New public health guidance for pre-registration AHP courses

Published: 22 September 2017 Ezine

New guidance has been published setting out what good practice looks like for public health in pre-registration Allied Health Professional (AHP) education.

The guidance aims to shape individual professions’ curricula and support universities to review and develop their courses.

The document was coordinated by Public Health England (PHE) in collaboration with stakeholder groups across the UK including the AHP professional bodies.

It makes 13 recommendations which provide the framework for a best practice approach to both the mapping of current public health content, and the development of future content.

Sue Johnson, Professional Officer for Clinical Imaging at the Society, said: “The Society welcomes the recommendations made in this report; as an integral part of the patient pathway, public health promotion needs to be at the forefront of professional practice for radiographers.

“Our public health Special Interest Group is leading our work in sharing best practice and ideas across the profession. 

“Educating AHP students is an important aspect of introducing public health promotion into practice, however radiography educators also need to work with qualified practitioners to come up with ideas on how to implement this into their roles and learn new skills.”

Linda Hindle, PHE’s Lead Allied Health Professional, said: “AHPs are increasingly being recognised as an important part of the public health workforce, using their day to day interactions with patients to bring about real improvements to health and wellbeing.

“This new framework will help professional bodies and universities to strengthen the public health component of courses and curriculum. By so doing, it will help us to maintain the momentum and spread good practice throughout the professions.”

Download the guidance.