Medical College of Wisconsin MPH Program Competencies
MPH Program Competency Set
Foundational Competencies
Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health
- Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice
- Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
- Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate
- Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice
Public Health & Health Care Systems
- Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings
- Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels
Planning & Management to Promote Health
- Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health
- Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs
- Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention
- Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management
- Select methods to evaluate public health programs
Policy in Public Health
- Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence
- Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
- Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations
- Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity
Leadership
- Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue
- Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges
Communication
- Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
- Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e. non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
- Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content
Interprofessional Practice
- Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health
Systems Thinking
- Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative
Concentration-Specific Competencies
- Apply basic theories and models from behavioral science disciplines that are used in public health practice
- Demonstrate strategic planning and program planning in the contextual setting for when it is appropriate to use each process
- Design a logic model as a component of program planning that addresses short, medium, and long term outcomes
- Conduct outcome and impact analysis using evaluation design and data
- Apply methods for evaluating efficiency, cost benefit, and cost effectiveness analyses