About

The Network first formed informally at the National Indigenous Public Health Curriculum Workshop, which was held in Brisbane during 2003. The outcomes of this workshop included a set of key recommendations:

• the inclusion of foundational Indigenous health content in all core Master of Public Health (MPH) subjects including history, colonisation, policy processes, social & economic determinants, key Indigenous health concepts, comprehensive primary health care, and effective practice in Indigenous contexts;
• the need for partnerships with local community for input into Indigenous public health teaching;
• appropriate pedagogical strategies for Indigenous students;
• incentives for MPH programs to include Indigenous health in their curricula.

Subsequently, at the 2006 National Indigenous Public Health Curriculum Workshop in Sydney, six core Indigenous health competencies required by every Masters of Public Health (MPH) graduate were proposed and refined by subsequent consultations across the Network. The resultant “National Indigenous Public Health Curriculum Framework”, published by the Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutions (ANAPHI) is a guide for MPH programs to integrate the six core Indigenous public health competencies into their programs. The six core Indigenous health competencies are integral to the “Foundation Competencies for Master of Public Health Graduates in Australia”. These competencies have been endorsed by ANAPHI, now called the Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australia (CAPHIA) and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.