Developing and Implementing Public Health Education in Tasmania

Tasmania faces new challenges to health including inequities, obesity and loss of personal wellbeing as well as anticipated growth in demand for clinical services which will exceed the capacity to provide and fund them. These challenges require different approaches that address the broader determinants of health across all sectors through deep collaboration and genuine partnership beyond what has been achieved in the past. This is particularly important in the context of the Tasmanian population which continues to age faster than any Australian jurisdiction due to migration of young Tasmanians and older people choosing to move to the island state. A greater proportion of Tasmanians are coping with chronic disease as well as living in socially disadvantaged communities.

It is clear that improving the health of the Tasmanian population and reducing the growing inequalities in health will require a collaborative, coordinated and multidisciplinary approach which addresses the broader determinants of health and focuses on prevention, protection and promotion. These are fundamental principles and practice of public health which necessitate an academic training program. Paradoxically, Tasmania, an area of need, as yet had no formal Masters level training program in public health although a Graduate Certificate of Public Health was successfully introduced in 2012. Development of an MPH that delivers high quality training in core competencies and balances the need between capitalising on the existing strengths of Tasmania and considering emerging health issues, is of paramount importance.

This paper will describe the key approaches used in developing and delivering a new Masters programme while navigating the social, economic and political conditions of the island state. We will share our vision of improving health and our understanding of the importance of the broader determinants of health through this education program. We will discuss our ongoing collaboration with industry to ensure the program is translational and closely linked to research, policy and practice. We are keen to focus on the issues that are important to Tasmania and to pull together existing expertise and interest in the pursuit of making a difference.