Emory Religion and Health Summer Institute Needs Assessment Public

Abstract

The Religion and Public Health Collaborative is planning a 2020 summer institute with religion as a social determinant of public health as the learning framework. A needs assessment study was conducted to understand learners’ interest in religion and health. The study seeks to understand competency needs in the workforce for practice at this intersection; identify target learners and their priority issue interests; and understand competing programs offered in other organizations.

Researcher conducted a survey study. The survey was distributed using a survey software platform targeting through emailing 125 potential network distributors and 1254 individuals working in the intersection of religion and health. Additional surveys were distributed through professional association listservs and the alumni listservs of Emory theology and public health graduate schools. One hundred and ninety-six surveys were completed and used in the analysis.

Participant responses overall represent positive attitudes towards the opportunity to learn about religion and health. Respondents ranked mental health followed by social isolation and connectedness as learning priorities. Cultural awareness and building strong multisector partnerships were the top priority competencies identified by the respondents. Open ended responses provided an opportunity for respondents to describe their interests in more detail. Common themes across all topic areas were addressing stigma, recognizing vulnerable groups, and understanding religion as both an asset and a harm. 

The institute at Emory will benefit the learners through an opportunity not available in other organizations. As religious leaders were underrepresented in the survey, further efforts to reach their networks are necessary. In the field of religious leader education, there are currently no standards of professional preparation competencies. A new set of competencies need to be developed for practice at the intersection of religion and health. Additional in-depth interviews or focus group discussions with educators and professionals will provide valuable information on future workforce needs for working collaboratively across these disciplines to address public health challenges.

Table of Contents

I- Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

II- Literature Review.....................................................................................................................7

    Public Health System: New thinking, emerging strategies and approaches.........................................7         

    Public Health Professional Competencies..............................................................................................13   

    Trends in Theological Education ..................................................................................................17         

    Competencies in Theological Education.............................................................................................20

    Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health................................................................................24

    History at Emory: Public Health, Religion, and Social Determinants of Health.................................26

    External Benchmarks....................................................................................................................33

III- Methodology .........................................................................................................................39

IV- Results....................................................................................................................................44

V- Discussion ...............................................................................................................................54

VI- Recommendations.................................................................................................................59

References ....................................................................................................................................65

Appendix A: Religion and Public Health Summer Institute Interest Survey........................70

Appendix B: Competencies and Priority Interest Topic ranked and stratified.....................79

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	M.P.H.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Religion, General Health Sciences, Public Health Health Sciences, Public Health Education
Mot-clé	Competencies Social Determinants of Health Multisector Partnerships
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Mimi Kiser, Emory University

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