ASPHER is looking forward to seeing you at the annual EPH conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia from 28 November – 1 December 2018. As usual, ASPHER will be involved with several activities at the conference including:

Plenary on "Public Health Resources – core capacities to address the threat of communicable diseases" featuring this year’s Andrija Štampar Medallist, Dame Anne Johnson as the Keynote speaker;

The Young Researchers Forum allowing MPH, PhD and postdoc researchers to present their work;

The 3^rd meeting of the Coalition of Partners with WHO/Europe working to professionalize the public health workforce; and

MIG-H Migration Health Training Dissemination Workshop.

Mark your calendars for ASPHER’s annual Deans’ and Directors’ Retreat from 26-29 May 2019 in Erice, Italy.

In response to member feedback we are working to make the Retreat program more inclusive. We are putting out a call to members to suggest topics for the thematic sessions at the retreat by no later than 27 November 2018. 

A call for abstracts in the chosen topic areas will be open to all member schools. The submission deadline for abstracts will be 15 January 2019.

The retreat will be hosted by the Board of Directors of the Italian Public Health Schools, in collaboration with the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SItI).

ASPHER is proud to announce the 5^th Edition of ASPHER's European List of Core Competences for the Public Health Professional. The new edition was edited by Anders Foldspang, Christopher A. Birt and Robert Otok and the Council of ASPHER’s European Public Health Reference Framework (EPHRF). Advisory contributions were made from expert groups within: epidemiology and biostatistics; sociology; environmental health; health economics; leadership; nutrition; communicable disease prevention and control.

Population health and health systems change, as do public health practice, theory, terminology and scientific research methods. Thus, a list of public health competences needs to be developed continuously and the newly revised list seeks to address recent advancements.

ASPHER is actively engaged with efforts to professionalize Europe’s Public Health Work Force.

ASPHER is currently part of the Coalition of Partners in collaboration with WHO/Europe, APHEA and many other experts across the European Region. The CoP project includes the development of three key products to help guide professionalization: 1) A Roadmap towards Professionalisation of the Public Health Workforce; 2) A Core Competencies Framework for Public Health Workforce; and 3) Handbooks for Managing Public Health Professional Credentialing, and Accreditation Systems.

ASPHER also led on the development of the EU HPP Joint Statement on Public Health Workforce Development and Professionalisation in collaboration with various organisations and members of the EU Health Policy Platform (EU HPP) calling for a collaborative and consensus-building action on the continuing development and professionalisation of the public health workforce in Europe.

The Andrija Stampar medallist of 2018 has been chosen! Thank you very much to all ASPHER members for submitting your nominations. After a thorough discussion, the ASPHER Executive Board has decided to award this year's medal to Professor Dame Anne Johnson in recognition of the outstanding accomplishments during her career. Among the candidates were leading prominent figures from the political, policy and academic world, whose contribution to public health has also been of great value. The ASPHER Executive Board decided that professor Johnson is this year's most suitable candidate because of her global profile and because her work has an impact on multi-faceted issues in health such as training, leadership, and research, all of which are very relevant to ASPHER. As always, the award ceremony will take place in the context of the European Public Health (EPH) Conference. This year's EPH Conference, the 11th edition, will take us to Ljubljana from 28 November to 1 December. 

On Friday 9 March, ASPHER signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its American counterpart, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) in the context of ASPPH's annual meeting that took place from March 7 until March 9 in Arlington, VA. 

The MoU will facilitate further collaboration between European and American Schools of Public Health, in what is a major step to strengthen ASPHER's global partnerships. In the words of the ASPHER President, Professor Kasia Czabanowska: "this MoU represents alignment, commitment, and power for health and global good". 

During the meeting, specific areas of work for joint initiatives that will benefit both Associations were defined. In addition, the ASPHER and ASPPH secretariats had the opportunity to share best practices and Professor Czabanowska participated as a presenter at the “Building the Public Health Workforce for the Future: Looking Toward 2030”.

The 22 cases chosen for this collection represent a wide array of public health issues that go into the makeup of the New Public Health, which includes traditional public health, such as sanitation, hygiene and infectious disease control, but widens its perspective to include chronic diseases, nutrition, organization, financing and quality of international health systems and health in a much broader sense. Each case is presented in a systematic fashion to facilitate learning, with the topic background including the key pioneers, current relevance, economic and ethical issues, conclusions, recommendations, student review questions, and recommended references.

The book explores the history of public health through important scientific events and flashpoints, presents case studies in a clear direct style that is easy to follow, and uses a systematic approach to help learn lessons from the past and apply them to the present

For more information on the book, you can download the flyer here. 

FOR SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH: This site will facilitate your becoming part of a vibrant, dynamic community of schools of public health. Share best practices and learn from one another.

FOR PROSPECTIVE AND CURRENT STUDENTS: Here you can learn about and compare different offers from schools of public health. Assess and map out your prospects for career development.

FOR ALUMNI AND ALL PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS: Here you can obtain career guidance and learn about continuing professional development opportunities in the public health arena.

FOR PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM PLANNERS: Find resources on the public health workforce development. Review and compare school profiles, public health education and training schemes in Europe.