Engaging a wider public health workforce for the future: a public health practitioner in residence approach

Abstract

This paper outlines and assesses a project that sought to use a studio residency (a public health practitioner in residence) as a vehicle to introduce public health issues and concepts into the curricula of a studio cohort of fifth and sixth year architecture students. The practitioner delivered workshops, group tutorials and one-to-one guidance on individual design projects whose aim was to improve the health and well-being of the local population. Students reported being enthused by the practitioner and developed a broader understanding of their role as future architects in the promotion and protection of the health of the public. The public health practitioner in residence model may offer an exciting way of educating and inspiring the future wider public health workforce in the built environment design focused professions. Such an approach could transform the way in which such professionals construct their societal role in terms of their future impact on population health and their contribution as members of the wider public health workforce.