Abstract
In 2003, the United States (US) Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommended that all undergraduate students have access to an education in public health to assist with diversifying the public health workforce and ensuring an educated citizenry on public health issues. In line with this recommendation, and that of the Consensus Conference on Undergraduate Public Health Education, Georgia State University established a Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) program in 2016, with the mission of advancing health through leadership, scholarship, research, and service, to better the human condition and to promote the common good, especially for urban communities in the US and for global populations. Using integrative approaches that encourage student empowerment, self-development, integrative thinking, and reflective learning, the Georgia State University BSPH program currently offers a range of generalist introductory public health courses to over 400 students. This review seeks to examine student perceptions of integrative practices utilized by Georgia State University faculty in the BSPH program and to investigate the extent to which student perceive these integrative educational practices as preparing them to use insights gained in the classroom and from the field, to question, modify, connect, and integrate material learned in the academic setting, to real-life public health challenges. It also seeks to identify which of the integrative educational practices have the highest impact of helping students integrate the knowledge and skills gained to public health issues.
Highlights
Georgia State University is an urban public research institution located in Atlanta, Georgia
Demographic and Academic Status All 436 students currently enrolled in the Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health (BSPH) program and the 19 students who have graduated from the program were invited to participate in the survey
Undergraduate Course Work and Assignments Regarding undergraduate course work and assignments, 58% of students said they devoted a minimum of 3 h per day to their course work and assignments, 52% said they met with BSPH faculty outside of class for guidance on course work and assignments, and 66% said that they received feedback from BSPH faculty on their course work and assignments
Summary
Georgia State University is an urban public research institution located in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia State University’s SPH began as a Master of Public Health (MPH) program, accredited by CEPH since 2007—making it the first public university in Atlanta to gain that distinction [1]. The establishment of the BSPH program is consistent with the IOM’s call for expansion of undergraduate public health education to address two priority needs; [1] a serious disparity between the number of graduates produced by schools of public health and the number of workers needed (i.e., a workforce shortage), and [2] the need for a large, well-educated public health workforce that is able to respond effectively to emerging trends that impact population health, such as globalization, urbanization, population aging, health disparities, and alterations to the US health care system [3]
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