New trends of postgraduate education in public health in Slovakia (the first experiences of the school of public health in Bratislava).

The School of Public Health (SPH) in Bratislava was established on 1 July 1991, as an organisational unit of the Post-graduate Medical School, directly subordinated to the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. The SPH performs both postgraduate and continuing education of specialists in individual public health branches. It participates in the research activities within the field of public health. Our SPH is engaged in the network of European schools of public health, in association with the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER). In coordination with these schools, the SPH elaborates on a system of training Europe-wide a comparable qualification degree in Master of Public Health (MPH). In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the SPH also organizes training courses and seminars with international participation. The SPH entered into the school year 1992/93 with its 5 departments and sub-departments in the following organisational structure: 1. Department of Health Strategy with sub-departments: Health Legislation Health Education Health Sociology 2. Department of Medical Informatics 3. Department of Health Management 4. Department of Medical Education 5. Department of Preventive Medicine with sub-departments: Epidemiology Hygiene of Children and Adolescents Environmental Hygiene Nutrition Preventive Occupational Health Health Protection against Ionization