We offer resources to facilitate a far-reaching and forward-thinking education in public health.
As public health education continues to evolve, ASPPH has developed guidelines and models, such as the ASPPH-led Framing the Future: The Second Hundred Years of Education for Public Health initiative, to support faculty and administrators at CEPH-accredited schools and programs in creating the most comprehensive and rigorous public health programs for their students.
Exceptional faculty are the drivers behind a strong and comprehensive public health education. At ASPPH, we recognize individuals whose contributions to teaching and research demonstrate the field’s commitment to advancing the world’s public health challenges.
A public health education continues well past the classroom and into professional experience. ASPPH has developed a series of continuing education programs and has designed the first credential for the public health workforce, Certified in Public Health (CPH), to guarantee that public health professionals at all stages meet the rigorous requirements of the field.
Four Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Task Force working groups are driving the creation of science-based products in 2020 to advance important scholarly activity in ASPPH-member schools and programs. ASPPH is guiding members on these evidence-based methods to research, practice, document, and publish on teaching and learning.
VIEW PRODUCTSThe ASPPH Framing the Future initiative presents a new vision for education in public health for the 21st century.
ASPPH established the Framing the Future Task Force to better prepare graduates for success in a changing world and global marketplace. This comprehensive initiative to advance public health education was timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the seminal Welch-Rose report of 1915.
Educational models, such as core competencies and learning outcomes, serve as benchmarks for educators and administrators to consider the knowledge, skills, and attitudes recommended for: public health practitioners; students planning to continue advance learning in public health; and/or, a citizenry that is conversant in population health issues. These models also guide faculty in updating content and curricula as well as assist students preparing to meet employers’ expectations of emerging public health professionals upon graduation. This section also includes recommendations suggested by national consensus panels for education in public health at various points in the learning spectrum, largely for individuals educated in ASPPH-member institutions, but also for other learners in the higher education system and for those in the public health workforce.
Schools and programs of public health are increasingly offering more opportunities for undergraduates to attain a foundational education in the field. Many students study public health as undergraduates in order to better prepare for more rigorous and focused graduate studies in the field, as a jumping off point for advanced training in fields such as medicine or public policy or to enter the workforce. ASPPH has developed the following materials to help:
Undergraduate Learning Outcomes Model (Educated Citizen) Undergraduate Baccalaureate Critical Component Elements ReportThe graduate with a master’s-level education in public health from a CEPH-accredited institution is expected to demonstrate a firm grasp of core content as well as, in most cases, expertise in his or her area of specialization. The following resources, developed by ASPPH, are provided as possible benchmarks to consult in creating new programs or improving existing master’s-level curricula in CEPH-accredited institutions.
MPH Core Competency Model Master's Preparedness & Response Model Master's Global Health Model Interprofessional Collaborative Practice ModelThe doctoral degree in public health represents the most advanced level of formal education attainable in the field.
DrPH ModelTo meet the training and continuing education needs of the public health workforce, ASPPH: (a) developed workforce-level competencies in public health preparedness and response, and (b) collaborated with over 20 partners to produce provider competencies for the prevention and management of obesity.
Public Health Preparedness & Response Model Prevention and Management of Obesity Competency ModelThe Demonstrating Excellence series is written for faculty and administrators in schools of public health as well as communities and organizations that benefit from scholarly research, teaching, and service. The series is designed to help stakeholders in academic public health to understand developments in four major fields: Practice-Based Service, Practice-Based Research, Practice-Based Teaching, and Academic Public Health Practice. “Demonstrating Excellence in the Scholarship of Practice-Based Service for Public Health” provides guiding principles, examples, and policy recommendations to help meet the academic responsibilities and challenges of engaged scholarship. It focuses on faculty members as agents of public health scholarship and as primary actors within academia for translating knowledge into improvements in practice, policy, and ultimately the health of populations.
Demonstrating Excellence in Academic Public Health Practice Demonstrating Excellence in Practice-based Teaching for Public Health Demonstrating Excellence in Practice-based Research for Public Health Demonstrating Excellence in the Scholarship of Practice-Based Service for Public HealthNavigating a Foodborne Outbreak: Preparation for Interprofessional Practice is a self-paced, interactive, competency-based, case study teaching module for interprofessional education towards improving and protecting population health. It is targeted for public health (baccalaureate- and master’s-level), medical, and nursing (baccalaureate-, master’s-, and doctoral-level) students.
