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Abstract
Background
Over the last four decades, the health status of Maldivian people improved considerably, as reflected in child and maternal mortality indicators and the eradication or control of many communicable diseases. However, changing disease patterns are now undermining these successes, so the local public health practitioners need new skills to perform effectively in this changing environment. To address these needs, in 2013 the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Maldives National University developed the country’s first Master of Public Health (MPH) program.
Methods
The process commenced with a wide scoping exercise and an analysis of the curricular structure of MPH programs of high-ranking universities. Thereafter, a stakeholder consultation using consensus methods reached agreement on overall course structure and the competencies required for local MPH graduates. Subsequently, a working group developed course descriptors and identified local public health research priorities, which could be addressed by MPH students.
Results
Ten semistructured interviews explored specific training needs of prospective MPH students, key public health competencies required by local employers and preferred MPH training models. The recommendations informed a nominal group meeting, where participants agreed on MPH core competencies, overall curricular structure and core subjects. The 17 public health electives put forward by the group were prioritized using an online Delphi process. Participants ranked them by their propensity to address local public health needs and the locally available teaching expertise. The first student cohort commenced their MPH studies in January 2014.
Conclusion
Consensus methods allowed a broad stakeholder engagement with public health curriculum development and the creation of a country-specific curriculum, informed by local realities and needs.
Video abstract
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Supplementary material
Figure S1 Developing a MPH curriculum for the Maldives National University Semi structured interview guide.
Abbreviations: FHS, Faculty of Health Sciences; MPH, Master of Public Health.
Acknowledgments
The MPH curriculum development process received support from the Australian government through the Australian Volunteers for International Development program and an Endeavour Executive Award.
The consensus building process was described at the International Society for Medical Decision Making (Singapore, January 5–8, 2014) in a poster presentation https://smdm.confex.com/smdm/apm2014/webprogram/Paper8113.html
The poster’s abstract was published in the Society’s journal, Medical Decision Making April 2014; vol. 34, 3: pp. E1–E38. http://mdm.sagepub.com/
An update on the MPH program will be presented in poster format at the Population Health Congress (Hobart, September 6–9, 2015).
The actual paper, however, has never been published.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.