Preparing future environmental health practitioners through problem-based and community-based approaches : experiences of environmental health students

Abstract

Students learn better when they are engaged with real-world problems. This approach is especially e ective for topics of environmental health, where students have limited exposure to fieldwork during their period of study. Hence, it is important to shift from conventional instruction-based methods to innovative pedagogical approaches. Problem based and community-based learning o er academia the tools to prepare students via the development of essential problem-solving and analytical skills. Problem-based learning enables students to identify environmental health issues and develop feasible, realistic solutions to community problems. Furthermore, community-based learning allows students to learn through community engagement and generate solutions to real environmental health issues that communities face. This study employed a qualitative approach to explore the experience of two cohorts of environmental health students regarding problem-based and community-based approaches. This study found that the students benefited from the respective approaches and gained valuable communication, leadership, problem-solving, and analytical skills that are crucial in the environmental health field.