Extending public health teaching at the undergraduate level: What attracts students from non-public health stream?

Background
The undergraduate public health education started in school of public health the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with a minor programme. It recruited students from all disciplines in our University. This year it extended its role to serve as a general education programme to medical students and students from other faculties. During the evolution of the undergraduate programme, additional and important issues other than training public health professionals.have emerged

Method
All students taking the public health courses either as an electives, general education or fulfillment of the minor programme requirement were asked to complete a self administered survey with structured questionnaires. The questionnaires consisted of four parts: (1) demographics including age, sex, major faculty, year of study, (2) reason for choosing public health courses (3) anticipated benefits of enrolling undergraduate public health courses in terms of employment, personal interest and personal development. (4) evaluation of the current undergraduate public health programme

Results
250 students were invited to fill in the questionnaires and the response rate was over 90 %. Students in the minor programme mainly come from the Science faculty. Medical students found the pre-professional public health education helped with the future practice of their professionals. Students from other faculties found the foundation course attractive, inspiring and useful in personal development. They found the courses helped them contribute to the community and most importantly enhance their competitiveness in job market. Public health knowledge now becomes essential knowledge in media, marketing, sales and legal area. They appreciated the flexibility and diversity of our curriculum which combined knowledge in liberal studies and public health skills.

Conclusion
These experiences can serve as reflections for the continuous development of undergraduate public health education in Hong Kong and in other countries