Evaluating a workforce development programme: bringing public health into architecture education in England

ABSTRACT

Architects can play a key role in the wider public health workforce, in ensuring building and urban design is health promoting. However, there is no requirement to teach health by architectural accreditation bodies across Europe. To evaluate the long-term individual and organisational impacts of the Public Health Practitioner in Residence (PHPiR) programme – an educational initiative in a British university to help realise the architecture profession’s potential to contribute to improved population health. A longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation using the RE-AIM framework. Data were collected using questionnaires, a focus group, interviews, and programme documentation from a Bachelor of Architecture cohort and stakeholders from 2011 to 2019. Participants developed a broad understanding of the determinants of health, which was maintained when qualified architects. The programme became integrated into the university curriculum. Numerous facilitators and barriers affected the participants’ ability to create healthier buildings in practice. The positive results from this evaluation suggest that there is value in exploring how the PHPiR approach could be replicated in architecture courses within other higher education institutions. Findings highlight barriers in practice to be addressed in the future to help enable architects to create healthier buildings and places.

KEYWORDS:

• Public health
• interdisciplinary
• workforce development
• architecture
• evaluation
• education

This article is related to:

Research for city practice

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the students of Unit 3 of the Bachelor of Architecture at UWE, who very kindly agreed to take part in this evaluation. We would also like to acknowledge and thank all of the PHPiR including Beth Bennet-Britton (BB) for conducting and providing staff interviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

Ethics approval was given by the University of the West of England Ethics Committee (REF: HAS.19.02.135).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported (time for the public health practitioner in residence in 2013) with £6000 from the Centre for Education on the Built Environment (CEBE) and match funded by UWE to give a total of £13,824.

Notes on contributors

Rachael Marsh

Dr Rachael Marsh is a clinician who has worked in a variety of hospital departments before specialising in Public Health. She has experience working in local governments, Public Health England and academic institutions. Her main areas of interests are health, equity, sustainability and the environment (transport, planning, housing, nature). She has run many teaching sessions, contributed to numerous national consultations on aspects and produced publications relating to these topics. She is a member of a national group on healthy spatial planning and a European network of public health professionals.

Paul Pilkington

Dr Paul Pilkington is a registered Public Health Specialist and Senior Lecturer in Public Health. Dr Pilkington has undertaken a wide range of research projects with impact in the field of healthy and sustainable environments, with funders including Wellcome Trust, NICE, NIHR, and Public Health England. Dr Pilkington was the first UWE Public Health Practitioner in Residence and therefore has detailed knowledge of the Public Health Practitioner in Residence programme.

Elena Marco

Elena Marco is an experienced academic leader, educator, practitioner, and researcher, building a top-class reputation for the Department of Architecture and the Built Environment of which she is Head of Department. Before joining UWE, Elena built a strong profile in sustainable design at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, working on many pioneering and award-winning projects, some as part of Europe-wide research initiatives. Now in academia, she continues to develop her research, which focuses on the crossover between health, sustainability and architecture. Elena was selected by the Architects Journal as one of the 20 most influential Women in Sustainable Architecture in the UK.

Louis Rice

Dr Louis Rice is a senior lecturer, architect and researcher. At UWE his research focuses on healthy and sustainable urban design and he is Head of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Healthy Urban Environments. He was programme leader for the Masters in Urban Design for many years and currently leads the final year Masters in Architecture. He is the author of numerous books and articles on architecture and urban design and is on the organising committee for numerous international conferences on the topic.