Public health education in an undergraduate nursing program of a public university in Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Multiple political and social challenges have led to the need to incorporate public health into undergraduate nursing education. Objective: To identify the contents and the teaching strategies used for providing public health training in a nursing undergraduate program of a public university in Colombia. Materials and methods: Qualitative hermeneutic study. The research subjects were nursing teachers who taught public health, and nursing students who took public health subjects. Two semi-structured interview guides were used to collect the information, one for teachers and another for students. Results: The contents of the subject were conceptual generalities, epidemiology and policies, plans, programs and projects in public health. The nursing theories of Florence Nightingale, Dorothea Orem and Madeleine Leininger were also taught. Lectures were used as the main teaching strategy, although a difference between the perception of teachers and students was observed. Conclusions: The public health contents taught are the same as those reported in previous research studies. However, there are different perceptions among teachers and students regarding the strategies used for teaching public health.