MPH course or Master of Public Health programme is a two-year postgraduate course that teaches the contemporary healthcare scenario to aspirants. The course also provides techniques and tools of professional research, interaction and fieldwork in the market, social and technical aspects that help candidates develop a better understanding of the public health.
Public health professionals are responsible for analysing, assessing, implementing and managing health services and health programmes. They are also responsible for increasing health awareness among the masses.
Candidates undergoing Master of Public Health are meant to be skilled at managing resources and distributing work among teams. Moreover, they are meant to be able to break down a bigger problem into several smaller easy-to-address and manageable sub-problems.
Following skills are required to pursue a Master degree in Public Health successfully:
Extensive Knowledge of Health Policies and Programmes
Leadership
Management Ability
Patience
Problem-solving Attitude
Resource Management
Sense of Responsibility
Other than Indian candidates, MPH programmes offered by Indian universities also accept foreign students. In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria, international students are required to produce an original certificate claiming their nationality. Complete eligibility criteria for the MPH course is summed up as follows:
A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from any recognised college or university with at least 50% marks in aggregate
Completed internship before applying for the postgraduate course
Master of Public Health programme a.k.a. MPH course in Community Nutrition is a 2-year postgraduate course. The course addresses nutritional problems experienced by different regions of the world and by all age groups. The programme provides knowledge about various methodologies to develop specific solutions to community nutrition problems. Aspirants are trained in researching and preparing solution models based on the condition of the community nutrition of a specific location.
Community nutritionists can work for a wide variety of organisations, ranging from governmental to private and NGOs. Available professional options for Community Nutrition postgraduates are community nutrition researcher, nutrition research analyst, nutritionist, community nutrition writer, nutritional expert, nutrition consultant, health inspector, food quality supervisor and health and nutrition researcher.
MPH course in Epidemiology is a specialised postgraduate course that educates candidates in the fundamental concepts of epidemiology. The 2-year programme provides aspirants with all the knowledge, practical expertise and methodological skills to ensure safety to a public health setting. Additionally, the postgraduate course educates aspirants with evaluation methods used to assess the requirement and result of community health programs and interventions.
MPH in Epidemiology paves way for several top-notch public health worker profiles. Epidemiologists with MPH can work as an academic research epidemiologist, applied epidemiologist, clinical trial research epidemiologist, disaster epidemiologist, Epidemiology investigator, field epidemiologist, infection control epidemiologist, molecular epidemiologist, pharmaceutical epidemiologist, state epidemiologist and supervisory epidemiologist.
MPH course in General Public Health offers formal training in the extensive areas and associated methodologies of public health. The interdisciplinary postgraduate programme educates aspirants in assessing public health scenarios, developing and implementing suitable public health programmes and interventions, supervise public health and incept proper and suitable ways to increase health awareness among the masses.
Professionals successfully completing MPH in General Public Health can choose from a wide range of career avenues. General public health professionals can work as community health workers, reproductive health specialists, nutritionists, public health nurses, environmental health technicians, public health inspectors, public health engineers, industrial hygienists, state or federal environmentalists, medical writers, emergency preparedness specialists, consumer safety officers, health and wellness managers and behavioural health program coordinators.
MPH course in Health Policy, Economics and Finance focuses on various health policies and their impact on health care services. Contemporary issues, such as improvement in social accountability and proper planning for health equity, related to health care systems and services are addressed during the 2-year postgraduate course. The programme also provides acumen into the role of globalisation and trade in health commodities and services. Candidates are required to work with live projects to gain knowledge of the various aspects of the conventional health policies and services.
A postgraduate with MPH in Health Policy, Economics and Finance can work as a research assistant health policy, health policy analyst, health services administrator, health services finance officer, health policy advisor, health care quality assistant, health research project analyst, environmental investigator, urban disparity and opportunity research associate, health policy coordinator, policy programs manager, health educator and health policy specialist. With the additional knowledge of economics and finance, aspirants are able to develop better and efficient health policies for varied health scenarios.
The MPH course in The Health Services Development and Research educates aspirants in the multidisciplinary field of health services research. Candidates are taught health technologies, social factors, personal behaviours, financial systems, organisational structures and health processes during the programme. The course aims at the development of required analytical and research skills among candidates to increase health awareness and wellness among communities and the masses.
Postgraduates in MPH Health Services Development and Research can explore a career in many different professional pathways. Aspirants can decide to work as a health writer, health researcher, associated health services professor, research analyst, public health researcher, evaluation & data analyst, action researcher & analyst, international health researcher, outcome and health researcher, project coordinator and research study assistant.
Master of Public Health in International Health is a 2-year postgraduate degree offered to professionals acquainted with technological concepts and a skilled communicator. The specialised MPH course provides an opportunity for such individuals to understand and manage global health concepts. Postgraduates in international or global health have the ability to contribute towards uplifting the quality of life, especially of the underprivileged and impoverished.
After successfully completing a Master’s in International Health, candidates are able to assess global disease scenarios, plan and implement health development programmes, advocating justice and human rights and carry out research on applied and operational health development. Professionals can choose to provide their services as an environmental health emergency response specialist, NGO director, health communications specialist, nurse educator, disease ecologist, health promotion program coordinator and public health information officer.
The primary objective of candidates pursuing MPH course in Maternal and Child Health is to prepare proficient professionals to work selflessly for mother and child care. The course is offered from a multidisciplinary perspective to provide a comprehensive understanding of all the aspects associated with maternal and child health. Maternal and Child Health practitioners are adept at researching and outlining key factors associated with maternal and child health at specific geographic locations.
Postgraduates in Maternal and Child Health can provide their services on a local, state, national or even at the international level. They can work with government funded, privately held and NGOs to uplift the life and health quality of women and children. Available professions include maternal and child health specialist, maternal and child health inspector, child nutritionist, maternal health supervisor, childcare specialist, women health researcher and child health promoter.
MPH course in Occupational and Environmental Health is a multidisciplinary course relying on several concepts related to engineering and behavioural sciences. The 2-year postgraduate course educates aspirants in the prevention of injuries and diseases arising from workplace conditions. The entire process is divided into two stages, assessment and evaluation of the extent of the risk posed by hazards and controlling or eliminating the identified workplace related risks. Chemicals, fungi, noise, heat, radiation and vibrations are the typical health-related hazards present in a workplace. The postgraduate course provides an in-depth info on these potential disease-causing workplace elements.
Modern workplaces are associated with a wide number of elements that when left unchecked can cause adverse effects on employees’ health, hence an occupational and environmental health worker is required in different industries. These professionals can choose to provide their services as a health & safety team leader, epidemic intelligence service officer, environmental science engineer, assistant professor, research planning analyst, staff well-being officer, senior industrial hygienist, environmental supervisor, occupational medicine physician, prevention specialist, global health worker and director of workers health clinic.
Understanding the various environmental and social determinants of diseases is an important aspect of MPH course in Social Epidemiology. Prevention of disease outbreaks and promotion of health awareness is a part of social epidemiology. Candidates are educated in evidence-based planning, analysing and improving state health systems, effective implementation of public health programmes and providing technical support for the implementation of state and national level health programmes during the postgraduate course. Social epidemiologists are required by the World Health Organisation, a.k.a. WHO, to keep disease outbreaks in check.
Public health epidemiologist, scientific data analyst, epidemiology professor, veterinary epidemiologist, applied epidemiologist, research analyst, infection control officer, data reporting analyst, health researcher and social epidemiologist are some of the professional opportunities available for postgraduates in social epidemiology. Social epidemiologists play an important role in monitoring and assessing global health to prevent colossal outbreaks.