Is public health training in Canada meeting current needs? Defrosting the paradigm freeze to respond to the post-truth era

Yassi, Annalee; Lockhart, Karen; Gray, Patricia; Hancock, Trevor

doi:10.1080/09581596.2017.1384796

Cited by 25 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…We have documented the focus and evaluated student experiences and learning outcomes of an experiential learning program centered on community engagement in global and Indigenous health research settings. Many of our findings align with previous evaluations and support the global movement toward increasing experiential learning opportunities in public health training, 8 , 16 - 21 formal education in community engagement, 6 , 16 , 20 , 22 interprofessional learning in public health, 19 , 23 and in international education experiences, generally. 17 , 24 Throughout the discussion reflections of directing, teaching in, and coordinating the program have been integrated in making meaning of the students’ experiences, further documenting the lessons learned, and finally, providing recommendations for other global and Indigenous health experiential learning programs ( Table 3 ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Despite this acknowledged importance, a recent review of 76 graduate-level public health programs in Canada revealed only 16% required a course in community engagement. 6 With Canadian graduate programs offering 6 times more quantitative methods courses compared to qualitative, Yassi et al 6 further state that, “an appreciation of historical, socioeconomic, and cultural context cannot be captured in quantitative methods alone, nor could the political forces that determine the social processes driving the health inequities manifesting at the individual unit of analysis” (p. 6). The need for new paradigms combined with limited research on improving the training of public health workforce, 7 , 8 suggests further educational research in the area of community-engaged public health practice is urgently needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Evaluation of an Experiential Learning Program in Global and Indigenous Health: The University of Manitoba’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Program

Riediger

Mignone

2020

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We conducted a mixed-methods outcome evaluation to examine student experiences and learning in the University of Manitoba’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Program in Global and Indigenous Health. Our scholarship program is a bi-directional, 3-month international experiential learning program, including both undergraduate and graduate students, with associated online course focused on community engagement. Students completed a semi-structured narrative report at the conclusion of their funding related to their experience and learning. The Likert questions were analyzed descriptively and student responses to the open-ended questions were utilized for thematic analysis. Also included in this paper is a summary of our lessons learned through program administration. A total of 38 students completed the program between 2016 and 2018, with 95% reporting that they either met or exceeded their goals in the program. Three overarching and inter-related themes emerged in our thematic-analysis of students’ narrative reports, including success through relationships and new perspectives, challenges of the unfamiliar, and personal growth through strong emotions. Many students reported personal growth as their greatest success and linked this with new perspectives and awareness of how different contexts shaped their understanding of health issues. Overcoming challenges in their placements contributed to students’ confidence in their ability to problem-solve. Overall, students reported value in their experiential learning, which further supports the growing trend to incorporate both experiential learning and formal education in community engagement in public health pedagogy. However, international experiential learning requires considerable financial and human resource commitments to ensure its success.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of an Experiential Learning Program in Global and Indigenous Health: The University of Manitoba’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Program

Riediger

Mignone

2020

INQUIRY

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“…Building on insights across these working groups, EDGE undertook a preliminary scan of needs, challenges, and assets in relation to EDoH in the context of public health education in Canada (EDGE 2018). This scan provides an overview of the emerging state of the field, recognizing the connections with converging and inter-related developments relevant to public health, including but not limited to ecological public health (Rayner and Lang The EDGE report offers an initial appraisal of key educational resources and emerging initiatives (including a matrix of options for integrating EDoH into education strategies: EDGE 2015, Table 1) and highlights overlaps with other timely critiques of the need for the redesign of public health education and practice to respond to contemporary challenges (see Poland et al 2019;Walpole et al 2019;Yassi et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, we recognize that integrative approaches to health that address both social and ecological determinants of health are not new. There are a range of ongoing efforts to connect equity, ecosystems, and public health that can be and have been applied in practical, clinical, and policy contexts (see, for example, Buse et al 2018;O'Connell 2017;Parkes et al 2017;Poland and Dooris 2010;Walpole et al 2019;Webb et al 2010;Yassi et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fifth, we recognize that educational reform, while necessary for proactive change, is not sufficient in and of itself. The systemic drivers of ecosystem degradation and social inequity are deeply entrenched and not easily amenable to change through the application of 'enlightened' information alone: the deficit model of educational reform and change-making has underperformed relative to current demands (Parkes et al 2017;Walpole et al 2019;Yassi et al 2017). While EDGE and this commentary have focused on the education implications of embracing eco-social approaches to the EDoH, these need to be seen as synergistic with the urgent need for a fulsome whole-of-society retooling of the systems and power structures that continue to perpetuate both ecological and social degradation (Poland et al 2011;Ratima et al 2019;Whitmee et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preparing for the future of public health: ecological determinants of health and the call for an eco-social approach to public health education

Parkes

Poland

Allison

et al. 2019

Can J Public Health

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As a collective organized to address the education implications of calls for public health engagement on the ecological determinants of health, we, the Ecological Determinants Group on Education (cpha.ca/EDGE), urge the health community to properly understand and address the importance of the ecological determinants of the public's health, consistent with long-standing calls from many quarters-including Indigenous communities-and as part of an eco-social approach to public health education, research and practice. Educational approaches will determine how well we will be equipped to understand and respond to the rapid changes occurring for the living systems on which all life-including human life-depends. We revisit findings from the Canadian Public Health Association's discussion paper on 'Global Change and Public Health: Addressing the Ecological Determinants of Health', and argue that an intentionally eco-social approach to education is needed to better support the health sector's role in protecting and promoting health, preventing disease and injury, and reducing health inequities. We call for a proactive approach, ensuring that the ecological determinants of health become integral to public health education, practice, policy, and research, as a key part of wider societal shifts required to foster a healthy, just, and ecologically sustainable future.

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Student reflections on an interdisciplinary pandemics course utilising systems thinking

Shelley

Osborne

Reid

et al. 2022

Health Prom J of Aust

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Issue addressed: The complexity and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to change training of public health professionals in higher education by shifting from siloed specialisations to interdisciplinary collaboration. At the end of 2020 and 2021, public health professionals collaboratively designed and delivered, a week-long intensive course-Public Health in Pandemics. The aim of this research study was to understand whether the use of systems thinking in the design and delivery of the course enabled students to grasp the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary health promotion and public health practice. Research methods: Two focus group interviews (n = 5 and 3/47) and a course opinion survey (n = 11/47) were utilised to gather information from students regarding experiences and perceptions of course design and delivery, and to determine if students felt better able to understand the complex nature of pandemics and pandemic responses.Major findings: Students provided positive feedback on the course and believed that the course design and delivery assisted in understanding the complex nature of health problems and the ways in which health promotion and public health practitioners need to work across sectors with diverse disciplines for pandemic responses. Conclusions:The use of an integrated interdisciplinary approach to course design and delivery enabled students used systems thinking to understand the complexity in preparing for and responding to a pandemic. This approach may have utility in preparing an agile, iterative and adaptive health promotion and public health workforce more capable of facing the challenges and complexity in public health.

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Is public health training in Canada meeting current needs? Defrosting the paradigm freeze to respond to the post-truth era

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

An Evaluation of an Experiential Learning Program in Global and Indigenous Health: The University of Manitoba’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Program

An Evaluation of an Experiential Learning Program in Global and Indigenous Health: The University of Manitoba’s Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Program

Preparing for the future of public health: ecological determinants of health and the call for an eco-social approach to public health education

Student reflections on an interdisciplinary pandemics course utilising systems thinking

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