Building global partnerships through shared curricula for an MPH programme in India and Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

Objective

To design and implement a locally relevant competency­ based MPH programme.

Methods

The demand for trained public health professionals in South Asia is enormous and growing, which created a unique opportunity for a Fogarty International Center-funded University of Alabama at Birmingham-South Asia [Aga Khan University, Pakistan; Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India; and University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka] international research training in environmental and occupational health (ITREOH) programme. In 2009, a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree programme was designed using a combination of competencies developed by the Association of School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Results

A competency­ based curriculum was developed with two specialty tracks in applied epidemiology and environmental and occupational health, emphasising applied practice and research.

Conclusions

This is the most comprehensive skill-based MPH programme in the region, which positions each institution as a regional leader in public health training. The success of the programme has been amply demonstrated by placements of graduated MPH students in leadership roles in public, private and academic sectors within their countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Public Health
• curriculum development
• India
• Sri Lanka
• MPH programme

Acknowledgments

Approval was obtained from the University of Alabama Institutional Review Board. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH-FIC.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Tamika L. Smith http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3737-2441

Additional information

Funding

The present work was supported by the University of Alabama at Birmingham International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health program, [grant number 5 D43 TW05750], from the National Institutes of Health-Fogarty International Center (NIH-FIC).