Trip Report
26 February 2013
Name: Minato Nakazawa (Professor, Department of International Health, Kobe University
Graduate School of Health Sciences)
Institute to visit: Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Thailand
Visiting period: From February 17th, 2013 to February 23rd, 2013
Objectives: By visiting the No.1 faculty of public health in Asia, which has more than 65 years'
history and more than 1,000 alumni overseas members with MPH, to learn how to manage the MPH
course (especially education in English and acceptance of overseas students), with discussion about
the possibility of academic/student exchange program.
Itinerary:February 17th (Sun) - 18th (Mon): Departure from KIX, arrival at Bangkok
18th (Mon): Resting at the international guest house of Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol
University until noon. Afternoon, briefing of the Faculty of Public Health by the Dean andexplanation about the education in graduate school by the Deputy Dean (Graduate courseeducation), Dr. Kwanjai. In addition, discussion about the contents and statements of MOA(memorandum of agreement) and MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Deputy Deanof International Affairs, Dr. Suphaphat.
19th (Tue): Presentation about the current situation of education and research of public health inJapan and discussion. Afternoon, brief discussion at the meeting of education committee, andinterview of one of the supporting staffs for international students.
20th (Wed): Until noon, visiting the Department of Microbiology: Briefing by the head of thedepartment, detailed explanation and seeing around guided by Dr. Charnchudhi. Afternoon, theworkshop for preventing plagiarism for the graduate students and faculties and interview of twograduate students.
21st (Thu): Discussion with the steering committee members of Master of Public Health program
until noon. Afternoon, visiting the Salaya campus and seeing its facility.
22nd (Fri): Debriefing for the visit: discussion for the future destination of cooperation, including
MOA and MOU.
23rd (Sat): Departure from Bangkok, arrival at KIX.
Report:(1) Brief explanation of the Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University
Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University has been established simultaneously with thefoundation of the Mahidol University itself since 1947, almost 1,400 students graduate every year in
total of bachelor, master and doctor.
They share the campus close to the Victory Monument with the Faculty of Tropical Medicine andFaculty of Dentistry. Seven buildings belong to the Faculty of Public Health, composed of 13
Departments, offices, lecture rooms, amenity spaces for the students, and so on. The 7th building
has the library at 6th and 7th floor, which is shared by other two faculties. The dormitory or guest
house for visiting scholars is going to be established in the new building under construction, so thatcurrently visiting scholars stay in hotels or the guest house of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine.
The accommodations for the international students are arranged by the supporting staffs: Usuallymonthly rent for apartment costs about 45,000 yen.
The Faculty of Public Health provides 4 years undergraduate education for Bachelor of Public
Health, in which majors are nursing, nutrition, health administration and so on. The 1st year and2nd year education for undergraduate students get their education in the Salaya campus. The
education for graduate students are separated into two: professional degree course for MPH andDr.PH and research degree course for M.Sc. and Ph.D. The former has course for Thai students andinternational students, but among the latter, international courses are provided only for M.Sc. ofHeallth Informatics major (provided bythe Department of Biostatistics) and Ph.D.
(all majors).
(2) International program in graduate
education
The period of MPH course is 13 months.
More than 1,000 students including
Japanese have already graduated theinternational program of MPH course andheld MPH degree. The objectives ofMPH international program are providing
skills needed to improve the health andQOL of the people towards healthy world
to the health/medical professionals.
Applicants for MPH course must hold the any title of MD, MBBS, BPharm, DDS, DVM, BN, BSc
or comparable degrees of the accredited educational institution by Mahidol University, at least 2years' working experience (excluding internship) in public health or related area, at least 480 or
more score in TOEFL or equivalent achievement in English performance examination. Applicants
usually prepare them until December and submit to the Admission Office. When they are approved,
they must take the prerequisite course from March to May to acquire the basic knowledge needed tounderstand the course of MPH. MPH course is composed of three parts: The 1st semester begins
from May, the 2nd semester begins from September, then the summer session from January to Aprilfollows. MPH course includes 8 majors: Urban health, Primary Health Care, Dental Public Health,Health Promotion, Public Health Technology, Human Health Development, Community HealthServices Development, and Reproductive Health.
The study period for MSc is 2 years, as same as other master courses of graduate school. Thestudets in MSc course must complete master thesis. Only the medical informatics major providesinternational program for MSc, but it is planned for microbiology major in the future.
For doctoral degree, either Ph.D. or Dr.PH usually require more than 3 years to complete, but bothcan be taken in English. There are 2 ways to enter Dr.PH course: After taking MPH and after taking
B.PH, in which required credits are 54 in 3-5 years and 87-96 credits in 7-8 years, respectively. Themajors of Dr.PH program are: Public Health Nutrition, Epidemiology, Public HealthAdministration, Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, Public Health Nursing, andParasitology. The proceedings are published as international peer reviewed journal.
The Faculty of Public Health provides various international short course trainings (for 1-2 weeks),
which are possible candidates for student exchange programs. Those training programs are, forexample, listed below.
Title

