Practical competencies for public health education: a global analysis

Objectives We quantified the contents of existing public health competency frameworks against the elements of the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Global Charter for the Public’s Health. Methods We conducted a desktop analysis of eight public health competency frameworks publicly available on the internet. Using a pre-formed template, competency statements from each framework were mapped against the elements of the Global Charter—core public health services (Protection, Promotion and Prevention) and overarching enabling functions (Information, Governance, Capacity, and Advocacy). We then quantified coverage of the Charter’s elements in each of the frameworks. Results We found that although the public health competency frameworks vary considerably in terms of coverage and focus, they all cover every element contained in the Global Charter. However, there were a number of areas of competency identified in some frameworks not explicitly referred to in the Charter including cultural safety, human rights and systems thinking. Conclusions The Global Charter provides a mechanism for comparing competency sets, checking public health curricula content, informing competency framework and curricula (re)design, and planning and monitoring workforce needs.