[Professional training and competency development for health promotion capacity building in Latin America]

The subject of health promotion professional training has raised a lot of interest in academic spheres, in professional organizations and in the health services sector at global and regional levels. Some of the topics that have stimulated regional dialogue and actions have been the following: developing curriculum and professional competencies for health promotion and health education academic programs; defining competencies and know-how in order to reorient health promotion capacity building initiatives for public health personnel; strengthening and increasing the academic and professional health promotion networks in Latin America; and organizing meetings and academic events and publications around the subject. During the academic years 2006-8, the Inter-American Coalition of Universities and Training Centers for Health Education and Health Promotion Personnel (www.ciueps.org) has been studying the different foci, competencies and characteristics of health promotion and health education professional training programs in the Latin American region. As part of this study, they have observed differences in curriculum foci between undergraduate, postgraduate and other levels of academic training and certifications. The Coalition as well as other Latin American entities has reiterated the challenges in the field of health promotion of professional training in the region. These include: maintaining an active forum to constantly refine professional competencies;expanding offerings at the different levels of health promotion training; developing courses on health-promotion-related disciplines; increasing the networks and academic exchanges between institutions in Latin America; encouraging the development of international courses on health promotion; increasing the production of theory and concepts on health promotion, health education and related practices in the Latin American context; improving dissemination of experiences in publications, at conferences and in electronic exchange forums.