Unit: Public Health Studies
Program: Public Health (DrPH)
Degree: Doctorate
Date: Wed Oct 09, 2013 - 4:36:06 am

1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.

Upon completion of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at the University of Hawai‘i, the graduate should master the following competencies:

DrPH Competencies

Planning and Evaluation

  1. Integrate evidence and community experience to describe, anticipate, and mediate public health needs and problems.
  2. Identify and apply appropriate theory to inform the design and evaluation of public health interventions.
  3. Integrate theory, empirical knowledge, and community needs with financial planning and infrastructure design in the context of acquiring external funds.

Advocacy and Policy Development

  1. Serve as a liaison and advocate to the policy community for the diverse pressing public health issues.
  2. Interact productively with stakeholders and decision-makers to have an impact on public policy.
  3. Identify, develop, and apply policies, laws and regulations for public health improvement.
  4. Translate policy into organizational plans, structures and programs.

Ethics

  1. Demonstrate and apply high ethical standards to all activities, including the communication and interaction with diverse populations, the general conduct of research, and the handling of information and data.

Culturally Sensitive Community Collaboration

  1. Facilitate and expand collaborative relationships among a variety of entities (e.g., governmental, non-governmental, public, private, and academic).
  2. Apply appropriate skills to integrate community entities into the planning, implementation, evaluation and interpretation of PH projects.
  3. Utilize the integrating concepts and skills involved in culturally appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communities.

Research

  1. Promote co-learning between researchers, public health professionals and communities.
  2. Critique research appropriateness, including the ethical aspects of research designs, subject recruitment and data collection.
  3. Select appropriate research designs and methods to address questions of PH importance.
  4. Review and synthesize a body of research literature.
  5. Select and apply appropriate approaches for evaluation and quality improvement to assess program implementation.

Teaching

  1. Teach, advise, and mentor to enhance the capacity of students, peers, and community members.
  2. Identify, develop and implement engaged teaching methods that are appropriate for the respective audiences and conditions.

Leadership

  1. Develop strategies to promote collaborative problem solving, decision making and evaluation.
  2. Engage stakeholders and manage teams, groups, and organizations to work toward a defined goal.

Communications

  1. Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic and professional backgrounds and persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences.

Informatics

  1. Collaborate with communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation and evaluation of PH programs.

Critical Analysis and Systems Thinking

  1. Critically analyze, use and synthesize information from multiple sources to address public health problems/issues.
  2. Analyze and evaluate the impact of inter-relationships among systems that influence the quality of life of diverse populations in their communities.
  3. Analyze the impact of local, national, and global trends and interdependencies on PH related problems and systems.

2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.

Department Website URL: http://hawaii.edu/publichealth
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://www.hawaii.edu/publichealth
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online:
UHM Catalog. Page Number: http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/schoolscolleges/medicine/phse.htm
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://www.hawaii.edu/publichealth/academics/courses.html
Other: DrPH Handbook URL:www.hawaii.edu/publichealth
Other:

3) Select one option:

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2013:

4) For your program, the percentage of courses that have course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is as follows. Please update as needed.

0%
1-50%
51-80%
81-99%
100%

5) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning the curriculum to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising the assessment plan, creating surveys or tests, etc.)

Yes
No (skip to question 14)

6) For the period June 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.

  • Is the mix of students (local, national, and international) appropriate?
  • Is the size of the program appropriate?
  • Are at least 70% of students “supported” financially?
  • Do 100% past the Qualifying Phase by the end of the 4th semester?
  • Are at least 70% ADB by the end of the 6th semester?
  • Are all DrPH students on track to mastering the 25 DrPH competencies by graduation?
  • Is the average time to gradation < 6 years?
  • Do at least 60% of students have peer-reviewed publications upon graduation?
  • Do at least 70% of graduating students have positions in public health leadership, research, or teaching within 1 year of graduation?

7) State the type(s) of evidence gathered to answer the assessment question and/or meet the assessment goals that were given in Question #6.

  • Competencies are linked to specific courses.
  • At the end of 2nd semester (if student enters with MPH) or 4th semester (if student enters with other masters), DrPH students present a qualifying paper and take a qualifying exam, testing their mastery on MPH and Year-1 DrPH competencies. Of the 6 students entering in Fall 2009, all had MPHs and all were “qualified” by the end of the 4th semester.
  • In the required Teaching Practicum, the faculty member with whom the DrPH student teaches provides a written assessment of student mastery of teaching-related competencies.
  • In the required Research Practicum, the faculty member with whom the DrPH student is conducting research provides a written assessment of student mastery of relevant research-related competencies.
  • Starting in their 2nd year, DrPH students complete an Annual Review (every October1). In this, they report completed and planned coursework, completed and planned portfolio elements, and a self-assessment of mastery of the DrPH competences.  Annual review data are discussed between the student and his/her Chair and also presented to the DrPH Committee. Suggestions are provided to students/Chairs on how students can further their mastery of competencies rated “low” or “mid” (vs. high).  For example, a student “low” in leadership was given a supervisory role through her Graduate Assistantship job and a student “mid” in teaching (even after Teaching Practicum) was scheduled to lead some workshops for MPH and DrPH students.
  • After graduation, DrPH graduates complete a Post-Grad Survey (every October 15) with information on what they are doing re: job, pubs, presentations, grants, etc.

