Expected ethical competencies of public health professionals and graduate curricula in accredited schools of public health in North America.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed expected ethics competencies of public health professionals in codes and competencies, reviewed ethics instruction at schools of public health, and recommended ways to bridge the gap between them. METHODS: We reviewed the code of ethics and 3 sets of competencies, separating ethics-related competencies into 3 domains: professional, research, and public health. We reviewed ethics course requirements in 2010-2011 on the Internet sites of 46 graduate schools of public health and categorized courses as required, not required, or undetermined. RESULTS: Half of schools (n = 23) required an ethics course for graduation (master's or doctoral level), 21 did not, and 2 had no information. Sixteen of 23 required courses were 3-credit courses. Course content varied from 1 ethics topic to many topics addressing multiple ethics domains. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent ethics education and competency evaluation can be accomplished through a combination of a required course addressing the 3 domains, integration of ethics topics in other courses, and "booster" trainings. Enhancing ethics competence of public health professionals is important to address the ethical questions that arise in public health research, surveillance, practice, and policy.

Development of the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Public Health at Siriraj, Thailand 1896-1971: a historical study.

This study examined the history and development of the first nursing school in Thailand. Data were collected using a historical methodology through a review of related literature, as well as interviews with senior nurses. All data were clustered and categorized by using content analysis and an historical lens. The results revealed that the School development was divided to three periods: the School development in 1896-1925 (the foundation of modern Thai nursing); 1926-1955 (the influence of American medical and nursing education); and 1956-1971 (the transfer of a hospital-based training to university-based nursing education). In the final period, there was recognition that was associated with the professionalization of nursing, as the School initiated a bachelor degree in nursing and became the Faculty of Nursing. Through this long development, the School has progressively assisted Thai nursing to become a strong profession with international standards and recognition. The results of this study add significantly to the history of nursing in Thailand, and help nurses internationally to appreciate the efforts that have continued to sustain their noble profession.

Are schools of public health needed to address public health workforce development in Canada for the 21st century?

In addition to establishing Canadian federal institutions for public health to work in cooperation with provincial and local health authorities, the infrastructure of public health for the future depends on a multi-disciplinary and well-prepared workforce. Traditionally, Canada trained its public health workforce in schools of public health (or hygiene), but in recent decades this has been carried out in departments and centres primarily within medical faculties. Recent public health crises in Canada have led to some new federal institutions and reorganization of public health activities as well as other reforms. This commentary proposes re-examination of the context of public health workforce training and especially for schools of public health as independent faculties within universities as in the United States or, as developed more recently in Europe, semi-independent schools within medical faculties. The multi-disciplinary nature of public health professionals and the complex challenges of the "New Public Health" call for a new debate on this vital issue of public health workforce development. Public health needs a new image and higher profile of training, research and service to meet provincial and national needs, based on international standards of accreditation and recognition.

History of the Public Health Institute of Semmelweis Medical University, Budapest.

The science of public health of the XVIIIth century named politia medica together with medicina forensis became an independent obligatory subject in 1793 at the Medical Faculty of the Hungarian Royal University of Science. The independent Public Health Institute of the Medical Faculty was established in 1874. The first professor of public health was József Fodor who attained international reputation during his professorship. He organized training for school physicians and health teachers first in Europe and he organized courses for medical officers and for military doctors. He held courses for law-, engineer- and architect-students. He promoted all fields of the public health. His research on the bactericide effect of serum places him among the founders of immunology. Fodor's successors at the Chair of Public Health were Leó Liebermann whose research activities included physico-chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology and social hygiene; Gusztáv Rigler who focused on the epidemiology of communicable diseases, on the health effects of spa treatment and mineral waters. The next famous professor was Gyula Darányi. His scientific field was public health bacteriology and public health chemistry. They were followed by József Melly and László Dabis (Scheff). After the Second World War fundamental changes took place in the life of the university. The Faculty of Medicine was separated from the University of Science on February 1, 1951 and became an independent university under the control of the Ministry of Health. In 1953 the Institute of Public Health was cut into two separate institutes: Institute of Public Health and Institute for the Organization of Health Service. The Institute of Public Health was transformed to Institute of Public Health and Epidemiology in 1973. The Institute for the Organization of Health Service was transformed into Institute of Social Medicine and History of Medicine in 1985 and later into Institute of History of Medicine and Social Medicine in 1991. The Institute of Public Health and Epidemiology and The Institute of History of Medicine and Social Medicine were reunited as Institute of Public Health in 1997. The Institute teaches public health to medical, dental and pharmacy students in Hungarian, in English and in German.

