JHSPH to Lead Consortium with Institutions in Latin America and Spain (web article)

Members, instructors and participants
of the Consortium for Public Health
 Managers in Epidemiology.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announced the launch of the Consortium for Public Health Managers in Epidemiology. The Bloomberg School will serve as the coordinating center for the Consortium that includes a network of 5 institutions from Latin America and Spain. This is the first consortium of its kind that provides an Internet-based certificate program in epidemiology for public health managers in Spanish, and has been established in conjunction with the Universidad del Norte, Colombia; Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile; Universidad de Barcelona, Spain; Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, México, and Universidad de Brasilia, Brazil. 

The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) signed an institutional agreement with the Bloomberg School in April 2001 to develop an Internet-based Professional Program in Epidemiology for Public Health Managers.  The establishment of this program responded to the recommendations of the first Regional Meeting of National Directors of Epidemiology and  corresponding PAHO/WHO focal points in the Americas.  The meeting was convened in the Dominican Republic in 2000 with a primary objective of strengthening the capacity of epidemiologists in the management of public health functions.

"The Consortium will facilitate a continuing cooperative program of instruction in epidemiology between the Bloomberg School and participating institutions," said James Yager, PhD, senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Bloomberg School. "Expanding on the Certificate Program originally established in 2002, the Consortium’s primary goal is to provide academic support and training for enrolled students with the input, advice, expertise and membership of the participating institutions," said Carlos Castillo-Salgado, MD, DrPH, co-director of the Consortium and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology.

The Internet-based Certificate Program in Epidemiology for Public Health Managers consists of 4 courses, 3 online and 1 on-site, and will be offered in 2010 with all participating Consortium institutions. The Bloomberg School will provide faculty, teaching assistants, course content, web-platform, technical direction and general support for the Consortium and Certificate Program. Participating Latin American and Spanish institutions will conduct student recruitment, as well as provide academic support and input. Per cohort, one institution from Latin America or Spain will serve as the host institution, providing facilities for various Consortium-related events.

Participating institutions believe the establishment of the Consortium for Public Health Managers in Epidemiology will lead to an expanded constituency including the development of joint seminars, workshops, symposia and courses in other public health-related disciplines. In addition, participants hope to conduct joint research in areas of shared interest.

The next cohort will be in Colombia at the Universidad del Norte in March 2010.