Do Higher Education Curricula Cover Core Health Promotion Competencies for Health Workforces in Iran?

Health promotion competencies were defined as a combination of the essential knowledge, abilities, skills and values necessary for the practice of health promotion. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which health promotion core competencies has been integrated in higher education (undergraduate and postgraduate) curricula of ministry of health and medical education in Iran.

In this qualitative content analysis, all the curricula of ministry of health and medical education of Iran were checked for the presence of courses such as health education, promotion, communication, consultation and planning, etc. through a summative approach.

Totally 241 curricula were checked. In the most of study fields, there were not the courses improving their competencies that constitute a common baseline for their health promotion roles especially in professional doctorate (medicine, pharmacy and dentistry) degrees.

Health promotion core competencies should be identified and considered in developing educational curricula for all health practitioners as an essential component of developing and strengthening workforce capacity to ensure quality health promotion practice.