Revising Public Health Competencies in the United States Through an Iterative Practice-Informed Process
1
Council on Education for Public Health, Washington, DC, United States
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Accreditation-based competency frameworks must balance stability with responsiveness to evolving public health knowledge, practice, and workforce needs. The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) revises its accreditation criteria on a five-year cycle to maintain relevance while ensuring curricular feasibility. This presentation describes CEPH’s recent revision of public health foundational knowledge and competency criteria at the master’s and doctoral levels, emphasizing how stakeholder input informed substantive changes across public comment periods.
METHODS:
The revision process began in early 2025 with a public comment period on MPH foundational competencies, followed by qualitative thematic analysis of stakeholder feedback. Drawing on these findings, CEPH developed proposed revisions that were released for a second public comment period. The CEPH Board of Councilors will review feedback from the second comment period in mid-2026 and develop a final draft for public release in late-2026. Revisions focus on clarity, curricular flexibility, manageability of requirements, and long-term workforce relevance. The same process was repeated with the DrPH competencies in late-2025.
RESULTS:
Key proposed changes included simplifying compound competency statements for ease of instruction and assessment and more clearly positioning foundational knowledge (content) and competencies (skills) as complementary and integrated. Lower-priority skills were removed from required competencies, while new skills reflecting societal (e.g., addressing mis- and disinformation and health impacts of climate change) and technological developments (e.g., using AI) were added. The overall number of required competencies was maintained to maintain institutional flexibility while improving clarity and coherence.
CONCLUSIONS:
CEPH’s competency revision process demonstrates a structured approach to updating accreditation criteria and competency frameworks through iterative stakeholder engagement. With a final draft expected at the time of the World Congress, this work offers timely insights into how accreditation bodies can modernize competency frameworks while preserving stability and institutional flexibility. The approach may inform similar efforts internationally.
Accreditation-based competency frameworks must balance stability with responsiveness to evolving public health knowledge, practice, and workforce needs. The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) revises its accreditation criteria on a five-year cycle to maintain relevance while ensuring curricular feasibility. This presentation describes CEPH’s recent revision of public health foundational knowledge and competency criteria at the master’s and doctoral levels, emphasizing how stakeholder input informed substantive changes across public comment periods.
METHODS:
The revision process began in early 2025 with a public comment period on MPH foundational competencies, followed by qualitative thematic analysis of stakeholder feedback. Drawing on these findings, CEPH developed proposed revisions that were released for a second public comment period. The CEPH Board of Councilors will review feedback from the second comment period in mid-2026 and develop a final draft for public release in late-2026. Revisions focus on clarity, curricular flexibility, manageability of requirements, and long-term workforce relevance. The same process was repeated with the DrPH competencies in late-2025.
RESULTS:
Key proposed changes included simplifying compound competency statements for ease of instruction and assessment and more clearly positioning foundational knowledge (content) and competencies (skills) as complementary and integrated. Lower-priority skills were removed from required competencies, while new skills reflecting societal (e.g., addressing mis- and disinformation and health impacts of climate change) and technological developments (e.g., using AI) were added. The overall number of required competencies was maintained to maintain institutional flexibility while improving clarity and coherence.
CONCLUSIONS:
CEPH’s competency revision process demonstrates a structured approach to updating accreditation criteria and competency frameworks through iterative stakeholder engagement. With a final draft expected at the time of the World Congress, this work offers timely insights into how accreditation bodies can modernize competency frameworks while preserving stability and institutional flexibility. The approach may inform similar efforts internationally.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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