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Public Health - Core Competencies

The graduate from the MPH Program should be able to:

• Define, explain, and evaluate general public health concepts such as health status of the population, determinants of health and illness, health promotion, disease prevention, and factors that have an effect in the use of health care services.

• Apply the basic sciences of public health, including epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health policy and management, and the social-behavioral sciences to the prevention of health problems.

• Define health problems in a population using available data.
• Appropriately use available data and statistical methods to identify health problems and plan, implement, and evaluate interventions and programs.
• Identify and define variables relevant to public health problems.
• Evaluate the validity and comparability of data, and identify flaws in sources of data.
• Explain how available data may reflect ethical, political, social, and economic variables that affect general public health.
• Describe the basic study designs used in public health research.
• Make logical inferences of available data.

• Communicate in an effective and clear manner, both orally and in writing.
• Present demographic, statistical, and scientific information with precision and efficacy to professional and lay audiences.
• Efficiently obtain information from individuals and organizations.
• Be an advocate for the development of public health resources and programs.
• Participate as a leader in efforts directed toward the solution of health problems.
• Effectively use the media to provide information about public health.

• Appreciate how cultural diversity affects public health.
• Behave with sensitivity and professionalism when interacting with people having different social, cultural, and/or educational backgrounds—including people from different countries, of different ages and/or genders, and/or who have different lifestyles.
• Identify and value the role of cultural factors in the presence of illness and in the implementation of disease prevention, health promotion, and health care services.
• Identify the health needs of special populations.
• Develop and implement solutions to health problems that take into consideration cultural differences within a given population.
   

• Discuss basic concepts of environmental health and how environmental factors affect morbidity.
• Use indicators of risk to identify environmental health problems.
• Describe the design of scientific epidemiological studies, including the investigation of epidemics.
• Describe the interview and other qualitative inquiry methods.
• List and identify available sources of information available for technical consultation on and assistance in the collection and analysis of public health data.
• Identify and describe laws and regulations related to public health research.
• Identify limitations of scientific evidence, including the validity of available literature and the effectiveness of interventions.
• Collect and interpret data about vital statistics, surveys, and other special reports.
• Apply screening strategies to appropriate health problems.
   

• Discuss concepts related to psychosocial and behavioral theory.
• Establish measurable public health goals and objectives for a specific population.
• Explain concepts related to risk assessment, and effectively communicate information about these risks.
• Use technological resources to analyze, communicate, and follow-up on public health problems in the community.
• Describe the function of private and public organizations and agencies that work in the public health arena.
• Endeavor toward improving community involvement, and promote the sharing of power in the process of decision-making and program-implementation in public health.

• Obtain and summarize information relevant to a public health problem.
• Establish different options and policies available to solve a particular health problem.
• Apply strategies of health promotion, primary and secondary prevention.
• Explain possible health, social, political, legal, and economic consequences of adopting a particular health policy or program.
• Formulate viability and expected results from adopting a particular health policy or program.
• Integrate processes related to strategic planning,—including evaluation methods,—during the development of public health programs in the community.
• Establish liaisons with organizations that may have an impact on public health such as health insurance companies, health care providers, public agencies, hospitals, and volunteer and religious groups.
   

• Develop, administer, and analyze the results of evaluation instruments.
• Evaluate and monitor the quality of health care services.
• Design studies of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit ratio.
   

• Discuss basic principles of scientific research as applied to public health.
• Prepare proposals for external funding of research projects.
• Apply principles of research design to public health projects.
• Make logical inferences from available data.
• Identify specific research methods applicable to different aspects of public health and services.
• Conduct research with interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Identify resources that will support the development of innovative research strategies applicable to public health.
• Identify ethical issues related to research in the field of public health, and recognize the mechanisms and regulations available to address them.

• Identify, analyze, and evaluate public health problems in a population, and establish a set of priorities to attend to those needs.
• Design and conduct epidemiologic surveillance to obtain information about public health problems and relevant risk factors.
• Use different types of indicators in order to implement strategies to address public health problems.
• Design, conduct, and evaluate interventions and health programs that are consistent with existing health needs.
• Get involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs in public health.
• Develop means of prevention and environmental control for public health personnel.
• Participate in the development of public health research projects and in the analysis and application of their results.
   

• Adequately describe the health needs of a population by the appropriate interpretation of indicators of risk, morbidity, disability, and mortality.
• Design, implement, interpret, and evaluate systems of epidemiologic surveillance, and use the results to support decisions about public health.
• Understand the importance of the natural history of diseases to the implementation of prevention interventions and disease control.
• Manage and interpret the role of risk factors in the causation of health problems in a population.
• Conduct epidemiologic studies during disease outbreaks that will allow the student to deal with the disease in its epidemic form.

• Develop an ethical commitment as a health care professional.
• Develop critical thinking capacity.
• Develop capacity for team work.
• Appropriately relate to relevant organizations and to the development of human resources in the field of Public Health.

• Identify sources, means of exposure, and control methods for the principal chemical, physical, and biological agents that affect human health.
• Develop designs and interpret risk evaluations for human health.
• Develop effective risk communication techniques.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate environmental health programs.
• Evaluate the impact of environmental intervention on human health.
• Develop preventive measures and environmental controls for public health.
• Evaluate environmental surveillance systems.

• Develop questionnaires, conduct interviews, and analyze data during the evaluation of environmental risks.
• Write reports related to field investigations.
• Use appropriate statistical tools for each individual situation.
• Establish pertinent recommendations after analyzing the data resulting from a research project.

• Recognize environmental health problems as a fundamental component of public health.
• Apply ethical and legal values to any public health investigation.
• Collaborate with public and private organizations to help solve public health and environmental health problems.
   

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