Appendix B
School of Public Health Survey Instrument
Dear Dean,
The IOM Committee on Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century has been asked by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assess the past and current state of public health professional education and training and contrast it to future practice needs. The committee’s findings will be used to develop a framework for how, over the next five to ten years, education, training, and research in the schools of public health can be strengthened to meet the needs of future public health professionals to improve population health.
As part of its deliberations, the committee has been asked to answer the question, “What progress have schools of public health made in responding to the recommendations of the 1988 IOM report, The Future of Public Health?” The attached survey has been developed with that question in mind since the committee believes that those in the best position to answer the question are the schools of public health.
Each recommendation as stated in the 1988 IOM report is followed by one or more questions. A comment space at the end of the questionnaire is provided for additional information you may wish to share with the committee. We have avoided asking questions about information that is available elsewhere, such as through CEPH.
We appreciate your time and willingness to complete this survey. The information you provide will assist the IOM committee to better understand the current status of public health education and the progress made
in preparing graduates of these programs. Please return your responses by March 18, 2002 to:
Marc Ehman (FO 3021)
Research Assistant
Institute of Medicine
2001 Wisconsin Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Email: Mehman@nas.edu
If you have any questions about this questionnaire, please contact
Sincerely yours,
Kristine Gebbie,
Co-Chair
Linda Rosenstock
Co-Chair
Name of School ________________________________
Please list the number of faculty at your school in each of the following categories
1. Full-time faculty with primary appointment in the school of public health _____
2. Full-time faculty with primary appointment in another school _____
Recommendation 1: “Schools of public health should establish firm practice links with state and/or local public health agencies so that significantly more faculty members may undertake professional responsibilities in these agencies, conduct research there, and train students in such practice situations. Recruitment of faculty and admission of students should give appropriate weight to prior public health experience as well as to academic qualifications.”
-
Do faculty from the school undertake professional responsibilities in a state health department?
YES _______ NO ________
-
If yes, please check the kinds of work undertaken. Check only those that have occurred within the past 5 years.
Requested research projects |
☐ |
Technical assistance |
☐ |
Ongoing professional responsibilities (e.g., serve as local epidemiologist or health officer) |
☐ |
Staff development or training |
☐ |
Appointment to professional advisory committee |
☐ |
Other:______________________ |
☐ |
-
During the past 12 months what would you estimate to be the percent of your faculty engaged in such activity?
-
Is there an opportunity for students to earn credit hours for practice in a state health department? YES ________ NO _________
-
Is there a requirement that students undertake a period of work in a state health department? YES ________ NO ________
-
What do you see as barriers to student practice in state health departments?
-
During the past 12 months, what would YOU estimate to be the percentage of your students who have undertaken a period of work in state health departments?
-
Do faculty from the school undertake professional responsibilities in a local health department?
YES ______ NO______ N.A. _______ (no local health dept.)
-
If yes, please check the kinds of work undertaken. Check only those that have occurred within the past 5 years.
Requested research projects |
☐ |
Technical assistance |
☐ |
Ongoing professional responsibilities (e.g., serve as local epidemiologist or health officer) |
☐ |
Staff development or training |
☐ |
Appointment to professional advisory committee |
☐ |
Other:______________________ |
☐ |
-
During the past 12 months what would you estimate to be the percent of your faculty engaged in such activity?
-
Is there an opportunity for students to earn credit hours for practice in a local health department?
YES ________ NO _________ N.A. _____ (no local health dept.)
-
Is there a requirement that students undertake a period of work in a local health department?
YES ________ NO ________ N.A. ______ (no local health dept.)
-
What do you see as barriers to student practice in local health departments?
-
During the past 12 months, what would you estimate to be the percentage of your students who have undertaken a period of work in local health departments?
-
How important is professional experience in weighing student applications for admission to the school?
Very important _______
Important __________
Somewhat important _________
Not important _________
-
How important is practice-based activity (i.e., non-research, non-academic) experience in recruiting faculty for the school?
Very important_________
Important_________
Somewhat important_______
Not important _______
Recommendation 2: “Schools of public health should fulfill their potential role as significant resources to government at all levels in the development of public policy.”
-
In your estimate, in which of the activities below has the school been engaged during the past 5 years? Please check all that apply.
