Paving Pathways: shaping the Public Health workforce through tertiary education.

Catherine M Bennett,Heather Yeatman,Kathleen Lilley,Priscilla Robinson,Elizabeth Geelhoed,Elizabeth G Hanna,Elizabeth Parker

doi:10.1186/1743-8462-7-2

Abstract

Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.Following the 2007 Australian Federal election, the new Labour government brought with it a refreshing commitment to a more inclusive and strategic style of government. An important example of this was the 2020 visioning process that identified key issues of public health concern, including an acknowledgment that it was unacceptable to allocate less than 2% of the health budget towards disease prevention. This led to the recommendation for the establishment of a national preventive health agency (Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 National Preventative Health Strategy, Prepared by the Preventative Health Taskforce 2009).The focus on disease prevention places a spotlight on the workforce that will be required to deliver the new investment in health prevention, and also on the role of public health education in developing and upskilling the workforce. It is therefore timely to reflect on trends, challenges and opportunities from a tertiary sector perspective. Is it more desirable to focus education efforts on selected lead issues such as the "obesity epidemic", climate change, Indigenous health and so on, or on the underlying theory and skills that build a flexible workforce capable of responding to a range of health challenges? Or should we aspire to both?This paper presents some of the key discussion points from 2008 - 2009 of the Public Health Educational Pathways workshops and working group of the Australian Network of Public Health Institutions. We highlight some of the competing tensions in public health tertiary education, their impact on public health training programs, and the educational pathways that are needed to grow, shape and prepare the public health workforce for future challenges.

Highlights

The changing context for public health education There are important changes occurring in the tertiary education landscape that provide a new context for discussion on directions and challenges in public health tertiary education
Income-driven student recruitment policies can distract from the provision of education with a clear focus on what is in the best interests for public health in Australia
The monograph highlighted research, policy engagement and educational programs in Australia’s universities that had demonstrated how academic public health institutions have contributed to improving public health capacity in Australia

Summary

Introduction

The changing context for public health education There are important changes occurring in the tertiary education landscape that provide a new context for discussion on directions and challenges in public health tertiary education. Others are moving all professional entry degrees to graduate level, as seen for example with the introduction of the Melbourne Model at The University of Melbourne All these changes impose pressure on degrees that have traditionally had a strong student base drawn from undergraduate-trained health and allied health professionals, and command new thinking about public health coursework and research educational pathways. PHERP has provided ongoing support to five state-based university consortia, four national and special focus centres and 41 innovation projects, as well as several workforce development projects such as the Masters of Applied Epidemiology program, a Biostatistics Collaboration, and a Public Health Registrars program. The monograph highlighted research, policy engagement and educational programs in Australia’s universities that had demonstrated how academic public health institutions have contributed to improving public health capacity in Australia. The United States has taken a different pathway [12] and has developed an accreditation process linked to continuing professional development for the purposes of public health workforce regulation [13]

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