Anita Farel, DrPH, clinical professor and associate chair for graduate studies in the Department of Maternal and Child Health, has received the Delta Omega Award for Innovative Public Health Curriculum for her course, “Program Assessment in Maternal and Child Health.” 

She made a presentation describing the course at the Delta Omega annual business meeting and exhibited a poster about the course at the American Public Health Association annual conference, both held in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 5.

Delta Omega, the honorary society for graduate studies in public health, was founded in 1924 at Johns Hopkins University. The curriculum award was created to recognize the importance of graduate education in public health, to acknowledge public health faculty who creatively implement programs that bridge academia and practice, and to stimulate the development of new courses responsive to the needs of the public health work force.

Innovative curricula, according to Delta Omega, are ones that:

• integrate public health practice experiences and examples into classroom discussions and exercises;
• highlight models of collaborative, comprehensive and community-based public health practice and scholarship;
• emphasize the application of public health principles and science-based decision-making;
• focus on skills development; and
• involve community-sector partners in teaching.

“Credit for this award goes to all the community and state partners,” Farel said, “and to the students who engage enthusiastically with applied learning opportunities and suggestions for improving the course.”

# # #

School of Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.