Public Health helps make the world a better place

In Bangladesh, diabetes is a major public health concern due to high prevalence and associated conditions such as cardiovascular and kidney disease. For Master of Public Health students at IUBAT, there are many ways to think about the problem and possible approaches to reduce diabetes rates. Students examine diabetes-related data in their courses in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. They consider root cause solutions such as healthy built environments in their One Health course and in Reproductive Health they look at the impact of gestational diabetes. In the course, Social and Behavioural Sciences in Public Health, they learn how to design programs for health promotion and disease prevention.

The graphic above is from Our World in Data, a frequent reference for our MPH students. This excellent organization asks, “What do we need to know to make the world a better place?” This sums up what we are trying to achieve with our support for the MPH program itself. In this video, BHP Director John Richards discusses the aims of our involvement with the IUBAT MPH program.

Teaching MPH students at IUBAT

BHP Directors Alex Berland and John Richards are continuing to support development of the Master’s program in Public Health at IUBAT. Alex is teaching “Social and Behavioural Sciences in Public Health” and John is teaching “Biostatistics” via Zoom. There are also frequent email exchanges and online meetings with other program faculty, currently for instance, to plan internships and to review exam questions. On his recent visit to Bangladesh, Alex met with the newest batch of students as well as with the initial batch, who will soon proceed to their internships before graduating next spring.

https://www.onehealthcommission.org/en/resources__services/oh_resources_for_public_health_educators/

We initiated this MPH program for a specific purpose: The shortage of health-care providers [HCP] in Bangladesh is made worse by shortages of HCP with post-graduate training who can educate, supervise and lead others to deliver health services. This situation has created a favourable job market for capable individuals who have both clinical experience and specialized knowledge in areas such as adult education, NGO and hospital management, and research and evaluation. Several MPH programs exist already, but the quality is not always high and the focus is often narrow. The MPH that we have developed at IUBAT is rigorous, using modern educational methods, to prepare graduates who can tackle system-level problems in Bangladesh and internationally.

International students are welcome at IUBAT, a fully accredited English-medium university, with one of the loveliest campuses in Dhaka. We also invite public health professionals to join us as guest faculty or research collaborators by emailing BangladeshHealthProject@pm.me

Supporting Public Health

Immunization program at Bluebell School

A recent New York Times story about eradication of polio touches on BHP activities in two ways. First, in collaboration with local Rotary groups, BHP volunteers supporting the IUBAT College of Nursing have participated in community immunization campaigns near the university.  These events focus on immunization of children from “ultra-poor” families in nearby slums who do not attend school. In the rural village where Oasis for Posterity operates, immunization campaigns supported by Rotary and BHP provide vaccination for students attending Bluebell School as well as other local children.

MPH students IUBAT spring 2024

The second way that we are supporting disease control in Bangladesh is through the Master of Public Health program that we have helped to develop at IUBAT. While polio is no longer circulating in Bangladesh, the students are learning how to organize community campaigns for other infectious diseases. They must understand the many processes involved such as acquiring, storing and transporting vaccine products; engaging community volunteers and participating sites; communicating with parents and local leaders. A third batch of students, mostly nurses and doctors, will enroll in the MPH program this summer. BHP volunteers will continue developing the program and teaching courses as visiting faculty.