Accessibility of Public Health Knowledge: The Presence of Public Health Courses in General Education Programs at US Public Universities

Objectives: In 2003, the Institute of Medicine released the report Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? , in which the authors recommended that “all undergraduates have access to education in public health.” The objective of this study was to explore the current status of that recommendation in public institutions in the United States with schools or programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). Methods: We used a systematic qualitative content analysis approach, specifically a manifest analysis strategy, focusing on data that were available, tangible, and observable. To provide a snapshot of public health coursework in the general education curriculum, we reviewed the spring 2023 curriculum posted in online catalogs at US public colleges and universities with CEPH-accredited schools or programs of public health. Results: Of the 132 institutions represented in the analysis, 100