PANORAMA OF UNDERGRADUATE COLLECTIVE HEALTH COURSES IN BRAZIL BETWEEN 2008 AND 2014

Abstract Several undergraduate programs in public health have been created in Brazil since 2008. Previous publications have described the opening process, the student profile, and the experiences these courses have had. Here we present a general profile of courses that were opened between 2008 and 2014. The information was obtained from the Brazilian Association of Public Health's Undergraduate Forum in Public Health Coordination and from the courses' institutional homepages. During the study period, there was a significant increase in the number of undergraduate programs in public health in the country; new job openings grew sixfold, and 285 people got bachelors degrees in public health. In early 2014, there were 18 courses in operation (17 in the public sector), with a total of 2,532 students enrolled. While graduate-level training in public health predominates in the Southeast, undergraduate courses are well spread in the country, although there is a need for further expansion to meet the Unified Health System's demands. Although these courses' training guidelines are similar, there are differences in their nomenclatures. The challenges to be faced in the further consolidation of undergraduate courses in public health as a training modality include the needs of the national curriculum guidelines, the continued expansion of the courses, the professional recognition of the graduates, and their greater incorporation into public health in the labor market.

摘要 自2008年起，巴西陆续开设了多门公共卫生本科专业。既往研究已对该类课程的开设流程、学生群体特征及办学实践经验进行了相关阐述。本文针对2008至2014年间新设的公共卫生本科专业，呈现其整体办学概况。相关数据来源于巴西公共卫生协会（Brazilian Association of Public Health）下属的公共卫生本科协调论坛，以及各课程所属院校的官方主页。研究周期内，巴西公共卫生本科专业的数量实现显著增长：新增招生名额增幅达六倍，累计共有285名学生获得公共卫生学士学位。截至2014年初，全国共有18门在读课程（其中17门隶属于公共部门），在读学生总规模达2532人。尽管公共卫生研究生阶段的培养在巴西东南部地区占据主导地位，但本科专业已在全国范围内实现广泛布局，不过仍需进一步扩招生源以满足统一健康系统（Unified Health System）的发展需求。虽然该类课程的培养大纲大体相近，但在专业命名上仍存在差异。进一步巩固公共卫生本科专业作为人才培养载体的地位，所面临的挑战包括契合国家课程大纲指导要求、持续推进专业扩招、保障毕业生的职业认可度，以及推动毕业生更充分地融入公共卫生领域劳动力市场。