Abstract
The international non-governmental community has played a major role in developing schools of public health and continues to do so. Nearly a century ago, seminal investments of the Rockefeller Foundation played a pivotal role in developing schools of public health in North America and several abroad. Today, involvement of non-governmental organizations in continuing development of schools of public health is needed, as many countries throughout the world continue to battle the burden of disease with insufficient numbers and quality of trained public health workers. In this paper we discuss in particular the roles of the Open Society Institute working together with the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region to foster the development of schools of public health in formerly socialist countries. We describe the development process in three example countries (Ukraine, Lithuania, and Macedonia), along with the difficulties they have faced. Government support and accreditation processes are needed to sustain the efforts to launch new schools of public health and to ensure their quality. The lessons learned in these initiatives are relevant to future development of public health education to provide the workforce required to address needs of professional public health in the 21st century.
Highlights
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the health sphere have gained strength, momentum and numbers over time
Direct funding for establishment and capacity building of SPHs remains an issue in many parts of the world, but other aspects of their growth and development, such as the determination of competencies needed by public health professionals and the quality of the educational programs to be taught in SPHs are crucial as well
Evaluation, and participation in initial planning were provided by Open Society Institute (OSI), the specific content and implementation were determined and carried out primarily by individual faculty members of ASPHER schools and programs in collaboration with the faculty members and administration of the individual project schools
Summary
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the health sphere have gained strength, momentum and numbers over time. As the World Health Report 2006 notes, the education of the health workforce requires attention to organization, curriculum, teaching methods, training of teaching staff, research and service.[14] In addition, it notes that more SPHs are needed These issues comprise the themes of the OSI ASPHER workforce development program entitled “Quality Development of Public Health Teaching Programmes in Central and Eastern Europe,” 2000-2005,33 along with parallel projects in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Central Asia that ended in 2007. Evaluation, and participation in initial planning were provided by OSI, the specific content and implementation were determined and carried out primarily by individual faculty members of ASPHER schools and programs in collaboration with the faculty members and administration of the individual project schools These initiatives took place during a time of tremendous social, political and economic changes in the region, including the revamping of European university education standards (the Bologna Declaration and Process)[34] that had to be taken into consideration.
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