Foundational Courses in Health Education

Abstract

In 2012, the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health (ASPPH) in the United States launched a 3-year initiative to rethink education in public health, in anticipation of the 100-year anniversary of the Welch-Rose Report (Welsh & Rose, 1915). Since this first blueprint for schools of public health was published, the landscapes of health care, public health, education, and other major public service areas have changed dramatically. The Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE) was one of some 20 organizations invited to join The Framing the Future: The Second 100 Years of Public Health Task Force, which was organized into six expert panels and one advisory board (ASPPH, 2014). The Expert Panel on Community Colleges was of special interest to SOPHE, given that many SOPHE members work in 4-year colleges and universities that have existing course requirements and/or degree program articulations with community colleges or have expressed interest in strengthening connections between junior colleges and universities in the United States. Community colleges educate nearly half of all undergraduate students, including a substantial proportion of future health professionals; have strong connections to the communities they serve, a foundational element shared with health education; and enroll many students from underserved communities who could enhance the diversity of the 628881P HPXXX10.