Disability Within US Public Health School and Program Curricula

Area of Science:

• Public Health Education
• Disability Studies
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Healthy People 2020 objective DH-3 aims to increase disability content in public health curricula.
• Assessing current offerings is crucial for establishing a baseline measurement.
• Understanding the prevalence of disability coursework informs future public health training initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the percentage of US public health schools and programs offering graduate-level disability content.
• To establish a baseline for Healthy People 2020 objective DH-3.
• To compare disability coursework offerings in 1999 versus 2011.

Main Methods:

• A 2011 cross-sectional survey was administered to accredited Master of Public Health programs.
• Data were collected from deans, associate deans, directors, or chairpersons via SurveyMonkey.
• Follow-up communications (email, phone) were conducted to maximize response rates.

Main Results:

• A 63% response rate yielded data from 78 public health schools and programs.
• Fifty percent of surveyed institutions offered some graduate-level disability content.
• Schools were more likely than programs to offer disability coursework (71% vs. 34%; P = .003), with similar percentages in 1999 and 2011.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a baseline measurement for Healthy People 2020 objective DH-3.
• Further research should clarify the depth of disability content and identify training capacities.
• Enhancing disability training in public health programs is essential for meeting public health goals.