3.G. Round table: How to prepare the public health workforce for a digital health future?
Authors:   Organised by: EUPHA-DH,   Chair persons: Duarte Vital Brito (Portugal)
Published: October 2021

Digital health is a crucial field for healthcare sustainability and adequate response to emerging health challenges. It has potential to increase efficiency in public health areas, such as surveillance, communication, data analysis and visualization, planning and collaboration. While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of healthcare, a structured and planned approach is needed to ensure its sustainable and equitable integration in healthcare. Capacity building in digital literacy plays a key role to ensure an adequate implementation of digital public health. Moreover, the application of digital health solutions in public health services requires a proper training for students, young professionals, and public health experts. To fulfil this, education on digital health should be fully integrated in medical and public health curricula. Our workshop aims to discuss the potential of digital health technologies for public health services and identify proposals for a renewed digital public health curriculum. In this workshop, we will present a summary of potential uses of digital health in public health, focusing advances developed during COVID-19 pandemic. This introduction will provide a background for participants to be aware of digital health solutions, from basic digital services to innovations, that are applicable in public health practice. Panellists will share both local and national experiences. Although there are some examples of digital health updated curricula, a more comprehensive and structured approach to public health training is needed. Digital public health education should include specific topics, such as capacity building, opportunities for youth, and an ethics-driven approach. However, it should be tailored for public health students and professionals needs, which are certainly different. A short presentation will provide a guiding framework for participants to discuss the topic. Following, during small group discussions, workshop participants will share perspectives and suggestions for an updated digital public health curricula, including different approaches for both undergraduate students, public health residents and public health experts. In this round table discussion, one panelist will present a summary of potential uses of digital health in public health (10 minutes). The following presentation will cover main concerns that digital public health education should consider, particularly for young professionals (10 minutes). Following, participants will be asked to discuss in 3 to 6 small groups which topics should be included in curricula and training opportunities in medical schools, public health schools and public health services (20 minutes). Finally, each group will briefly present their conclusions (15 minutes), which will be highlighted in a wrap-up conclusion (5 minutes). We intend to keep in touch with all participants, in order to develop a concrete proposal for digital health education curricula.

Key messages

Digital health has potential to increase efficiency in multiple public health areas and digital health education is a key step to ensure its implementation in public health schools and services. COVID-19 accelerated the digitalization in public health, but a planned approach is needed to guarantee adequate training for students and professionals.