Bachelor of Arts in Public Health

University of Hawai‘i – MānoaJohn A. Burns School of MedicineOffice of Public Health Studies

History of Public Health at UHM

1962 – Department of Public Health founded 1967 – School of Public Health founded 1999 – School of Public Health closed over faculty

senate’s strong objections 2000 – Office of Public Health Studies created in

JABSOM 2013 – Strong nationally accredited program with 4

MPH and 2 doctoral degrees 2014 – School of Global and Community Health?

Public Health

Obesity Tobacco Use Pandemic

Influenza MRSA Drunk Driving Climate Change Rising Health Care

Costs Emerging

Infectious diseases

Access to clean water

Vog / Air pollution HIV/AIDS

These problems need interdisciplinary solutions

Public Health is an interdisciplinary approach to improving the health of populations including, but not limited to:

epidemiology urban planning psychology microbiology tropical medicinebehavioral science

nursing law economics education sociologyenvironmental health

For a Global Generation, Public Health Is a Hot Field

By David BrownWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, September 19, 2008; A01

Courses in epidemiology, public health and global health -- three subjects that were not offered by most colleges a generation ago -- are hot classes on campuses these days.

They are drawing undergraduates to lecture halls in record numbers, prompting a scramble by colleges to hire faculty and import ready-made courses. Schools that have taught the subjects for years have expanded their offerings in response to surging demand.

At Johns Hopkins, which has offered an undergraduate major in "public health studies" since 1976, there were 159 students studying the field 10 years ago; this year, there are 311 majors. At the College of William and Mary, a freshman seminar called "Emerging Diseases" is so popular that it is offered in two sections each semester. "It fills up instantly," said Beverly Sher, the immunologist who teaches it.

"We see exponential growth going on in the interest in these subjects," said Richard Riegelman, an epidemiologist and chief voice of the Educated Citizen and Public Health Initiative.

CONFRONTING THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE CRISIS:ASPH STATEMENT ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE

The U.S. faces a future public health workforce crisis, and the current public health workforce is inadequate to meet the health needs of the U.S. and global population.

KEY FACTS:

• ASPH estimates that 250,000 more public health workers will be needed by 2020.• The public health workforce is diminishing over time (there were 50,000 fewer public health workers in 2000 than in 1980), forcing public health workers to do more for more people with fewer resources.• This challenge is compounded by the fact that 23% of the current workforce – almost 110,000 workers – are eligible to retire by 2012.• There are documented and forecasted shortages of public health physicians, public healthnurses, epidemiologists, health care educators, and administrators. Without enough publichealth workers protecting us where we live, work and play, we all are vulnerable to serioushealth risks.• To replenish the workforce and avert the crisis, schools of public health would have to train three times the current number of graduates over the next 12 years.

Addresses the UH Mission

Native Hawaiian & indigenous health issues

Place: sustainability and ecology

Research intensive and community based

Social justice

Excellence in education

Addresses critical workforce shortages in Hawai‘i

Benchmark and Peer Institutions

The following UHM benchmark institutions offer undergraduate degrees in public health

– University of California – Irvine– University of Iowa– University of Tennessee – Knoxville– University of Washington

The following UHM peer institutions offer undergraduate degrees in public health

– Oregon State University– University of Arizona

Characteristics of Undergraduate Public Health Programs

University of California – Irvine– Enrollment began in AY 2006-2007– Current enrollment in both the B.A. and B.S. is

approximately 1000 students

University of California – Berkeley– First cohort of 80 students was in 2005

Since then, approximately 1200 graduates

– Students are admitted during the 3rd year Currently 310 undergraduate public health majors

Why Undergraduate Public Health at UHM?

Recently, Gov. Neil Abercrombie identified public health and the need for public health education as a priority for support and development (A New Day in Hawaii, 2010-11)– Recent workforce data shows that roughly 25%

(500+ employees) of the state’s public health workforce have reached retirement eligibility as of 2013

Why Undergraduate Public Health at UHM?

