The Availability of Injury Curricula across Accredited Schools and Programs of Public Health: A Needs Assessment
Presenter Biography
Tiona Wu is an undergraduate student at Lewis & Clark College. She is a Psychology major and Computer Science minor. She is still exploring the different disciplines of psychology as well as related fields such as Public Health, and is eager to continue along the social science path in her academic career.
Program/Major
Psychology
Degree
BA
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-7-2020 4:28 PM
End Date
4-7-2020 4:41 PM
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33767
Keywords
public health, education, injury- and violence-related curricula, ICRCs
Abstract
Purpose
Although injury is the third leading cause of death in the United States, injury-related curricula are often unavailable to students of public health. This project aimed to assess the availability of injury- and violence-related curricula in public health education.
Methods
We surveyed websites of all Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited schools and programs of public health in the US. Degree program catalogs and class syllabi were searched to identify injury- and violence-related curricula offered at each school/program. School/program characteristics were recorded, including type (schools versus programs), size and region, public health degrees offered, and presence of Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs). Using descriptive statistics and mapping approaches, we examined the availability and types of injury- and violence-related curricula by school/program characteristics.
Results
Out of 178 CEPH-accredited schools/programs of public health, only 43 (24%) offered injury- or violence-related curricula. Of these, most (72%) were schools of public health. Some curricula covered both injury and violence topics (35%), while others focused exclusively on violence (30%). Regionally, the northeast had the most schools/programs with injury- and violence-related curricula (6.1 schools per 100,000 miles) and the western region had the least (0.5 schools per 100,000 miles).
Conclusion
Results of this project suggest that access to injury- and violence-related curricula continues to be limited across schools and programs of public health.
Significance/Contribution
This gap may be filled by distance-learning opportunities that are accessible across regions. Future research should survey school/program leaders to identify additional facilitators to increasing curricula availability.
The Availability of Injury Curricula across Accredited Schools and Programs of Public Health: A Needs Assessment
Purpose
Although injury is the third leading cause of death in the United States, injury-related curricula are often unavailable to students of public health. This project aimed to assess the availability of injury- and violence-related curricula in public health education.
Methods
We surveyed websites of all Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited schools and programs of public health in the US. Degree program catalogs and class syllabi were searched to identify injury- and violence-related curricula offered at each school/program. School/program characteristics were recorded, including type (schools versus programs), size and region, public health degrees offered, and presence of Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs). Using descriptive statistics and mapping approaches, we examined the availability and types of injury- and violence-related curricula by school/program characteristics.
Results
Out of 178 CEPH-accredited schools/programs of public health, only 43 (24%) offered injury- or violence-related curricula. Of these, most (72%) were schools of public health. Some curricula covered both injury and violence topics (35%), while others focused exclusively on violence (30%). Regionally, the northeast had the most schools/programs with injury- and violence-related curricula (6.1 schools per 100,000 miles) and the western region had the least (0.5 schools per 100,000 miles).
Conclusion
Results of this project suggest that access to injury- and violence-related curricula continues to be limited across schools and programs of public health.
Significance/Contribution
This gap may be filled by distance-learning opportunities that are accessible across regions. Future research should survey school/program leaders to identify additional facilitators to increasing curricula availability.