ICAPHE-EPHF Competency Questionnaire (v3.1)

ICAPHE-EPHF Competency Questionnaire

About this research

This research examines how public health competences can be integrated into curricula. We draw on the World Health Organization’s Global competency and outcomes framework for the essential public health functions (2024, pp. 23–24) which refines elements of the Global Competency Framework for Universal Health Coverage (2022, pp. 6–7) and identifies 20 competences across six domains.

The 2024 framework defines competences as “a person’s ability to integrate and apply the relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, demonstrated through behaviours, to the performance of practice activities to the standard required for the context.” For behaviours, the 2024 work uses the UHC definition of behaviours as, “observable conduct towards other people or tasks that expresses a competency. Behaviours are measurable in the performance of tasks.”

The WHO (2024) describe these 20 competences as, “forming a theoretical framework for describing good practice.”

Our research asks whether these theoretical competences reflect global practice. To explore this, we aim to contact a broad range of courses and programmes across the world to determine whether these competences are explicitly taught or addressed in their curricula.

How to complete this questionnaire

Before proceeding, you must provide ethics consent, as required by our ethical approval. Consent only needs to be given once per visit and you may review the consent information at any time.

Please begin by entering the institutional details at the top of the form. These remain fixed for your submission, and every subsequent programme you add will be assumed to belong to the same school, faculty, department, or host institution. After providing these details, you may add one or more programmes (e.g., MSc, MPH, PhD) and indicate which competences are taught or covered within each.

For each programme you wish to report, complete the programme name and level, then review the six competency domains. Click the small arrow (▸ / ▾) beside each domain heading to expand or collapse the list of competences. Tick all competences that are explicitly taught or covered within that programme.

If your programme teaches competences not captured in the six domains, you may record these under “Other competences taught or covered (optional)”, using the text boxes provided (maximum of five entries).

If you wish to report more than one programme from the same institution, click “+ Add programme” to create an additional section. You can remove any extra programme using “Remove programme” (note that the first programme block cannot be removed).

At any point, you may click “Preview selections” to view a summary of your inputs before submission, or “Clear” to reset the questionnaire.

We only ask please that you answer as honestly as possible as the aim is to build a realistic understanding before their inclusion in a global accreditation scheme.

Participant Information and Consent [Placeholder text]

You are invited to take part in a short questionnaire examining how public health courses and programmes incorporate key competences. The survey takes about five to ten minutes and involves ticking boxes about the competences your programme or course explicitly teaches or covers.

Participation is voluntary. You may stop the survey at any time before submitting your responses.

Your responses will be confidential but not anonymous, as we need to know which programme the information refers to. All data will be stored on secure, password-protected cloud servers and will only be accessed by the research team. The results will be used to inform a forthcoming publication and revision of ICAPHE competences.

If you have any questions about the study, you can contact us at office@icaphe.org. If you have concerns about the conduct of the research, you may contact XYZ ethics office using the details provided in the full ethics information sheet.

Consent statement: “I have read and understood the participant information and agree to participate in this research.”

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Please tick the box to confirm your consent before continuing.

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School / Faculty / Department Host institution / Award Issuing Body City Country Title and name Position / Role

Please select all competences explicitly taught or covered in your programme.

Programme name Programme level

Competency domain I: Community-centredness

Competencies relating to working with individuals and communities to promote public health, equity and empowerment.

1. Promotes health equity among individuals and communities
Competency 1 behaviours
- 1.1 Contributes to the systematic identification and elimination of inequities resulting from differences in conditions for health.
- 1.2 Works to address unequal conditions experienced by groups, including the wider determinants of health and inequity.
- 1.3 Advocates for public health decision-making, planning and action that prioritises the most vulnerable groups and addresses the greatest health inequities.
- 1.4 Practises social accountability.
2. Enables people to increase control over, and to improve, their health and lives
3. Encourages inclusive and participatory approaches that embrace cultural diversity and inclusion

Competency domain II: Decision-making

Competencies relating to the approach to individual decision-making in daily practice, and contribution to collective decision-making mechanisms, that embody the ethics and values of public health.

4. Takes an evidence-informed approach to decision-making
5. Applies systems thinking to public health problem-solving
6. Adapts to unexpected or rapidly changing situations

Competency domain III: Communication

Competencies relating to interactions with individuals, communities, partners and other relevant actors in support of public health goals.

7. Communicates actively and attentively
8. Conveys information purposefully, including through trusted sources and key partners
9. Adapts communication to the goals, needs, urgency and sensitivity of the situation

Competency domain IV: Collaboration

Competencies relating to collaborative work within and across teams, organisations and sectors, including constructive management of tensions and conflicts.

10. Engages in collaborative practice within and between defined teams
11. Engages in collaborative practice within partnerships and coalitions
12. Learns from, with and about others
13. Constructively manages tensions, conflicts, resistance and opposition

Competency domain V: Evidence-informed practice

Competencies relating to the generation, appraisal and application of evidence for decision-making and practice, including continuous quality improvement.

14. Assesses data, information and evidence from a range of sources
15. Promotes evidence-informed public health practice
16. Contributes to continuous quality improvement

Competency domain VI: Personal conduct

Competencies relating to professional and ethical conduct, reflective practice, lifelong learning and personal well-being.

17. Works within the limits of competence and role responsibilities
18. Demonstrates high standards of ethical conduct
19. Engages in lifelong learning
20. Adopts strategies to manage one’s own health and well-being

Other competences taught or covered (optional)

Use this section only if your programme includes competences not captured above. Please note these should be behavioural competences (i.e., observable conduct that demonstrates a competency in practice). You may add up to five items.