The Importance of Global Infectious Disease in the Public Health Curriculum

Issue:  Infectious diseases continue to challenge individuals, communities, and countries worldwide; new infectious diseases have emerged; drug resistant infectious diseases have developed; existing infectious diseases thought to be controlled have had a resurgence as well as co-infections of infectious diseases (HIV, TB, Hepatitis). Health professionals of all disciplines will be central to addressing current and emerging infectious diseases through the world.  There is a need for coordinated efforts to enhance the capacity of health professionals, institutions, health care systems, regions, and countries to respond to infectious diseases
Approach:  A course enlisting an interprofessional faculty was developed to provide students with key knowledge on the  the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of global infectious diseases including: pathogenesis, physical diagnosis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment with and emphasis on individual, community, national, and global levels for prevention, intervention, and policy.
Outcomes: Course evaluations show the need and desire of students to be adequately prepares for public health clinical, administrative, and policy leadership positions in global infectious diseases.  
Conclusion:  Development of a dedicated global infectious disease course focused on clinical and community aspects is essential to train the workforce of public health professionals to address current, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases