Masters of public health education in India: Current scenario and future prospect

Very limited attention has been directed at the public health workforce and education in India. We undertake this review to get the picture of current situation of public health education in India, with special reference to Masters of Public Health (MPH) program and its future prospects. MPH programs aims to create the competent public health workforces to address the public health challenges of the 21st century. There is a need for institute offering MPH programs to break down the professional silos and promote strategies for collaborations with medical, nursing and other allied professional education institutions. Such inter-professional and trans-professional education will enable to develop competent and efficient health professionals to address multiple public health challenges. Identifying the core competencies is a prelude to curriculum standardization. Under current regulatory frameworks, curriculum standardization across universities would require a dialogue between all stakeholders. To implement the instructional reforms, India needs to give special emphasis on faculty development for delivering the competency based curriculum. Accreditation of public health program in India will ensure high quality academic standards in the education and development of public health practitioners and researchers. It will also develop a system to determine and certify the achievements and maintenance of minimum standards of education in the different occupations and professions in the health system. India needs to have a comprehensive framework that identify positions, create new career opportunities and structured career progression pathway for MPH graduates, that link across discipline/sectors in public health. This will ensure efficient public health workforce to combat public health challenges in the post MDG era.