The Institute of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda
Background.
The Uganda NDH program, offered jointly by the Institute of Public Health (IPH) at Makerere University and the Ministry of Public Health (MOH), was launched in 1994. The goal of the program is "to improve the health of the people of Uganda" while its mission is twofold: (1) to produce practically-oriented public health specialists to assume leadership roles in the public health system; and, (2) to develop a new model of public health training. As in Zimbabwe, although non-medical health professionals are eligible for the program, the government's priority has been to train District Medical Officers (DMO). Currently 18 students are enrolled in the program, six second year and 12 first year students. The first six graduates are expected this year.
Course content and design:
The Uganda program is also heavily field-oriented. Approximately 25 percent is spent in the classroom "acquiring knowledge using problem-oriented learning and developing skills based on knowledge and hypothetical problem-solving exercises." The remaining 75 percent is spent working in the field on district health problems "learning the desired competencies and contributing to improving the health of the people in the district."
The course is taught in modules and structured into four semesters that include both an academic and a field component:
First Semester Modules: introduction to epidemiology- introduction to biostatistics; research methodology; demography; community assessment; computer skills; introduction to primary health care (PHC); planning and management.
Second Semester Modules: health economics, policy & financing; communicable & noncommunicable disease control; health promotion & health communication; training; mental health.
Third Semester Modules: maternal & child health (MCH) and population dynamics; nutrition; international health; environmental health; occupational health.
Fourth Semester Modules: advanced epidemiology; advanced biostatistics.
MPH Thesis:
In the Uganda program, the thesis is expected to arise from the student's field activities and address a research question that is relevant to the needs of the district to which the student has been assigned. The topic of the thesis is negotiated between the student and his or her field supervisor and must be approved by a member of the academic faculty. The thesis requirement can also be satisfied by writing a research paper that is of a caliber publishable in a reviewed journal.
The purpose of the NTH thesis is "to strengthen the national capacity to conduct and disseminate research." Many faculty members regard the thesis primarily as an academic exercise on how to conduct quality research that is publishable. Others push expectations one step further and view the thesis as a practical exercise on how to influence health policy through the publication of research findings in a form that is accessible and useful to policy makers.