Competencies for global heath graduate education.

Competency specification and competency-based education (CBE) are increasingly being viewed as essential for optimizing educational outcomes for the next generation of global health workers. An overview is provided of this movement in graduate health professions education in the United States, the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) contributions to advancing and researching related CBE processes and best practices, and the evolving ASPH competency model for graduate global health education.

Salud Global en las instituciones académicas latinoamericanas: hacia un desarrollo e identidad propia / Global Health in Latin-American academic institutions: towards a distinctive development and identity

Salud Global es un campo relativamente nuevo en las instituciones académicas de América Latina y su expansión ha sido lenta en comparación con el explosivo desarrollo que esta disciplina ha experimentado en países de Europa y Norteamérica. Este artículo presenta una visión general de los principales programas de docencia e investigación en Salud Global en universidades e institutos de la Región que han surgido durante los últimos 10 años. Asimismo, se describe la creación de ALASAG, una red de instituciones académicas con programas en Salud Global, a través de la cual se está haciendo sentir la voz de Latinoamérica en los foros mundiales de Salud Global. Los autores plantean que el quehacer de las instituciones académicas debe, necesariamente, inscribirse dentro de una conceptualización e identidad regional propia y distintiva. La perspectiva Latinoamericana de la Salud Global debe partir de una posición crítica frente al fenómeno de globalización económica capitalista manejado desde la ideología neoliberal. Desde dicha perspectiva se propone un listado de aéreas prioritarias en docencia, investigación y abogacía en Salud Global para la Región, entre otras: la equidad en el acceso a la salud; la globalización económica en América Latina y sus efectos en la equidad en salud; y la liberación y protección del comercio internacional en contraposición con la protección de la salud humana y el medio ambiente...

Global Health is a relatively recent development in Latin American academic institutions. Its expansion among such institutions has been slow in comparison with its explosive development in European and North American countries. This article presents an overview of the main Global Health teaching and research programs that have emerged over the past decade at universities and institutes of the Region. Likewise, it describes the creation of ALASAG, a network of academic institutions interested in Global Health, through which the voice of Latin America is being heard in world Global Health fora. The authors propose that the Global Health work at Latin American academic institutions should be based on a distinctive, Region-based, conceptual vision and identity of Global Health. Such Latin American vision must necessarily involve a critical stance on the capitalist economic globalization phenomenon inspired by the neoliberal ideology. From this critical stance, the authors propose a number of priority areas for Global Health teaching, research and advocacy for Latin America academic institutions including, among others, equitable access to health, economic globalization and its effect on health equity, and international trade liberalization and protection and its impact on the environment and human health...

A perspective on non-traditional academic programs in the health sciences.

In the 1970s, non-traditional academic programs began to gain impetus, aided by studies and recommendations by such groups as the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Non-Traditional study. Schools of public health have taken the lead in implementing non-traditional, off-campus programs which are relevant to personnel in health service agencies. Reported in this monograph are three programs representing alternative approaches to off-campus public health programs. As our data base increases and new programs are reported, we may see rapid growth in non-traditional programs, resulting in significant changes in academic programs preparing public health practitioners.

Formação por competência: análise de sua incorporação em um curso para profissionais do SUS / Formation by competence: analysis of its incorporation in a course for SUS professionals

Diante do desafio de promover a formação dos trabalhadores de nível universitário do SUS, considerando as transformações socioeconômicas e a incorporação de novas tecnologias e modelos de gestão, ganha espaço propostas de formação baseadas no desenvolvimento de competências, habilidades e atitudes. O estudo objetivou analisar a incorporação da concepção de competência no Curso de Especialização em Gestão do Trabalho e Educação Permanente em Saúde ofertado pela Escola Estadual de Saúde Pública da Secretaria da Saúde do Estado da Bahia. Foram definidos os seguintes objetivos específicos: sistematizar os diferentes modelos de formação por competências encontrados na literatura nacional; identificar o modelo de formação por competências adotado no projeto pedagógico do referido curso; descrever a proposta do curso analisando a coerência com o modelo adotado. Trata-se de um estudo de caso com abordagem qualitativa, baseado em pesquisa bibliográfica e análise documental. Foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica sobre a temática da formação por competência e a análise do projeto pedagógico do curso de modo a identificar coerência e limites no que refere à incorporação do modelo de competência. Observa-se que a modelo por competência adotada pela EESP se aproxima do modelo crítico emancipatório, apesar de demonstrar algumas lacunas de acordo com o referencial teórico utilizado