A summer project course for MPH students: The 10-year experience of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research

The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences redesigned the traditional MPH summer project and developed a six-week summer course project for MPH students from 1998. Since that time, three hundred students have participated. The purposes of this course are to provide MPH students with an opportunity to identify problems that affect the health of a defined population (community assessment) and determine the availability of resources within the community to adequately address these problems. The assessment process starts with the people who live in the community and gives the community primary responsibility for determining the focus of assessment activities at every level, including collection and interpretation of data, evaluation of health resources, identification of health problems, and development of strategies for addressing these problems (Community Diagnosis). It provides the students with an opportunity for the integration of knowledge gained during the MPH courses and for developing skills in community assessment as a foundation for policy development and assurance. The author has begun a retrospective cohort study of program graduates and other graduates to understand the effect of the program on students' perceptions of their competency and their ability to develop, implement, and evaluate a public health assessment as one of the core competencies for Public Health Professionals for 21^st century.