Gillings leader helps write ASPPH global health criteria
August 23, 2018
Earlier this month, the American Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) released a report titled, “Global Health Concentration Competencies for the Master of Public Health (MPH) Degree.” Peggy Bentley, PhD, associate dean for global health at the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, co-chairs the Global Health Advisory Group that developed the competencies.
ASPPH is the voice of schools and programs – like UNC Gillings – that are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. As part of their mission to strengthen the capacity of member organization, ASPPH offers resources that inform curriculum planning and help public health schools meet accreditation requirements.
Competencies are one of these resources, as they offer a roadmap for improving public health education. When schools use competencies in their educational models, they strategically plan for all graduates of a degree program to leave prepared with the same core skills that will empower them to be effective in their chosen field.
For global health, the new core competencies include the capacity to:
- Analyze the roles, relationships and resources of the entities influencing global health.
- Apply ethical approaches in global health research and practice.
- Apply monitoring and evaluation techniques to global health programs, policies and outcomes.
- Propose sustainable and evidence-based multi-sectoral interventions, considering the social determinants of health specific to the local area.
- Design sustainable workforce development strategies for resource-limited settings.
- Display critical self-reflection, cultural humility and ongoing learning in global health.
Bentley, who also is the Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition at the Gillings School and the associate director of the UNC Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases, has been leading work on the ASPPH global health competencies since 2016.
After reviewing the literature and developing foundational knowledge objectives, her committee sought comments from the global health community and used the 155 responses they received to further refine their recommendations. The ASPPH Board of Directors gave final approval for the competencies in July, and a toolkit and webinar meant to assist faculty in using the resources are forthcoming in fall 2018.
“I was honored to be part of the leadership team with ASPPH for developing the new global health competencies,” Bentley said. “This was a two-year process that began with an evaluation of the 2011 competencies and included surveys and interviews with stakeholders from many schools of public health and the Consortium for Universities in Global Health. I believe that these competencies will be extremely helpful as schools refine or develop global health concentrations and degree programs.”
The Gillings School’s new MPH concentration in global health, which will be offered beginning fall 2019, is an early adapter of the global health competencies.
“This means our students who choose a concentration in global health will gain knowledge and skills that will provide them with what they need to be successful practitioners or researchers in their careers,” Bentley said.
Contact the Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@listserv.unc.edu.