From the viewpoint of the surrounding region, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) pose a serious public health threat (Pacific Islands Health Officers Association (PIHOA) Board Resolution #48-01)

– PIHOA has stated, for the record, their strong support of increased public health training opportunities

Specifically, PIHOA supports community colleges in the region are working to develop associate degrees in public health to address the educational gaps that exist in the current workforce

ASPH Undergraduate Public Health Learning Outcomes – Model Version 1.0 (2011)

Target Audience– All undergraduate students at institutions of higher education

Goal– Express what every undergraduate, as an educated member of

society, should know and the able to do to promote population health both locally and globally

Domain 1 – Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world as it relates to individual and population health

Domain 2 – Intellectual and practical skills Domain 3 – Personal and social responsibility Domain 4 – Integrative and applied learning

Learning Objectives

Cognitive Learning Objectives– Science: Students should have an introduction to the

foundations of scientific knowledge, including the biological and life sciences and the concepts of health and disease

– Social and Behavioral Sciences: Students should have an introduction to the foundations of social and behavioral sciences

– Math/Quantitative Reasoning: Students should have an introduction to basic statistics

– Humanities/Fine Arts: Students should have an introduction to the humanities/fine arts

Learning Objectives

Skill-based Learning Objectives– Communications: Students should be able to

communicate, in both oral and written forms and through a variety of media, to diverse audiences

– Information Literacy: Students should be able to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize information

Undergraduate Admissions – General Admission Requirements

30 credits of college-level work (sophomore standing)

Minimum cumulative Grade-Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 in all courses attempted (Combined UH Mānoa + Transfer GPA from all other colleges attended)

Completion of pre-public health core courses with no grade below ‘B’ (not B-)

Pre-Public Health Core Courses

ENG100 – Composition I (3 cr)

PSY100 – Survey of Psychology (3 cr)

PHYL103/103L – Human Physiology and Anatomy/Lab (4 cr)

-or-

BIOL171/171/L – Introduction to Biology I/Lab (4 cr)

MATH140 – Precalculus (or higher) (3 cr)

PSY225 – Statistical Techniques (3 cr)

PH201 – Intro to Public Health (3 cr)

Total credits required: 19 credits

Public Health Major Courses

PH303 – Global Health (3 cr)

PH310 – Epidemiology (3 cr)

PH305 – Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health (3 cr)

PH341 – Public Health Biology & Pathophysiology (3 cr)

PH460 – Public Health Research Methods (3 cr)

PH480 – Service Learning (3 cr)

PH481 – Capstone Seminar (1 cr)

Total credits required: 19 credits

Public Health Elective Courses

PH301 – Seminar in Public Health Issues (3 cr)

PH320 – Needs Assessment, Planning, and Evaluation (3 cr)

PH330 – Health Systems (3 cr)

PH341 – Environmental Health (3 cr)

PH350 – Statistical Methods for Public Health (3 cr)

PH410 – Advanced Epidemiology (3 cr)

PH411 – Nutrition and Disease Prevention (3 cr)

PH420 – Health Education and Health Promotion (3 cr)

PH421 – Physical Activity and Health (3 cr)

PH430 – Health Policy and Advocacy (3 cr)

PH461 – Directed Research (variable cr)

PH499 – Directed Reading (variable cr)

Advanced Education Opportunities

Graduate programs in Public Health– OPHS currently offers MPH, MS, DrPH, and PhD

Medicine– Students have the ability to meet all of the prereqs for

schools of medicine– The proposed curriculum addresses the revised

competencies for the new MCAT (2015)

Other healthcare specialties– Pharmacy, Nursing, Dietetics, Dentistry, etc.

Professional Pursuits

Potential career paths are interdisciplinary and wide-ranging, including epidemiology, biostatistics, public health administration, health policy planning and development, social and behavioral aspects of health, and environmental health– As stated previously, with an aging public health

workforce, this level of training would be a means of providing well-prepared future employees

Administration

An undergraduate degree is a component of the strategic plan for OPHS as it moves towards establishment of the School of Global and Community Health

The proposed program is expected to have a neutral financial impact

– OPHS is proposing to reallocate existing resources for the initiation of the program, including one (1.0 FTE) faculty member at the Assistant Specialist level, and two half-time (0.5 FTE) graduate assistants

Instruction

Current OPHS faculty have endorsed the BA proposal, and the courses will be managed/taught by current faculty in the appropriate specializations– e.g. PH420 – Health Education and Health

Promotion will be the responsibility of the Social and Behavioral Health faculty

Questions???