Accreditation of public health education in India: Enhancing quality, competence and trust.
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Date
2013-11
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Abstract
With an increase in the number of institutes offering public
health education, there is a need for discussion on future
directions and challenges. The World Health Report 2006
identified the need to improve the quality of public health
education. There are various mechanisms and bodies that look
after accreditation issues in several countries. The Council on
Education for Public Health in the USA assists in the accreditation
of schools of public health, as well as public health programmes.
The Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutions
is actively engaged in discussions to improve the quality of its
programme and institutions. In Europe, the European Agency
for Accreditation in Public Health Education is responsible for
accreditation. The South-East Asia Public Health Education
Institutes Network facilitates accreditation of public health
education in the region. In India, public health education
varies across institutes. India needs an accreditation system to
ensure that public health education is of the desired quality.
Certain initiatives, such as conferences, consultation and the
Calcutta Declaration, have been taken in the past two decades.
However, the ideas mooted have yet to be translated into
reality. The broad framework for accreditation may entail an
institutional self-assessment against set standards, preparation
of a database, cataloguing, and site visits by a peer team. There
is a need for an apical body with all stakeholders participating
in the process. Accreditation has specific benefits, but there
are critical challenges as well. For example, the autonomy of
the institutions needs to be protected, the accreditation bodies
should exhibit professionalism and substantial financial resources
are required. Before tackling specific criteria for accreditation,
it is necessary to define a collective vision for schools of public
health in India.
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SHARMA KAVYA, ZODPEY SANJAY, ZAHIRUDDIN QUAZI SYED, GAIDHANE ABHAY. Accreditation of public health education in India: Enhancing quality, competence and trust. National Medical Journal of India. 2013 Nov-Dec ; 26 (6): 344-347.