DEVELOPING AN EDUCATED CITIZENRY: THE UNDERGRADUATE PUBLIC HEALTH LEARNING OUTCOMES PROJECT

In its seminal 1988 report, "The Future of Public Health," the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called public health "what we do as a society collectively to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy." Public health interventions may occur in myriad institutions, through a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms in communities across the country. Yet, despite the many proven benefits of health approaches based on prevention and the well-being of populations, public health does not enjoy popular support and is poorly understood by most Americans. The dominance of medical solutions to health challenges, even in the face of overwhelming evidence regarding the effectiveness of community-based preventive approaches, is illustrative of this broad lack of understanding. In 2003, the IOM suggested that the nation's health would benefit from a greater understanding of the profession's potential. To promote this enhanced awareness among the public, the IOM report called for every undergraduate to have access to education in public health. Here, Petersen et al discuss the undergraduate public health learning outcomes projects.