College of Public Health and Health Professions
Public Health External Advisory Committee
Summary of Small Group Discussions
January 19, 2006
Critical Public Health Priorities
What are the key public health issues (problems, interventions, policies) in north Florida, the United States, and in the global community that this college of public health should address?
Since Florida is growing so rapidly and faces so many emerging health issues, it is important for the College of Public Health and Health Professions to identify its initial priorities as issues affecting the state. The college should build on and maximize its strengths in chronic disease and rehabilitation.
The issues of particular concern in Florida include the following:
- Health disparities, especially following disasters
- Public health issues related to aging
- Hurricane-related issues
- Housing/built environment
- Chronic diseases and disabilities
- Working with disparate information systems
- Restrictions in sharing data
- Impacts of health care reform
- Challenges involved in marketing public health, especially justifying prevention
- Effects of poverty on health
- Health literacy
- Navigating the health care system
- Availability of clean water
- The built environment/ community infrastructure
- Endocrine disruptors
- Salt water intrusion
- Human compression
Priorities at the national and global levels that can have implications for Florida are:
- Influenza pandemics/Avian Flu
- Global warming/natural disasters
- Imports/exports/effects of differing farming practices, especially in production of fruits and vegetables, on health
- Violence, including terrorism and bioterrorism
In addressing these issues, the college should continue to develop its
partnerships with other colleges within the university, thus expanding its
resources and providing opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate.
Faculty – Community Interaction
What are specific opportunities and needs 1) for faculty involvement in the public health activities of the community (north Florida, southeastern United States) and 2) for community involvement in the academic programs, development activities, and professional education offerings of the College of Public Health and Health Professions?
Student internships are important vehicles for college involvement in the community. Internships provide opportunities to gain course credit for experiences in the community while interacting and learning from public health experts. MPH students should be placed in a variety of settings, including local and state health units, AHECs, insurance companies, and public health laboratories. When developing opportunities for students to intern in public health settings, it is important that preceptors define their expectations of MPH students. The site should also have a designated PHHP contact.
Creating Centers of Education would involve two-way contributions addressing the college’s and the community’s needs.
Faculty can work with local health departments to identify research topics and carry out their studies.
The National Association of County and City Health Officials’ (NACCHO) Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence (PACE) in Environmental Health model could be used to generate research protocols and build trust.
Students can also gain experience by working on one of the Florida Department of Health mini-grants that were not funded.
There are also opportunities to partner to meet specific needs, such as certification of different groups of public health workers.
Skill Sets Required of MPH Graduates for Entry-Level Positions
Are MPH graduates entering the workforce with the skills they need? What skill sets of MPH graduates are most needed in official public health agencies and other employers of public health graduates?
It is difficult to find MPH graduates with the following skills:
- Executive skills
- Management skills
- Budgetary/finance skills
- Grant management skills
- Contract management skills
- Health education specialists
- Strategizing and critical thinking skills
- Leadership skills
- Program performance and evaluation skills
- Good communication skills
The college should prepare all MPH students with a business approach to public health. We should equip them with the skills to manage public health issues, but we should also prepare them with management, finance, budget management, and grant management skills. These skills should be interwoven into every concentration within the MPH program and not just in public health management and policy.
The college should provide community involvement in the training of their MPH students. Students should have opportunities to interface with professionals in the field -- including state and county health departments, lung/heart/other associations, and CDC -- both inside and outside the classroom. The college should adapt a “team teaching” approach, involving public health professionals in classroom teaching wherever appropriate.
The committee acknowledged the disparities between public health and private salaries. A way to overcome this obstacle is to market the professional practice options that public health offers, as well as demonstrate the many ways that public health has improved the health of the population, e.g., non-smoking areas and seatbelt laws.
Continuing Education for Professionals
What are the educational needs of public health professionals in north Florida and the larger southeastern US? How can the College of Public Health and Health Professions address those needs?
Certificate, distance learning and institute-style training options for working professionals are welcomed by public health agencies.
The Winter Institute should not be scheduled in conjunction with a holiday. A time around spring break, preferably March, would work best for public health workers. The institute should be priced at a rate affordable to working professionals and agencies, preferably no higher than $250/credit hour or a comparable rate for continuing education units.
The college is in a good position to partner itself with the “Healthy Lifestyle and Aging” focus that the CDC is targeting. In the near future, funding may be available for a “healthy community” and “healthy days measurement” approach to lifestyles.
Is there a need to target continuing education content to specific certification
requirements of public health agencies or specific types of professionals?
Which public health agencies would be interested in partnering with the
college in the development and delivery of continuing education programs?
The college could contribute to the assessment, evaluation, and research
capabilities of health departments through preparation of MPH students,
continuing education for working professionals, and collaborative research.
Some local health units have been identified as in need of research expertise.
The Florida Department of Health is undertaking an assessment of needs for
continuing education among its staff members. A clear need for upgraded
skills in business management has already been identified and a group of
DOH administrators are developing and testing instructional modules. The
full needs assessment will be available in the spring, at which time DOH
will be interested in discussing ways that the colleges and programs in
Florida can assist the state to meet identified needs.
