Health Equity Curricula Within Health Policy and Management Concentrations in U.S. Public Health Graduate Programs

Abstract

Achieving health equity is a national priority in the United States and having a public health workforce equipped to make health policy and administrative decisions that reduce disparities is needed. We examined 50 schools that offered an on-campus Master of Public Health and are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health with concentrations or tracks in health policy and management (HPM). Nationally, only 6 (12%) HPM tracks required students to take a course in health equity and/or disparities. Of the optional courses offered within HPM tracks, 30.5% were focused on specific health conditions, and 28% were focused on broadly defined inequities. A smaller portion of health equity courses covered topics in sexual and reproductive health (5.1%), women and gender (3.4%), immigration (1.7%), and LGBTQ populations (1.7%). If health equity is to be achieved in health policy and management, educating all students earning a Master of Public Health in HPM tracks on these issues and equipping them with competencies to effectively tackle health inequity is a starting place.