Will focus on community oriented primary care and maternal and child health
Two new specialized certificates in public health will be offered next fall through the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health.
The one-year programs in community oriented primary care (COPC) and maternal and child health will bolster the expertise level of Nebraska’s public health workforce, said Ayman El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., dean of the College of Public Health. The certificates were approved by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents at its regular meeting Friday.
The COPC program – only the second one in the United States – bridges individual clinical care and public health with the community as the focus. It will provide students and health professionals with the knowledge, tools and skills to enhance their public health practice in the community orientation of health services.
“Many health care providers are frustrated because they do not have an impact on problems in the community that bring patients into the clinic,” Dr. El-Mohandes said. “They keep seeing the same problems over and over again. That’s what led me into public health.
“There’s a need to coordinate health care functions with other sectors and services to deliver comprehensive care in the community. Also, the public wants to be involved in determining the content and quality of its health services.”
This certificate helps broaden skills and shift attitudes toward providing integrated care in Nebraska’s communities, said Jaime Gofin, M.D., M.P.H., professor in the department of health promotion, social and behavioral health and leader of the program.
“In this country, about 80 percent of health problems in the population are seen by primary care providers,” Dr. Gofin said. “Many services are overrun by the same patients who return for care, because the clinics are unable to offer integrated curative, health promotion and prevention programs.”
The certificate in maternal and child health was developed because of a need expressed from the health professional workforce in Nebraska, Dr. El-Mohandes said.
“In the U.S., as in other countries, there is a shortage of public health workers and a scarcity of training in the maternal and child health field,” he said. “This certificate provides health care workers with a way to see how women, mothers and families are doing in the community.”
Mortality of children under age 5 is one issue that has a significant impact on a community, said
Rosa Gofin, M.D., M.P.H., professor in the department of health promotion, social and behavioral health and leader of the program. The Gofins are husband and wife.
“In 2008, the U.S. was ranked 42nd in the world out of 190 countries in child mortality,” Dr. Rosa Gofin said. “In 1990, the U.S. was in 29th place. This shows conditions are getting worse.
“These death rates show an extreme difference between populations, as well. In some populations, the rates are double that of white Americans. We need to learn what factors determine these death rates in Nebraska and the effective interventions needed to reduce the disparities.”
Students enrolled in these certificates will take classes with master’s students who are pursuing a concentration in these two areas.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.