Instructor Guide for Module 0
Introductions and Pretest
Introductions and Pretest
A Brief History of Public Health
Modern Public Health: Tools and Functions
Organization and Legal Basis of Public Health
Public Health Ethics
Posttest and Course Evaluation
Developed by:
Continuing Education, School of Public Health, University at Albany and the
Professional Development Program, Rockefeller College, University at Albany
Instructor’s Guide
Introduction to Public Health
Acknowledgements
The development of these training materials was made possible by support from the New York
State Department of Health and the New York New Jersey Public Health Training Center, which
is funded through a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Project Coordinator
Carol Young, PhD, Continuing Education, School of Public Health, University at Albany
Content Experts

Robert Burhans
NYSDOH

David O. Carpenter
UAlbany

Andrew Doniger
Monroe Co. (NY) DOH

William Leavy
UAlbany

Patrick Trapp
NYSDOH

Carol D. Young
UAlbany

Vicki Zeldin
NYSDOH

NYNJ Public Health Training Center Team

Pennsylvania and Ohio Public Health Training Center
Research, Design, and Editing
Cheryl Reeves, MS/MLS, Continuing Education, School of Public Health, University at Albany
Instructional Technologies Unit, Professional Development Program, Rockefeller College,
University at Albany
Contact Information
New York New Jersey Public Health Training Center
http://www.nynj-phtc.org/
Carol Young, PhD
School of Public Health, University at Albany
One University Place
Rensselaer, NY 12144-3456
Phone: (518) 402-0330
Fax: (518) 402-1137
E-mail: cyoung@albany.edu
Web: http://www.albany.edu/sph/
page 2 of 7
Instructor’s Guide
Introduction to Public Health
How To Use This Guide
This Instructor Guide accompanies the MS PowerPoint slides for Module 0: Introduction to
Public Health. It contains the slides, notes, key points, and additional references for the
instructor’s presentation of Module 0.
Instructors are encouraged to modify the material to suit the specific audience and/or location of
instruction. Specific instructions on how to modify PowerPoint presentations can be found in the
Course Guide, which should be used in conjunction with each of the Instructor Guides.
All materials may be downloaded from the comprehensive curriculum source page at
http://www.nynj-phtc.org/intro/.
The entire course (Modules 0-4) is intended to be presented in six-hours. Module 0 is designed
to take 45 minutes.
Before you Begin


Read the Course Guide for Instructors, which explains how to
o
Organize the entire day’s presentation
o
Create student guides
o
Use PowerPoint software
Teaching tips, preparation checklists, and many other details are also provided. The
Course Guide is found under “Other Materials” on the source page.
Read the Instructor Guide for each module to become familiar with the content and flow.

Look for notes and slides that require examples specific to your own training situation
(i.e., audience, health department, location).

Determine whether a module’s generic presentation should be modified for your specific
audience. Additional slides may be found under “Other Materials” in the file “Additional
Slides.”

Review all activities in this module. Make sure you have materials to hand out to
participants.
page 3 of 7
Instructor’s Guide
Introduction to Public Health
Module 0: Introductions and Pretest
Slide 1
Slide 1 of Module 0 should be projected as the group
arrives into the training room.
Slide 2
Key Point:
Purpose: The goal of the Intro to Public Health course is
to equip entry-level public health personnel with basic
understandings of public health’s origins, mission, and
responsibilities.
Slide 3

Module 1: History

Module 2: Modern – tools & functions of modern
PH, including (2a) epidemiology and other tools
and (2b) essential services

Module 3: Legal – includes the legal basis for
how PH is organized on the fed, state, and local
levels

Module 4: Ethics – applied ethics
Key Point:
Many people made this training curriculum possible.
page 4 of 7
Instructor’s Guide
Introduction to Public Health
Slide 4
Key Points:

There are many paths into this multidisciplinary
field of public health.

Public Health is a field with a rich
multidisciplinary workforce.
Introduction Activity:

The success of training activities will depend on
ease of communication between grouped
participants.

Use an Introduction Activity that is comfortable
for you.
Have each participant answer the question: How did
you get into public health?
Depending on the size of the entire group:

Have participants introduce themselves to the
entire group.

Have participants introduce themselves to a
smaller group, such as a table of participants.

Have each participant find a partner or buddy.
Ask students for show of hands:
How many of you grew up knowing you wanted to
work in public health?
How many of you knew what public health was
really about?
Recent poll revealed that 78% of Americans
think public health has not touched their lives!
(Public Health Brand Identity Coalition Survey,
2001)
Ask students for examples of how PH has affected
their lives.

80% of Public Health workers enter the field
without formal public health preparation.

Formal PH education is not required to work in
PH (one of few professions).

People with varied backgrounds have much to
contribute.
page 5 of 7
Instructor’s Guide
Introduction to Public Health
Slide 5
Key Points:
 Make sure you have enough copies of the
Pretest
 Hand out the Pretest
 Explain that the pretest will be used to determine
the success of the training.
 Collect the pretest.
Handout: 0.1 Pretest
The pretest should take five minutes.
Slide 6
Activity:
 Follow-up from the Introductions exercise (how
did people get into public health)
 Encourage people to find a partner they don’t
know.
 After going through this activity, hand out and
discuss “What is Public Health?”
Handout: 0.2 What is Public Health?
Discuss: How do the participants’ definitions vary from
the historic and “official” definitions?
See “Background Materials” at the end of this Instructor Guide.
page 6 of 7
Instructor’s Guide
Introduction to Public Health
Background Materials and References
Slide 6 Background

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
o

http://www.cdc.gov/aboutcdc.htm
Healthy People
o
http://www.healthypeople.gov/default.htm
Managed by Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
Handouts for Module 0

0.1 Pretest (MS Word document)

0.2 What is Public Health? (MS Word document)
page 7 of 7