The Covid-19 pandemic is confronting us with health challenges as well as social and economic disruptions across the globe and has revealed serious gaps in preparedness. The crisis emphasizes that academic institutions have to rethink their public health educational models and approaches in order to embrace the critical competency areas in relation to public health emergencies. Such emergencies include among others professionalism, service to community needs, digital health and technology, research and analytical skills, sensitivity to diversity, communication and leadership.

Following the Lancet Commission on the Education of Health Professionals for the 21st Century Report in 2010, which called for the transformation of health professionals’ education, many schools and departments of public health have already redesigned their curricula in order to prepare the public health workforce for the future. The current pandemic now calls for transformational approaches to education that is based on profound personal learning and insight through engaging with public health organizations and service through real projects. Such education can better prepare public health professionals and equip them with competency that will allow them to adapt, respond, innovate and become resilient to disruptive challenges such as the current pandemic.

We invite Systematic Reviews, Meta-syntheses, Commentaries (in-depth opinion pieces), other types of Reviews and Policy Briefs on:
· Development and advancement of theory and practice of transformative education in public health,
· Effectiveness of educational solutions in public health that contribute to transformative learning,
· Innovative educational interventions,
· Evidence on transformational education,
· New insights into any of these connected issues that can contribute to educational systems preparedness post COVID-19, but also its sustainable development for the future.

The Call is open until 1 November 2024.

Public Health Reviews is a journal of the Swiss School of Public Health

PHR publishes open access. Article Processing Charges (APC) apply. PHR and its non-profit owner Swiss School of Public Health strive to overcome current global inequalities in APC support for authors. The GLOBEQUITY program of IJPH offers a limited number of waivers for first authors from low and middle income countries!

Issue Editors: Kasia Czabanowska (lead), Mark Avery, Sue Babich, Laura Magaña, Mindaugas Stankunasr


All PHR rules for article types, double-blind peer review, and APC apply.
No abstract submission is required, authors should only submit their full manuscript.
Please submit the full manuscript here.

Call flyer

Contact: PHR Editorial Office: phr@swisstph.ch

We look forward to your manuscript!

Keywords: competency-based education, public health, transformative education, professionalism, preparedness, response, sustainability