Pedagogy in Health Promotion

Many female health education pioneers made seminal contributions to public health and social justice, yet these examples are not well documented in textbooks or integrated into public health curricula as pedagogical learning opportunities. Providing biographies and lessons learned from the past leaders within undergraduate health education curricula can help develop students’ skills as future leaders and address gender inequities in the field. Gender inequities in higher education as well as many public health practice settings result in lower salaries, slower career advancement opportunities, fewer supervisory positions, increased work-life conflicts, and heavier workloads. Developing women’s competencies in leadership and professionalism early in their careers is critical to meeting public health challenges such as COVID-19. We present four female health education trailblazers from different historical eras and various workforce sectors who exemplify leadership attributes (i.e., courage/risk taking, vision, advocacy, mentorship) and can be highlighted as a part of future health education curriculum. Innovative methods and approaches are provided for integrating these leadership lessons into undergraduate public health courses, in alignment with the HESPA II 2020 competencies. Learning from the past to inform the future is critical to inspiring and shaping the careers of emerging health educators.

This Perspectives on Pedagogy acknowledges ongoing inequities in public health teaching and learning and describes the importance of implementing equity-focused teaching (EFT) approaches to serve present and future diverse public health student populations. Current equity-focused pedagogies being implemented within the field of public health are described, along with current limitations among public health instructors surrounding EFT training. We conclude with an example, offering recommendations to instructors on how to create transparently-designed writing assignments to support equitable learning in public health.

In Australia, racism remains a challenge to dismantle within public health institutions. This paper examines the pressures I experienced from some public health scholars and practitioners to conform to colonial and positivist approaches in knowledge production that still dominate the field. To challenge this hegemony, my research practices turned into what Mignolo calls “epistemic disobedience,” an approach to delink from Western ways of producing knowledge. Based on this experiential learning process, I argue epistemic disobedience should not be overlooked in the discussion of decolonizing research and antiracist pedagogy in the context of doctoral training.

Street theater is historically a form of political performance art used to foster social change and is characterized by unscheduled performances in public spaces, interactive audience participation, and short performances often repeated in the same spot for passersby. Long used as a creative tool within social movements, street skits not only entertain but are used to educate and build awareness on pressing issues. It is an art form for the people, by the people, making theater available for all (“on the streets”) rather than solely for those who can afford it. Street theater also has its uses in public health education and organizing and has been used globally as an effective method of health promotion, especially in rural and low-literacy areas. This paper looks at a street theater project that university students at Clark University in Worcester, MA participated in as part of a “Health Rights: Advocacy and Action” course. Students were tasked with developing a street theater skit that educates on a public health issue and publicly perform the skit on campus. Three skits were produced: (1) “Deadly Derailment”: raised awareness on industry deregulation and the 2023 toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, OH; (2) “Harm Reduction Saves Lives”: addressed humane and non-victim blaming ways to address substance use; and (3) “End the STIgma”: educated on sexual health on a college campus. Teaching street theater as part of public health pedagogy is a creative approach to inspire students to use their voices and link health promotion and activism.

Stereotypes are simplified generalizations that act as mental shortcuts which help us understand the world. However, these oversimplifications fail to capture the diversity within groups and communities. This is particularly adverse in healthcare settings as stereotypes are cognitive frameworks from which implicit biases emerge—affecting how individuals and groups are perceived, evaluated, and treated. Specifically, stereotypes linked to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality exert profound and detrimental influence on healthcare access, quality, and decision-making for marginalized populations. Thus, recognizing and understanding stereotypes are crucial for combatting health disparities prevalent in our society. Accordingly, it is essential that students receive instruction and training that allows them to understand the impact of stereotypes, acknowledge implicit biases, and advocate for equitable and unbiased healthcare for all. Health science instructors can facilitate this growth through the implementation of transformative education and learning. Transformative education is an approach to learning that aims to create profound personal and societal changes by fostering critical thinking, self-awareness, and social responsibility. The transformative learning activity presented in this manuscript seeks to enhance students’ understanding of stereotypes’ role in perpetuating health disparities and their impact on marginalized communities. By fostering critical reflection, open dialog, and collaborative problem-solving, the activity equips students to comprehend the multifaceted dimensions of stereotypes in healthcare and prepares them to address the challenges of an increasingly diverse and socially complex world. Through transformative education, students are nurtured to become competent healthcare professionals who champion equitable and unbiased care and bridge understanding and empathy across communities.

Immersive global learning experiences like Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) offer students cross-cultural knowledge, awareness, and language fluency, fostering critical analysis, and problem-solving. This paper focuses on U.S. and Dutch students’ perceptions of personal growth as future health education specialists regarding cultural sensitivity and competence within a COIL course. The study explores valuable skills for professionals engaging with diverse populations, contributing to the literature on faculty-led internationalization initiatives. Both the COIL research model and the cultural intelligence (CQ) framework guided the design and implementation of the COIL course. A thematic analysis of self-reflection narratives from N = 49 undergraduate students from the U.S. and the Netherlands revealed categories and themes related to cultural perspectives in health promotion, cultural sensitivity and competence, and essential skills for health education specialists. The findings demonstrate the impact of COIL on students’ cultural perspectives and knowledge, their awareness of cultural norms, and the importance of diverse strategies and approaches in health promotion. The study highlights the value of COIL courses in developing cultural understanding within educational settings and provides insights for educators and students interested in engaging with diverse populations.

Society is on the heels of one of the largest public health crisis the world has experienced in over a century, the COVID-19 pandemic. Developing the next generation of adept public health researchers is paramount to protecting the world against future health threats and addressing legacy public health challenges. This article explores the transformative influence of research experience on education, presenting three major points: (1) students engaging in public health research is timely, (2) students can develop a variety of critical thinking skills and data-driven decision-making capabilities that prepare them for future careers, and (3) faculty and universities benefit from the collaboration and community that student research fosters. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more students have been interested in a career in public health, with many students also eager to help address health disparities, a reality highlighted during the pandemic. This article puts forth the value of student engagement in public health research from the student and faculty member’s perspectives. The student lens includes the connection between research and developing greater public health interest, a sense of ethical responsibility, and an attitude of open-mindedness. The faculty lens considers the value of skill-building for students and the benefits of increased academic community-building, greater research productivity, and mutual learning potential for both students and faculty. The article includes specific recommendations for faculty to incorporate research into their student training. It concludes by advocating for institutional and community support to encourage student engagement in research and prepare the next generation of public health professionals and researchers.

Graduates of Master of Public Health programs may lack appropriate skills in data analysis, and would benefit from practice with research data. Datasets that contain health information relevant to student interests, and that are appropriate sizes for class use can be difficult to locate. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is a study that collects both survey and health examination information from a national sample every 2 years. I present a sample of this dataset, with examples of how to use it for human health related questions. Instructions for how to access and create additional, customized datasets are also provided. Instructors may consider investigating this rich data source and providing students with subsets of these data for class assignments, projects and master’s theses.