Structure and Culture of Schools of Public Health to Support Academic Public Health Practice

Abstract

Schools of public health have been cautioned about producing graduates and research that were disconnected from public interest. Although institutions may implement a variety of strategies to rectify the situation, institutional structural and cultural barriers impede progress. Public health practice coordinators in accredited schools of public health were surveyed to describe the presence of structural and cultural barriers to academic public health practice using the Stevens model.1 Administrative leadership and faculty reward systems are described as critical to advance academic public health practice.