Bennett Catherine M, Lilley Kathleen, Yeatman Heather, Parker Elizabeth, Geelhoed Elizabeth, Hanna Elizabeth G, Robinson Priscilla
School of Health and Social Development Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Australia.
Aust New Zealand Health Policy. 2010 Jan 3;7:2. doi: 10.1186/1743-8462-7-2.
Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.Following the 2007 Australian Federal election, the new Labour government brought with it a refreshing commitment to a more inclusive and strategic style of government. An important example of this was the 2020 visioning process that identified key issues of public health concern, including an acknowledgment that it was unacceptable to allocate less than 2% of the health budget towards disease prevention. This led to the recommendation for the establishment of a national preventive health agency (Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 National Preventative Health Strategy, Prepared by the Preventative Health Taskforce 2009).The focus on disease prevention places a spotlight on the workforce that will be required to deliver the new investment in health prevention, and also on the role of public health education in developing and upskilling the workforce. It is therefore timely to reflect on trends, challenges and opportunities from a tertiary sector perspective. Is it more desirable to focus education efforts on selected lead issues such as the "obesity epidemic", climate change, Indigenous health and so on, or on the underlying theory and skills that build a flexible workforce capable of responding to a range of health challenges? Or should we aspire to both?This paper presents some of the key discussion points from 2008 - 2009 of the Public Health Educational Pathways workshops and working group of the Australian Network of Public Health Institutions. We highlight some of the competing tensions in public health tertiary education, their impact on public health training programs, and the educational pathways that are needed to grow, shape and prepare the public health workforce for future challenges.
在澳大利亚，公共卫生教育途径传统上一直是大学的领域，公共卫生硕士（MPH）被视为旗舰专业入学项目。公共卫生教育也在公共卫生医学系的 fellowship 培训中开展，但在澳大利亚，这仍仅限于医学毕业生。然而，近年来，我们看到本科学位激增，职业教育与培训（VET）领域的公共卫生影响力也日益增强。
2007 年澳大利亚联邦选举后，新工党政府带来了一种全新的、更具包容性和战略性的政府施政理念。这方面的一个重要例子是 2020 愿景规划过程，该过程确定了公共卫生关注的关键问题，包括认识到将不到 2%的卫生预算用于疾病预防是不可接受的。这导致了关于设立国家预防健康机构的建议（澳大利亚：《到 2020 年成为最健康国家的国家预防健康战略》，预防健康特别工作组 2009 年编写）。
对疾病预防的关注凸显了为实施新的健康预防投资所需的劳动力，以及公共卫生教育在培养和提升劳动力技能方面的作用。因此，从高等教育部门的角度反思趋势、挑战和机遇恰逢其时。是将教育努力集中在选定的主要问题上，如“肥胖流行”、气候变化、原住民健康等，还是集中在培养能够应对一系列健康挑战的灵活劳动力的基础理论和技能上？或者我们应该两者兼顾？
本文介绍了澳大利亚公共卫生机构网络公共卫生教育途径研讨会和工作组 2008 - 2009 年的一些关键讨论要点。我们强调了公共卫生高等教育中的一些相互竞争的矛盾点、它们对公共卫生培训项目的影响，以及为公共卫生劳动力的成长、塑造和为未来挑战做好准备所需的教育途径。
