What are the Generic Public Health Competencies?
The generic public health competencies (GPHC) are a set of foundation skills and knowledge for people working in public health / community health gain activities.
Can I see the Generic Public Health Competencies?
To see a draft set of the generic public health competencies please click here.
Why do we need Generic Public Health Competencies?
The public health workforce consists of a range of organisations (for example, local government, central government, non-government organisations (NGOs), public health services, primary health organisations (PHOs) and practitioners from different disciplinary areas) who carry out the following public health functions:
- health promotion, social participation and empowerment
- enforcement of regulations to protect public health
- health situation monitoring and analysis
- epidemiological surveillance/ disease prevention and control
- research, development and implementation of public health solutions
- human resource development and planning in public health
- policy development and planning in public health
- strategic management of public health systems and services for population health gain
- quality assurance for personal and population-based health services.
There are currently a number of similar but different competency sets guiding the practice of these functions in the many disciplinary fields within public health. There are also some workforce groups with no identified discipline-specific competency sets.
In addition, there are multiple training programmes that do not lead to any recognised qualification or align to any recognised framework. The practice of public health requires an intersectoral and multidisciplinary approach; this is made more difficult for some practitioners as generic competencies across disciplines are not always included in training programmes.
Public health needs practitioners with a range of disciplinary backgrounds. However to achieve optimum outcomes, these varied practitioners must be able to communicate and work with a shared language and understanding of the essential foundation work carried out across the public health system.
Who developed the Generic Public Health Competencies and how?
In 2006, the Public Health Association (PHA) were contracted by the Ministry of Health, through a competitive process, to develop a set of reasonably agreed generic competencies for public health. These competencies were to provide a minimum baseline set of competencies that is common to all public health roles across the public health sector and disciplines.
The PHA formed and worked in collaboration with the following coalition of public health groups:·
- Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine
- Health Promotion Forum
- Māori Community Health Workers
- New Zealand Institute of Environmental Health
- Public Health Nurses Section of New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
The PHA led working group developed a draft set of competency statements into a discussion document and consulted across the public health sector. Consultation included written submissions and meetings across New Zealand. In March 2007 the PHA provided the Ministry of Health with a set of reasonably agreed GPHC and an Issues for Implementation report.
How will the Generic Public Health Competencies be implemented?
Implementation options are currently being considered, taking into consideration the PHA developed Issues for Implementation Report. March 2007.
To ensure the generic competencies increase equity in the workforce and are effective to improve health and reduce inequalities, the Issues for Implementation Report (above) recommends there must be:
- a range of accessible and relevant education and training programmes and pathways that are nationally consistent
- support for the use of competencies in the workplace by employers
- increased funding to pay for training and development
- support for the inclusion of the implementation of the generic competencies in contracts to deliver public health services
- support for generic competencies from public health professional bodies and disciplines
- a cross-disciplinary body to manage the generic competencies and promote and support training and professional development across the sector.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently considering the potential implications and issues that may arise through implementation of the generic public health competencies and will feedback to the sector as information and recommendations become available.