Brown Elizabeth A, Feliciano Melissa, Martinez Daniel
Department of Health Behavior, Policy, and Management, Joint School of Public Health at Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, United States.
School of Population & Health Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Dillard University, New Orleans, LA, United States.
Front Public Health. 2025 Apr 23;13:1534403. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1534403. eCollection 2025.
Undergraduate public health programs have adapted the required basic sciences based on medical and technological advances and the needs of the public health workforce. We aim to demonstrate how a benchmark analysis project was used to improve curriculum and develop a model where basic sciences in public health can be used to build pathways to clinical graduate programs like medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant, and dental.
Authors conducted a benchmark analysis of Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) Degrees (or public health-related degrees) in the southern region of the United States (US) to explore required basic sciences. Authors searched the Council on Education for Public Health's website to identify accredited, baccalaureate public-health related degrees. The US Census Bureau's Geographic Levels was used to define the southern region of the US. Inclusion criteria for public health-related programs included the following characteristics: (1) accredited as of October 2023, (2) located in the southern region of the US, and (3) Bachelor of Science. Authors used the American Medical College Application Service Application Course Classification Guide to categorize basic sciences into three categories: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Data were extracted to an Excel document for further review and analysis.
There were 38 accredited, baccalaureate public health-related programs in the southern region of the US that met the inclusion criteria. Eighteen programs (47.4%) had at least one concentration or track. Most programs required General or Introductory Biology ( = 12), Anatomy & Physiology ( = 9), General or Introductory Chemistry, or Microbiology ( = 5). Physics was counted twice as a required course while Cellular Biology (or Molecular Biology) and Organic Chemistry were counted once each across 38 programs.
There are substantial differences across required basic sciences for BSPH Degrees in the southern region of the US. We offer a model of required basic sciences for BSPH leadership and students to consider adopting as they market BSPH Degrees for students interested in clinical careers and for those students not interested in clinical professions. This project and proposed model demonstrate that a BSPH Degree is a viable route to clinical careers, depending on a student's academic and professional interests.
本科公共卫生项目已根据医学和技术进步以及公共卫生劳动力的需求调整了所需的基础科学课程。我们旨在展示如何利用基准分析项目来改进课程，并开发一个模型，使公共卫生基础科学能够用于构建通往医学、药学、医师助理和牙科等临床研究生项目的途径。
作者对美国南部地区的公共卫生理学学士学位（BSPH）（或与公共卫生相关的学位）进行了基准分析，以探索所需的基础科学课程。作者在公共卫生教育委员会的网站上搜索，以确定经认可的学士学位公共卫生相关学位。美国人口普查局的地理层级被用于定义美国南部地区。公共卫生相关项目的纳入标准包括以下特征：（1）截至2023年10月已获认可，（2）位于美国南部地区，（3）理学学士。作者使用美国医学院申请服务申请课程分类指南将基础科学分为三类：生物学、化学和物理学。数据被提取到一个Excel文档中以供进一步审查和分析。
美国南部地区有38个符合纳入标准的经认可的学士学位公共卫生相关项目。18个项目（47.4%）至少有一个专业方向或课程轨道。大多数项目要求开设普通生物学或生物学导论（=12）、解剖学与生理学（=9）、普通化学或化学导论，或微生物学（=5）。物理学作为必修课被计算了两次，而细胞生物学（或分子生物学）和有机化学在38个项目中各被计算了一次。
美国南部地区BSPH学位所需的基础科学课程存在很大差异。我们为BSPH项目负责人和学生提供了一个所需基础科学课程的模型，供他们在向对临床职业感兴趣的学生以及对临床职业不感兴趣的学生推销BSPH学位时考虑采用。这个项目和提议的模型表明，根据学生的学术和职业兴趣，BSPH学位是通往临床职业的一条可行途径。