Competency-based Approach
Upon completion, learners will be able to “describe how professionals in health and other fields can collaborate and integrate clinical care and public health interventions to optimize population health” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, Competency RR-10). Three sub-competencies and 28 learning objectives frame the module content.
Module Details
The case scenario of the module is a fictional foodborne illness based on the 2015-2016 multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Poona associated with cucumbers. The three settings in the module include:
The module encourages learners to deepen their knowledge through links to a variety of supplementary resources that extend the learning and length of the module from an estimated base of 90 minutes up to two hours. The module includes: an instructor’s guide, a pre-module assessment, case scenario videos, supporting resources that can be saved to a personal library, a post-module assessment, and a digital certificate of completion.
Further details on the module are available for faculty here. Access the module directly at https://navigatinganoutbreakmodule.org/
A Public Health Approach to Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias is a peer-reviewed, competency-based curriculum designed for use by undergraduate and graduate faculty to introduce students of public health and related disciplines to the growing population health challenge of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. This curricular resource will help prepare students for careers in which they may need to apply public health approaches to address Alzheimer’s as a multi-layered public health challenge.
The flexible, ready-to-use modular design of the curriculum enables use in entirety or as stand-alone modules. Each of the four modules has a slide set and faculty guide with learning objectives; relevant competencies; talking points; and teaching aids such as case studies, video resources and additional learning activities. Online video modules are also available for select modules. Modules or portions of modules also may be used in a flipped classroom approach.
The curriculum was developed by the Alzheimer’s Association and Emory Centers for Training and Technical Assistance at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Visit the Alzheimer’s Association website to access the free curriculum.
The Milestones in Public Health serves as a user-friendly tool for teaching undergraduate, graduate public health, and medical and clinical education students about the major milestones in public health in the U.S. over the last century. These milestones include, for example, immunizations, car safety, and environmental health. Each module works together as part of an overall semester-long course and, in addition, is able to stand alone for inclusion in other courses and/or for use in both formal and/or informal teaching situations. Individuals may also use the course for self-guided learning about the public health milestones.
The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), with funding from Pfizer, awarded development of an introductory public health course titled, “Milestones in Public Health” to The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. The GW University Milken Institute School of Public Health developed the course in collaboration with the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development, and the GW Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.
To receive the course instructors’ guides, PowerPoint lectures, faculty-directed case studies, or student-directed problem-based learning cases, please contact Elizabeth (Liz) Weist at eweist@aspph.org. Please see below for the Milestones in Public Health Book.
The concept for developing the Ethics and Public Health: Model Curriculum grew from a rising interest in the ethical, legal, and social aspects of public health policy and practice. The project was a collaborative effort between ASPPH, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and The Hastings Center. With this interest came a demand for the teaching of ethics in schools and programs of public health and for the resource materials to support it. Ethics education is needed both in pre-professional degree and certificate programs, and in settings of continuing professional education. The Curriculum is intended as a resource to enhance and encourage thoughtful, well informed, and critical discussions of ethical issues in the field of public health.
The curriculum consists of self-contained units or modules, each written by a leading expert on the topic in question, and each containing resources for classroom use–an analysis of the ethical question, several case studies with commentary for discussion, resources for further study and research, and the like. Please see below for the Ethics and Public Health: Model Curriculum.
Milestones in Public Health Book (41 MB) Ethics Curriculum (2 MB)
ASPPH developed the “Learning Taxonomy Levels for Developing Competencies and Learning Outcomes Reference Guide” to aid in creating outcomes-oriented curriculum and instruction. The guide will help faculty in selecting action verbs, instructional strategies, and evaluation methods based on the learning taxonomy levels for the cognitive and affective domains.
Learning Taxonomy Levels Reference Guide (583 KB)ASPPH designed this schematic to illustrate one method of developing competencies. The diagram, a resource for educators to develop education and training in public health, describes the key components of an outcome-oriented approach to teaching and learning.
Competency Modeling in Action (269 KB)ASPPH developed this diagram as a resource for educators in public health. The diagram illustrates how competency-based education uses a taxonomical approach to identify behaviors in three domains: Cognitive, Psychomotor, and Affective. The diagram can be used to guide planning on competency, learning outcomes, as well as knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA) development.
Competency-Based Education (204 KB)An ASPPH faculty member created this question checklist to help administrators and faculty think through the key issues in launching an undergraduate public health program.
10 Things to Know When Starting an Undergraduate Public Health Program (17 KB)