ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The UFMG Public Health Master´s and PhD Degree Programs were created in 1993 and 2001, respectively. Currently we have two areas of concentration for master´s degree (Epidemiology and Public Health), and one for PhD (Public Health).

The first master´s examination was held in October 1995, and the first PhD viva, in June 2004. Over the course of the last 23 years, the program has trained professionals for the development of public health-related research projects and programs, always underpinned by state-of-the-art scientific knowledge. Theses and dissertations presented so far attest to the quality, diversity and social commitment of the program and to its increasing contribution to scientific production in the filed of Public Health. Areas of research interest have led to the development of concepts and advanced analytical techniques of closely related fields, such as demography, clinical practice, health surveillance, statistics, and economics, among others. The program is widely known for its ability to match scientific production to significant Public Health issues and to foster partnerships aimed to generate models applicable to high-complexity scenarios.

The analysis of the 23 years of the Program reveals a sizeable scientific production in the form of national and international publications; thematic axes addressed in these publications have led to the creation and development of study and research centers supported by national and international funding agencies. Overall, the Program has proven capacity to train professionals at different levels, with ramifications to services, universities and research centers, which often absorb our graduates.

In 2010, the Public Health Graduate Program was rated 6 (maximum score of 7) by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), which is a Brazilian Federal research funding agency supporting the expansion and consolidation of stricto sensu graduate programs (Master´s and PhD) all over the country.

Coordinating research objects, social demands, methodological challenges and support by funding organizations is the backbone of the Public Health Graduate Program and respective research groups. The development of areas of research interest and related projects benefit from funds raised for important projects by our research groups within major national and local funding organizations and agencies, such as FINEP, CNPq, CAPES, FAPEMIG, Ministry of Health, State Health Department of Minas Gerais and Municipal Health Authority of Belo Horizonte, among others. Moreover, it is supported by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).

Several partnerships with international institutions and universities are under way and shall provide graduate students with the opportunity of international scientific collaboration at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), University College London (England), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Columbia University (United States), University of Michigan (United States), University of Queensland (Australia), Université Laval (Canada), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain), Drexel University (United States), and The United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (Malaysia), among others.

The projects – comprising a rich combination of experimental designs and theoretical and methodological approaches, primarily focused on chronic degenerative diseases, infectious diseases, health economics, aging, occupational health, mental health, urban health and violence, among other topics, generate robust scientific evidence, which is relevant to the organization, improvement and evaluation of health systems and services in Brazil. These issues are addressed in our research projects. Our graduate students participate in conceptual, political and methodological discussions and debates, and are encouraged to acquire deeper understanding and to contribute to the advancement of knowledge on the abovementioned topics.

Such dynamics fosters the integration of undergraduate students of Medicine, Economics, Nursing, Statistics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Speech Therapy and Audiology, etc., and the development of specific objects of research. The production and analysis of anedoctal data generate evidences to assist the decision-making process in the context of health services and policies. Such contributions are recorded in specific brochures, published in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Pan American Health Organization, Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management, City Administration of Belo Horizonte and other organizations.

Our multidisciplinary proposal and projects are clearly reflected in the expansion of partnerships and collaborations with professors, researchers and three other programs in different fields of health. These efforts stand out in the co-authorship of guidelines, research projects and articles, as well as in active participation in public health-related conferences, particularly Adult & Child Health, Demography, Education, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Speech Therapy and Audiology.

Multidisciplinarity is largely supported by incentives granted by the UFMG as part of the university graduate policy, with particular emphasis on the contribution of faculty members and researchers from the Statistics and Demography Department to methodological refinement of epidemiological studies. Likewise, qualitative approaches benefit from the contribution provided by subjects offered by the School of Philosophy and Social Sciences and Humanities.

Program graduates are often hired by research centers, State and Municipal Health Departments and the Ministry of Health. It is worth mentioning that these graduates also work in several newly established public universities in the country, through the policy of decentralization and expansion of further education, including the UFMG. They also have contributed to the development of new graduate public health programs. Many of our graduates remain at UFMG as tenured professors or members of graduate program boards within the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nursing School, Speech Therapy and Audiometry Course and the Public Health Graduate Program. The constant contact with alumni is an ongoing and fruitful policy of our program. Graduates are often invited to participate as examiners in vivas and thesis confirmation, committees and program admission boards, as well as to co-supervise students and attend seminars promoted by the UFMG Public Health Graduate Program.