School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Population Health Science Department, College of Population Health Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Front Public Health. 2024 Oct 23;12:1429474. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1429474. eCollection 2024.
We examined the perceptions of the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree graduates regarding their personal competencies, job performance and professional development using a mixed method, explanatory sequential design.
A cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire of the Haifa School of Public Health alumni who graduated between 2005 and 2022 was disseminated to 849 graduates between March and June 2022, from which 127 responded (response rate: 14.90%). This was followed by 24 in-depth interviews with alumni from the same sample (conducted between November 2022 and March 2023).
The sample included 74.8% of females with a mean age of 40.7 years, 35% of alumni agreed that the MPH degree helped them attain a promotion in their present position (in rank or salary), and 63.8% felt that the degree helped them improve their job performance and contribute to their current workplace. Most (80.3%) alumni reported not changing jobs after graduation. The interview themes revealed that the MPH contributed to their personal and professional lives, provided them with a holistic view of public health and health systems, and improved their in-depth scientific skills. The main reported barriers to professional development included missing core competencies, low salaries, and a lack of information regarding suitable jobs. Surprisingly, an MPH was not a requirement for some public health sector jobs. Alumni reported that the MPH degree contributed to improving many graduates' careers and satisfaction levels and to build their leadership competencies in public health.
There seems to be a lack of coordination between the academic curriculum and the jobs available for alumni, hindering better alumni professional development. Regular discussions, information sharing, and curriculum refinements between MPH program leaders and health sector leaders might help address many of the concerns of MPH degree graduates.
我们采用混合方法（解释性顺序设计），通过横断面、自我管理问卷调查了海法公共卫生学院 2005 年至 2022 年期间毕业的公共卫生硕士（MPH）学位毕业生，以了解他们对个人能力、工作表现和职业发展的看法。
2022 年 3 月至 6 月期间，向 849 名毕业生分发了海法公共卫生学院校友的横断面、自我管理问卷，其中包括 2005 年至 2022 年期间毕业的校友，其中 127 人做出回应（回应率：14.90%）。随后，对来自同一样本的 24 名校友进行了深入访谈（2022 年 11 月至 2023 年 3 月进行）。
样本包括 74.8%的女性，平均年龄为 40.7 岁，35%的校友认为 MPH 学位帮助他们在现任职位（级别或薪酬）上获得晋升，63.8%的校友认为该学位帮助他们提高工作表现并为当前工作场所做出贡献。大多数（80.3%）校友毕业后没有换工作。访谈主题显示，MPH 有助于他们的个人和职业生活，为他们提供公共卫生和卫生系统的整体视角，并提高他们的深入科学技能。报告的职业发展障碍主要包括缺乏核心能力、低薪和缺乏有关合适工作的信息。令人惊讶的是，一些公共卫生部门的工作并不要求有 MPH 学位。校友们报告称，MPH 学位有助于提高许多毕业生的职业满意度和满意度，并培养他们在公共卫生方面的领导能力。
学术课程与校友可获得的工作之间似乎缺乏协调，这阻碍了校友更好的职业发展。MPH 项目领导人和卫生部门领导之间定期进行讨论、信息共享和课程调整，可能有助于解决 MPH 学位毕业生的许多关切。