Policy development for legislative body ____
Public health advocacy with state government ____
Public health advocacy with local government ____
Research requested by state policy makers ____
Research requested by local policy makers ____
Public health workforce development ____
Other:__________________________
-
What do you see as barriers to your school being able to achieve its potential in this area?
Recommendation 3: “Research in schools of public health should range from basic research in fields related to public health, through applied research and development, to program evaluation and implementation research.”
What, in your estimation, is the percent of research conducted in your school that you would characterize as:
___ Basic or fundamental research: research conducted for the purpose of advancing our knowledge.
___ Applied research: research designed to use the results of other research (e.g., basic research) to solve real world problems.
___ Translational research: research on approaches for translating results of other types of research to community use.
___ Evaluative research: the use of scientific methods to assess the effectiveness of a program or initiative.
Recommendation 4: “Schools of public health should take maximum advantage of training resources in their universities, for example, faculty and courses in schools of business administration, and departments of physical, biological, and social sciences.”
Please circle below the other departments/schools where students of your school of public health may take courses that count toward their public health degree.
Medicine |
YES |
NO |
Nursing |
YES |
NO |
Dentistry |
YES |
NO |
Pharmacy |
YES |
NO |
Health sciences |
YES |
NO |
Law |
YES |
NO |
Social work |
YES |
NO |
Academic health centers |
YES |
NO |
Other, please specify |
___________________________ |
What is your estimate of the frequency with which such activities have been undertaken during the past 5 years?
Often ________
Sometimes _______
Not very often _____
Please list barriers to such activity
Recommendation 5: “Schools of public health should extend their expertise to advise and assist with the health content of educational programs of other schools and departments of the university.”
Please circle below the other departments/schools where faculty of your school of public health have assisted in development of educational programs.
Medicine |
YES |
NO |
Nursing |
YES |
NO |
Dentistry |
YES |
NO |
Pharmacy |
YES |
NO |
Health sciences |
YES |
NO |
Law |
YES |
NO |
Social work |
YES |
NO |
Academic health centers |
YES |
NO |
Other, please specify |
_____________________________ |
What is your estimate of the frequency with which such activities have been undertaken during the past 5 years?
Often _____
Sometimes _____
Not very often _____
Please list barriers to such activity
Recommendation 6: “Schools of public health should encourage and assist other institutions (e.g., colleges, universities, health departments) to prepare appropriate, qualified public health personnel for positions in the field. When educational institutions other than schools of public health undertake to train personnel for work in the field, careful attention to the scope and capacity of the educational program is essential.”
Please circle below the other departments/schools where faculty of your school of public health have assisted in development of educational programs.
Medicine |
YES |
NO |
Nursing |
YES |
NO |
Dentistry |
YES |
NO |
Pharmacy |
YES |
NO |
Health sciences |
YES |
NO |
Law |
YES |
NO |
Social work |
YES |
NO |
Academic health centers |
YES |
NO |
What is your estimate of the frequency with which such activities have been undertaken during the past 5 years?
Often _____
Sometimes _____
Not very often _____
Please list barriers to such activity
Recommendation 7: Schools of public health should strengthen their response to the needs for qualified personnel for important, but often neglected, aspects of public health such as the health of minority groups and international health.”
Does your school offer courses largely devoted to the following areas? Please check all that apply and attach course(s) outline or description.
Cultural competencies _____
Ethics _____
Health disparities _____
Social justice _____
Human rights _____
International or global health _____
Social epidemiology _____
Recommendation 8: “Education programs for public health professionals should be informed by comprehensive and current data on public health personnel and their employment opportunities and needs.”
-
Does your school conduct an alumni survey?
YES ______ NO _______
If you are willing to share the results of that survey, please enclose a copy of the analysis.
-
Does your school conduct exit surveys?
YES ______ NO _________
If you are willing to share results of these surveys, please enclose a copy of the results of your most recent survey.
-
Please list other approaches you have used to collect data on public health personnel and their employment opportunities and needs. Please include copies of these reports, to the extent that you wish to share that information.
Finally, the committee would like to ask you to let us know what you believe to be the most important challenges and opportunities facing schools of public health and M.P.H. programs over the next 10 years. (Attach additional page if needed.)
We very much appreciate your willingness to participate in this survey and we will be happy to share the results of the analysis of responses as soon as it is available. Thank you.