8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.

100% of DrPH students have completed Annual Reviews by Oct 1 of the year. This is the first year we will institute the Post-Grad Survey. 100% of Research and Teaching Practica mentors have provided feedback.

9) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? (Check all that apply.)

Course instructor(s)
Faculty committee
Ad hoc faculty group
Department chairperson
Persons or organization outside the university
Faculty advisor
Advisors (in student support services)
Students (graduate or undergraduate)
Dean/Director
Other:

10) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? (Check all that apply.)

Used a rubric or scoring guide
Scored exams/tests/quizzes
Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used)
Compiled survey results
Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, open-ended response data
External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., external organization administered and scored the nursing licensing exam)
Other:

11) For the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goal(s) stated in Question #6:
Summarize the actual results.

Summary of the actual results.

Indicator

Progress

The mix of students is appropriate (at least 60% are female and/or from minority groups).

Of 22 students admitted Fall 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 (5 years):

  • Indigenous (Native Hawaiians) = 4
  • Minority
  • African American = 2
  • Chinese American = 2
  • Korean American = 2
  • Japanese American = 3
  • Filipino American = 1
  • International
  • Burmese from Myanmar = 1
  • Indonesian from Indonesia = 1
  • Korean from Korea = 1
  • Canadian
  • Caucasian
  • From Hawaii = 4
  • From Guam = 1

The size of the program appropriate to the size/skills of the faculty

The DrPH program limits admissions so there are no more than 16 DrPH students at any time, which appears manageable. The program is structured such that students should be able to complete the program in 3-5 years. We anticipate 4 graduates and 4 new admits every year, for a total of 15-18 DrPH students in any given Fall semester. We do not anticipate problems maintaining this level of enrollment.

The DrPH Graduate Chair serves as Interim Advisor for students prior to their completing the Qualifying Phase of the program (the first 1-2 years).

Once past the Qualifying Phase, students chose permanent advisors, and our DrPH faculty includes 16 members who can serve in this role.  

Funding will be available for at least 70% of accepted students.

Of the 6 students admitted in Fall 2008, 3 had GRA positions and 2 worked in research-related jobs (one on-campus and one off-campus).

Of the 6 students admitted in Fall 2009, 1 was EWC, 3 had GRAs, and 2 worked at UH.

Of the 3 admitted in Fall, 2010, 2 work/worked at UH and another works fulltime for Kamehameha Schools

Of the 4 admitted in Fall 2011, 3 have GRAs and 1 is working at UH.

Of the 3 admitted in Fall 2012, 1 has a GRA and 2 work fulltime.

100% will pass “qualifying phase” by the end of the 4th semester

Entering 2008 = 6/6 = 100%

Entering 2009=6/6 = 100%

Entering 2010=3/3 = 100%

Entering 2011=4/4 = 100%

Entering 2012=3/3 = 100%

At least 70% are ADB by the end of the 6th semester.

Entering 2008 = 6/6 = 100%

Entering 2009= 5/6 = 83%

Entering 2010 = 3/3 = 100%

100% of students will be “on-track” in mastering the learning objectives

This is monitored through the Annual Review of Students (every October).

100% are on track.

At least 60% of students will have peer reviewed published papers upon graduation.

Of 6 entering in 2008, all have presented their work at conferences and 5 have published on work completed during their DrPH program.

Of 6 entering in 2009, 4 have published on work completed during their DrPH program.

Of 3 entering in 2010, 2 have submitted manuscripts.

Of 4 entering in 2011, 2 have submitted manuscripts

Average graduation time < 5 years

Of 6 entering in 2008, 2 graduated in 3 years and the other 4 in 3.5 years.

Of 6 entering in 2009, 1 graduated in 3 years, 2 after 3.5 years), 2 after 4 years, and 1 is ABD.

Of 3 entering in 2010, 1 graduated in 3 years, and 3 are ABD.

Of 4 entering in 2011, 2 are ABD.

At least 70% of graduating students will have positions in public health leadership, research, or faculty positions within 4 years of graduation.

Of the 2 who graduated in May 2011, 1 is now an Assistant Professor and the other is a healthcare researcher.

Of the 4 who graduated in December 2011, 2 are now in faculty positions at UHM, 1 has a research faculty position at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, and 1 returned to Myanmar and is consulting for an INGO.

The 1 who graduated in May 2012 is now in a faculty position at UH.

The 2 who graduated in Dec 2012 are both working in NGOs.

Of the 3 who graduated in May 2013, 1 is at an NGO, one is doing a post-doc at CDC, and 1 has a faculty position at UH.

12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.

  • Student Annual Review data are reviewed by student, advisor, DrPH chair and DrPH Committee to guide student progress
  • DrPH program data are reviewed by DrPH Committee, the entire PH faculty at an annual presentation, and by the UH Graduate Division

13) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries?
This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects and so on.

Findings from the Qualifying Exam and Paper, Course Evals, and Annual Reviews also help us modify and improve the DrPH curriculum.
 

14) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please explain.
Or, if the program did engage in assessment activities, please add any other important information here.

We engaged in assessment. There is nothing more to report at this time.