Using social constructivist theory and principles of service learning to transform public health doctoral education

A key challenge facing 21st Century public health education is to strengthen public health capacity to solve ongoing and emerging problems. This paper reports on our response to this challenge with the development and evaluation of a DrPH Program in Community Health and Prevention. We identified and validated five competency domains and specific competencies within each domain: (1) to understand the mission, goals, and strategies of community health (n=16); (2) to understand and assess health status and needs (n=9); (3) to understand and assess individual and environmental determinants of health (n=14); (4) to design, implement, and evaluate public health programs and policies (n=19); and (5) to translate findings into policy recommendations and advocate for change (n=18). The DrPH Program was designed by creating a matrix linking competencies with specific curricular elements. Social constructivist theory guided the development of teaching principles: (1) goals and objectives are derived by the student in negotiation with the teacher; (2) the teacher structures activities to improve communication, to help students solve problems, and to reflect on learning; (3) small groups practice combining diverse perspectives and skills to solve real problems; (4) formative assessment is used to identify the nature of student difficulties and guide subsequent instruction; and (5) summative assessment is used to evaluate student competencies. A comprehensive set of service learning experiences were nested throughout the curriculum via group problem solving projects and applied research projects. The sample for the evaluation includes all DrPH students admitted to the program since it was founded in 2004. 19.2% of students are international students (Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Kyrgyzstan, and Saudi Arabia), and 38.5% are minority students (African-American and Hispanic). An analysis of competencies over time indicated a significant overall increase in attainment of competencies, with no differences in attainment by international student status or minority student status.