Training students to tackle public health issues
THE field of public health is constantly evolving to cater the increasing global need for better health promotion and disease prevention. It has never been more important as we seek to prevent disease and ensure citizens have long and healthy lives.
Public health is about improving the health of individuals and the population as a whole, and is distinct from dealing directly with the consequence of illness and treating sick individuals. The emphasis is on measures for prevention and cure as well as tackling factors that contribute to illness.
RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC) is aware of the indispensability of postgraduate and medical research and currently offers a postgraduate programme in public health.
“Challenges in major public health issues are similar in many jurisdictions, with lifestyle-related diseases, infectious diseases and appropriate preventive strategies. This programme benefits from the experiences in developing and developed countries; it is an international programme which attracts students from all over the world,” says Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Rashid Khan, MSc in Public Health programme director and department of public health head at RUMC.
The programme offers multidisciplinary training and development and emphasises the knowledge and tools needed to analyse the factors that influence public health in an international environment. It also offers study and fieldwork experience in the same country. Supervisors are chosen based on the student’s research area of choice.
Students of the MSc in Public Health programme will develop knowledge of factors influencing health status, epidemiological skills of study design and analysis, skills to assess the health status of populations, and an understanding of organisation and financing of health services and their impact on international population health.
Upon completing the programme, the career progression pathways available to graduates include positions in the local public health service or global agencies, such as World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Malaysia One Health University Network and non-governmental organisations involved in health improvement initiatives.
In addition to the MSc in Public Health programme, RUMC also offers an MSc in Health Research. Both programmes are offered in collaboration with University College Dublin and Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, respectively, and are accredited and awarded by the National University of Ireland. The programmes are also recognised by both the Malaysian Qualifications Agency and Education Ministry.