Collaboration with UWI-St. Augustine to develop and implement a Master of Public Health degree.

Partnership Profile

The University of the West Indies (UWI). established in 1948, is the oldest, fully regional institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth Caribbean and is supported by 15 countries. Partnership between the Sparkman Center and UWI-St. Augustine was formalized in 2008 with an initial focus on public health.

The Sparkman Center has worked in the Caribbean region since the early 1980s when it partnered with the UWI campus at Mona, Jamaica to develop an MPH program. UAB Schools that may become involved in activities with UWI-St. Augustine, in addition to the School of Public Health, are Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, and Engineering.

Accomplishments

The initial activity in this collaboration was the development and implementation of a Master of Public Health (MPH) program, which was launched in the fall of 2009. The program, which is jointly offered by the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, is designed to equip persons to use and apply principles, methods and analytical techniques of public health and allied disciplines for the improvement of population health and well-being within the context and setting of the Caribbean region and globally.

2011 MPH Graduates- 13

2012 MPH Graduates- 13

2013 MPH Graduates- 18

Other Potential Areas of Collaboration

• Partnering on vector-borne diseases studies
• Facilitating studies in the areas of sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia and trichomoniasis
• Linking of our respective departments of biology to facilitate training and research in a broader number of interest areas for both departments
• Developing bi-directional health care training opportunities
• Facilitating programs in areas such as tuberculosis, chronic diseases, and environmental health