Contens

Primary Health Care This course focuses on enhancing knowledge of the main features of the primary health care approach inchanging situations and its implications to health care systems and also covers strategies to strengthencommunity participation in health development programs.
ReproductiveHealthThis course focuses on the concepts and significance of reproductive health utilizing the life cycle approach.
Study also includes examination of the scope and significance of reproductive tract infection. HIV/AIDS andits sociocultural impacts on health, adolescent reproductive health in terms of adolescent sexuality, and sexualrelationships and marriage.

HIV/AIDS
prevention training

This course is designed for participants interested in approaches for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. A
combination of lectures and visits to number of agencies on the frontline will provide an interdisciplinary
perspective of issues specific to HIV/AIDS.

HospitalManagement

The Hospital Management course aims to expose participants to issues in leadership and management asapplied to public health. Via lectures and workshop sessions participants will explore AIC concepts andMethods. Creative Principles of Hospital Management and Problem Analysis, Knowledge Management, Best
Practices and their application to Hospital Management and Improvement, Hospital Finances, Primary HealthCare Management and Improvement as well as Hospital Reform and Accreditation.

CommunicableDisease

This course focuses on communicable diseases and their public health impact at the local, national andregional levels. Participants will explore the epidemiology of infectious disease, particularly zoonotic
illnesses, HIV/AIDS, clinical approaches, surveillance and response practices and the role of infection control
professionals.

Non-communicable This course reviews non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and others ofDisease
importance to public health in the region, in terms of their prevalence, impact, risk factors, prevention andcontrol. Through field visits and briefings participants will gain a deeper understanding of the relationshipbetween the occurrence and management of these diseases and their impact on public health. Prevention
strategies, activities and policy development will also be explored.
Health Promotion

This course introduces the basic concepts, strategies and methods that make up the foundation of communityand population based health promotion within the context of public health and offers a broad overview ofhealth promotion strategies and activities as well as policy formation, planning, implementation andevaluation designed to improve health and promote wellbeing.

Health Promotion in This course focuses on factors contributing to aging including lifestyle, culture, environment and how they
the Elderly
are related to aspects of maintaining health and promoting wellness. It examines strategies which support thedevelopment and improve function and quality of life. Taking a holistic approach, the course explores factors
such as nutrition, exercise and activity, prevention of hazards to health, maintaining self responsibility,
managing stress, and meeting continued developmental, emotional and spiritual needs.

