Are we getting the job done? - PowerPoint Presentation

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Are we getting the job done?

TEACHING FINANCIAL COMPETENCIES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

Louis C. Gapenski, PhDMichael E. Morris, MPH, MPA, CPHPeggy A. Honoré, DHA This research was supported by a grantfrom the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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AGENDA

Research ContextResearch FindingsIntroduction, purpose, and approach

Setting and workforceFinance competenciesCurrent finance contentAmountTopics Unique content requirementRecommendationsPanelist ResponseAudience ResponseConclusion

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RESEARCH CONTEXT

Today’s presentation is one part of an effort funded by RWJ to advance the practice of finance within the field of public health.Systems thinking perspective applied.Overall effort has four main thrusts:Improve strategic thinking and analysisIncrease relationship building

Improve public health systems organizationIncrease attention to new knowledge 3

RESEARCH CONTEXT

The portion of the overall effort most relevant to the research presented today includes:Public Health Finance InstitutePublic health finance websiteRatio analysis methodologiesRatio analysis benchmarks

Sustainability (risk) index developmentRedesign of public health finance coursesDevelopment of finance teaching materials 4

INTRODUCTION

Public health finance is defined as “acquiring, managing, and utilizing scarce resources to improve the health of populations.”As the scarcity of financial resources increases, the role of finance increases in importance.Evidence indicates that management as a whole is lacking in finance skills and tools.

Academic institutions have a significant opportunity to contribute to workforce finance competency.5

PURPOSE

The purpose of our research is to:Assess the adequacy of current finance education in public health (primarily MPH) programs.Make recommendations for change.Note that academic programs address long-term knowledge needs and must be in concert with:

Continuing professional developmentOn-the-job training6

APPROACH

Identify the finance competencies required by public health managers.Review current educational program content.Ask this question: Does current content provide the KSAs necessary to meet the required competencies?If not, what should be done?

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SETTING AND WORKFORCE

Public health services are provided at the:National level.State level.

Local level.Finance activities are carried out by both finance specialists and generalist managers.Most generalist managers are not trained in management but are professionals from other fields who have managerial responsibilities.Thus, finance education must span many disciplines and be broad in scope.8

FINANCE COMPETENCIES

Over the past 20 years several studies have been made to identify public health finance competencies.The most recent (and comprehensive) work was published last year by Honoré and Costich.

Three domainsFinancial management, analysis, and assessmentOrganizational and program planning and policy developmentAdministrative and general skillsMost relevant domain for finance education is the first one.Competencies are listed for each domain.9

CURRENT FINANCE CONTENT - AMOUNT

In 2008, there were:22,500 students in College of Public Health MPH programs.Of these, 3,285 (14.6%) were in management related concentrations.

The goals of MPH programs are most similar to MHA and MPA programs. To judge the adequacy of the amount of content, the finance requirements of the top 20 programs in these three fields were compared.10

CURRENT FINANCE CONTENT - AMOUNT

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CURRENT FINANCE CONTENT – TOPICS

Review of the syllabi of the top 20 MPH programs indicates that current offerings overwhelmingly reflect traditional MHA content.Thus, in general, MPH finance courses lack material related to:Public sector organizations.

Finance functions unique to public health.12

CURRENT FINANCE CONTENT – TOPICS

Course content was compared to the identified finance competencies.Many weaknesses exist.Some at the competency level.But more at the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) level.

For example, syllabus might include ratio analysis, but MHA-oriented courses typically focus on financial and operating ratios relevant to private sector organizations (often not-for-profit hospitals).13

CURRENT FINANCE CONTENT – TOPICS

Competency differences include:Grant acquisition and managementDisaster budgetingIntegrating budgeting with strategic and financial planning

Competencies that relate finance to the perspective and context of public health14

CURRENT FINANCE CONTENT – TOPICS

KSA differences, which mostly reflect differences between public and private sector management, include:Financial statement format and interpretationRatio analysisBudgeting

Capital financingCapital budgeting (program) analysis15

UNIQUE CONTENT REQUIREMENT

Our review indicates that current public health finance courses do not provide:All students with a basic understanding of finance principles.Management concentration students with content that sufficiently reflects the uniqueness of public health.Findings supported by work at St. Louis University

Matched public health competencies against current (MHA) course competencies.Found that only 63% of the public health competencies were covered in the course. 16

RECOMMENDATIONS

All public health students, regardless of concentration, should take at least one finance course.Introductory in natureShould include both accounting and financial managementAll public health management students should take at least two finance courses.

The introductory courseA second course that focuses on applicationBoth courses must be dedicated to public health finance.17

PANELIST RESPONSE

Comments From the Panelists

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AUDIENCE RESPONSE

Comments From the Audience

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CONCLUSION

Our thanks to the panelists and audience for your thoughtful comments!

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