni who actually found work globally, a lack of students working in local or central administrations, and insufficient perspectives on rational/economic thinking and macro-economic transitions. For occupational and environmental health, lectures, exercise classes, and practical training classes focused on learning the occupational and environmental impacts of public health issues, and their countermeasures. Challenges included enriching the topics with regard to advanced technologies, environmental health, and socially vulnerable populations.Conclusion Through these reflections on MPH education at Teikyo SPH, the following recommendations are considered essential in order to prepare improvements to the program: reorganizing the curriculum to meet the needs of the day, accepting students with various backgrounds, addressing the increasing knowledge and skills that need to be acquired by the students, and enhancing the powers of professors to implement changes.