(3) Admission policy and current status
Admission of students is done based on
fulfillment of eligibility criteria approved
by Admission Office. About 45 to 55
students enter the MPH course
international program every year. In 2012fiscal year, 2 Japanese (both medicaldoctor) admitted, and in 2013 fiscal year, 6Japanese (2 medical doctors, 3 nurses, and1 hygienic technology specialist) will
admit. Tuition is about 7,500 US dollars
in 2012 and planned to increase 8,000 US
dollars in 2013, which is cheapest price for
MPH course in the world.
Currently the Faculty of Public Healthhas no dormitory/guest house. However, for faculty exchange, the guest house of the Faculty ofTropical Medicine is available at cheap price (about 3,000 yen per night, fully equipped). Similar
guest house for the Faculty of Public Health will be available within 2013 at the new building underconstruction. For graduate students, the student office can arrange the apartment nearby thecampus at reasonable price (15,000 to 17,000 yen per month). The supporting staffs always standby the room just after passing through the door of International program section at 5th floor of the
7th building. The students can easily get consultations with them. Basically the information fromthe Faculty to students are given by e-mails, but the billboard is also used.
As amenity facility, the rest room (see, photo) provides the space to talk with each other or to takerests for the students in the International program of MPH course. This enables the communication
among inter-majors.
(4) The interviews for the graduate students
Two graduate students who will complete the MPH course 2 months later are interviewed about
the difficulties which they faced in the course.
According to their answer, the greatest difficulty was language barrier. Basically everything canbe done in English, but some staffs are not very good at English or have somewhat localized
pronunciation/intonation which makes listening comprehension difficult. On the other hand, thestudents in Thai program of MPH course do the cooperative fieldwork in remote villages with otherdiscipline students for 5 weeks, the students in International program cannot attend it. Instead, 1week fieldwork is undertaken by the International students twice.

The second problem is very condensed
study schedule: The students must get 39
credits within 13 months. Some students
from Middle-East Asia have no experienceof statistical analysis ever, so that thecoursework of epidemiology andbiostatistics is very difficult for them.
Since there are many group workings incourse work, the leader faces difficulty toachieve agreements among the groupmembers with diversified cultural
background. But similar situations will
occur after the graduation, so that it is to bea good practice.
The 1 week fieldwork by the students inInternational program is done after the several times simulations that the students assume thesituation to find and evaluate the public health problem to solve it. It is very tough work, but very
beneficial.
The life in Thailand is comfortable: Prices of goods for daily life are cheap, people in Thailand are
kind, and most students in the International program of MPH course come from Asian countries andare familiar.
(5) The comments from the steering committee of MPH course.
The comments by the Deputy Dean of International Affairs on MOU were, (1) it is better tochange the sentence about the duration of student exchange, and (2) the expression "provide"accommodation for exchange students is so vague that should be reconsidered.
The comments by the steering committee members were, (1) the lectures and practices which canbe taken by exchange students should be listed, (2) the double degree program is very difficult (itmust be accredited by the government), so that it should be the future target: starting from informal
student exchange or workshop, (3) the remote conference or lecture system should be establishedbetween the Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University and the Kobe University Graduate
School of Health Sciences, (4) the accreditation about Public Health education and degree should bewell considered (accreditation by APACPH, government, or US CePH?).
In addition, they requested to introduce any example of double degree program ever conducted, sothat I reported about the Campus Asia program (among 3 Universities including Kobe University
Graduate School of International Cooperative Studies).
(6) The possibility of cooperative researches
The Department of Microbiology has many laboratory with machines like PCR-related ones (see,photo), some of which treat genetically modified organisms. They earn money by commercial
examination of bacteria or virus ordered from outside institutions, and by selling culture media.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Charnchudhi, who obtained Ph.D. from Nagasaki University, studies zoonotic
infectious diseases covering virus, rickettsia, and bacteria from the viewpoint of "one health", forexample, dengue fever and influenza. He had great interest in cooperative studies and is willing toaccept 1 week study tour (including short-term field visit) even for undergraduate students.
(7) MOA, MOU
It is possible to conduct short-term student exchange, faculty exchange or inter-laboratory
cooperative work without any MOU for Mahidol University side. However, MOU is needed for
credit transfer and double degree program. To establish the dual degree program, working groups
for curriculum, which specifies contents with periods and credits, may be needed for bothinstitutions. I suggested to start from short-term student exchange program.