Benefits of Accrediting Bodies Within the Field of Public Health

There are around 300 schools that offer a degree in public health disciplines. CEPH- public health accredited schools are represented by ASPH. The CEPH (Council on Education for Public Health) is the recognized national accrediting body for both public health programs and public health schools. The significance of having accrediting bodies in the public health field can vary. Accreditation is a thorough peer-review procedure; joining a CEPH-accredited public health school denotes assurance for public health students since the accredited public health schools have found the education programs of the schools to be satisfactory. That is, assurance of acquiring a well-rounded graduate training. Accredited public health schools offer degree programs in five public health areas including: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Health Services Administration, Health Education /Behavioural Sciences, and Environmental Health. Another importance of accredited bodies is the eligibility to take the CPH (Certified in Public Health) exam, conducted by the NBPHE (National Board of Public Health Examiners). Also, students are assured that the degree earned will help them qualify for various job whose employment condition is to be a graduate from an accredited school. In addition, students are eligible for public health fellowships and internships sponsored by different federal organizations, besides student access assistance resources that can only be found in accredited schools (Scutchfield & Keck, 2009).

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How do these institutions impact the overall quality of public health education?

Accreditation institutions have a huge impact on the general quality of public health training. The main goal of the accredited institutions is to improve health in people through controlled community effort. They focus on the enhancement of health by assuring professional employees who can determine, prevent and resolve community health issues. First, they promote quality public health education using a continuing self-evaluation process by the programs and schools that look for accreditation. Second, they assure the public that schools and programs offering public health education are assessed and judged to meet the required standards to conduct such training programs. The third impact is that through consultation, periodic review, publications, research, and other methods they encourage improvement in the quality of public health education (Seifer, Hermanns and Lewis, (2000).

Weaknesses of having a singular accrediting body in the fieldHaving one accreditation body has the disadvantage of being expensive due to the expected training levels and qualification of staff, and the intensity of surveys, and the level of standard required to achieve accreditation (Accreditation Procedures, 1999).

References

Accreditation Procedures (1999). Washington, DC: Council on Education for Public Health.

Scutchfield, F. D., & Keck, C. W. (2009). Principles of Public Health Practice (3rd Ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Cengage Publishing.

Seifer, S.D., Hermanns, K., and Lewis, J. (2000). Creating Community-Responsive Physicians. American Association for Higher Education, Washington DC.