Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
PLoS One. 2023 Feb 9;18(2):e0279114. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279114. eCollection 2023.
Building on a distinguished history of community medicine training, public health programs have been expanding in India in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional attention to the importance of public health programs and the need for a strong workforce. This paper aims to assess the current capacity for public health education and training in India and provide recommendations for improved approaches to meet current and future public health needs.
We conducted a desk review of public health training programs via extensive internet searches, literature reviews, and expert faculty consultations. Among those programs, we purposively selected faculty members to participate in in-depth interviews. We developed summary statistics based on the desk review. For qualitative analysis, we utilized a combination of deductive and inductive coding to identify key themes and systematically reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of each theme.
The desk review captured 59 institutions offering public health training across India. The majority of training programs were graduate level degrees including Master of Public Health and Master of Science degrees. Key factors impacting these programs included collaborations, mentorship, curriculum standardization, tuition and funding, and student demand for public health education and careers. Collaborations and mentorship were highly valued but varied in quality across institutions. Curricula lacked standardization but also contained substantial flexibility and innovation as a result. Public sector programs were perceived to be affordable though fees and stipends varied across institutions. Further development of career opportunities in public health is needed.
Public health education and training in India have a strong foothold. There are numerous opportunities for continued expansion and strengthening of this field, to support a robust multi-disciplinary public health workforce that will contribute towards achieving the sustainable development goals.
在社区医学培训的卓越历史基础上，近年来，印度的公共卫生计划一直在扩大。COVID-19 大流行使人们更加关注公共卫生计划的重要性，以及对一支强大的劳动力的需求。本文旨在评估印度公共卫生教育和培训的现有能力，并为满足当前和未来公共卫生需求的改进方法提供建议。
我们通过广泛的互联网搜索、文献综述和专家教师咨询，对公共卫生培训计划进行了桌面审查。在这些计划中，我们有目的地选择教师参与深入访谈。我们根据桌面审查编制了汇总统计数据。对于定性分析，我们采用了演绎和归纳编码的组合，以确定关键主题，并系统地审查了每个主题的优缺点。
桌面审查共捕获了印度 59 个提供公共卫生培训的机构。大多数培训计划是研究生水平的学位，包括公共卫生硕士和理学硕士学位。影响这些计划的关键因素包括合作、指导、课程标准化、学费和资金以及学生对公共卫生教育和职业的需求。合作和指导受到高度重视，但在不同机构之间存在质量差异。课程缺乏标准化，但也具有相当大的灵活性和创新性。公立部门的项目被认为是负担得起的，尽管学费和津贴因机构而异。需要进一步发展公共卫生领域的职业机会。
印度的公共卫生教育和培训有坚实的基础。有许多机会可以继续扩大和加强这一领域，以支持一支强大的多学科公共卫生劳动力，为实现可持续发展目标做出贡献。
