Public Health Training Certificate for American Indian Health Professionals

Public Health Training Certificate for American Indian Health Professionals

OVERVIEW

The overarching purpose of this public health certificate program is to promote participants' capacity to address American Indian population health disparities through multidisciplinary public health approaches and culturally competent strategies. The certificate program examines four quadrants of influence: physical, behavioral, political, and spiritual/emotional, which, in balance, comprise the sphere of public health for American Indian communities.

The certificate program is offered for credit to graduate students at The Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. It is also open to other health care professionals interested in the health of American Indians. The certificate can be earned over a three-year period through condensed format courses taught in January, June, and July in Baltimore.

The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health offers additional training opportunities that are not-for-credit.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Environmental, Cultural, and Political Context

Students completing the certificate program will be able to:

1. Discuss how tribal sovereignty status impacts health policy and management
2. Understand the potential interface of tribal, federal, and private sectors in health system development
3. Discuss and provide examples of inter-relationships between the environment and the public's health
4. Describe the unique impact of mental, social, and emotional health status on tribal community well-being
5. Describe the components of effective community education and health communication campaigns
6. Understand factors affecting early child development unique to tribal communities

Public Health Research Skills

Those completing the certificate will be able to employ public health theory and logic frameworks and apply basic statistical, demographic, and epidemiologic techniques to:

1. Critique published public health research
2. Identify available disease, behavioral, and mental health surveillance data from American Indian communities
3. Identify how community based participatory research can be used to promote American Indian health
4. Understand how to identify health priority needs utilizing community based participatory research methods and to evaluate intervention impacts using health surveillance data from American Indian communities
5. Work with epidemiologists and other researchers to design community based interventions and other data collection efforts appropriate for American Indian communities
6. Recognize good data management practices
7. Understand the importance of research ethics and the composition and function of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), with specific emphasis on IRB's role in tribal environments

Admissions

Complete certificate program admissions information is available on the certificate program page on the BSPH website. 

Sponsoring Department

International Health

Hopkins invests in developing global perspectives so students can be engaged citizens wherever they are.

As a global university with students from all over the world, we welcome all kinds of experiences and new ways of thinking. We’re here to connect international students with the resources you need to become leaders and active members in our community and beyond. 

Please email [email protected] with any general international admissions questions. You can also email your regional admissions counselor if you have any questions specific to the area where you live or study.