Evaluation of DPH program offered by High Institute of Public Health through student's opinion

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out with the aim of determining students opinion regarding the extent to which the first term curriculum of the DPH program was beneficial to them regarding certain areas. The opinionnaire used was designed with the help of medical education experts at the CED, University of Illinois, Chicago. Results revealed that the courses offered were rated of moderate benefit regarding their value in introducing students to the various disciplines of public health and in preparing them to become members of the P.H. team. The courses were rated minimally beneficial in preparing students for their future jobs. Comments and recommendations offered by students helped to clarify the reasons why ratings were not as high as should be desired. The main reasons referred to the fact that the core course offered too much information in too short a time [77.08% of respondents]. Moreover, students complained that the educational objectives of many courses especially the interdepartmental field work, were never clearly stated to them [56.25%]. They asked that methods of teaching be improved [2.08%] and recommended that all students should be separated from the very start into their specialties [17.7%], since non-medicals find difficulty in understanding lectures [3.12%]. The reasons for the apparent feelings of confusion and loss, lie mainly in the fact that the core course offers a sizeable amount of information to a heterogenous group of attendants who all sit for the same courses. To reach this group and adequately communicate the required knowledge to them, instructors of a special caliber and experience are required. The planning and development of the core course itself should be upgraded following the basic principles of curriculum planning, especially in relation to development of precise, clearly defined educational objectives, both for the program as a whole and for individual courses. This entails maximum cooperation on the part of everyone involved in teaching and development of the curriculum. In fact, most of the teaching staff in the institute have already been exposed to medical education workshops on methods of teaching and curriculum planning. What remains is for them to become adequately convinced to utilize the training they received to the benefit of their students. A situation which might require serious intervention on the side of the institute's administrative body