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Prevalence and characteristics of advocacy curricula in Australian public health degrees
Author(s) -
Bhatti Alexandra J.,
Lin Sophia,
Post Dannielle,
Baldock Katherine,
Dawes Nathan
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1002/hpja.634
Subject(s) - curriculum , public health , bachelor , population health , health promotion , public relations , medicine , medical education , unit (ring theory) , political science , nursing , sociology , pedagogy , psychology , mathematics education , law
Background Public health advocacy is a fundamental part of health promotion practice. Advocacy efforts can lead to healthier public policies and positive impacts on society. Public health educators are responsible for equipping graduates with cross‐cutting advocacy competencies to address current and future public health challenges. Problem Knowledge of the extent to which students are taught public health advocacy is limited. To determine whether advocacy teaching within public health degrees matches industry needs, knowledge of pedagogical approaches to advocacy curricula is required. This study sought to understand the extent to which advocacy is taught and assessed within Australian public health degrees. Methodology Australian public health Bachelor's and Master's degrees were identified using the CRICOS database. Open‐source online unit guides were reviewed to determine where and how advocacy was included within core and elective units (in title, unit description or learning outcomes). Degree directors and convenors of identified units were surveyed to further garner information about advocacy in the curriculum. Results Of 65 identified degrees, 17 of 26 (65%) undergraduate degrees and 24 of 39 (62%) postgraduate degrees included advocacy within the core curriculum, while 6 of 26 (23%) undergraduate and 8 of 39 (21%) postgraduate offered no advocacy curriculum. Implications Australian and international public health competency frameworks indicate advocacy curriculum should be included in all degrees. This research suggests advocacy competencies are not ubiquitous within Australian public health curricula. The findings support the need to advance public health advocacy teaching efforts further.