The department is well known for its value-based education for MBBS, MD Community Medicine, Master of Public Health and allied courses. A few courses, including fellowships and DrPH, are being planned.

MBBS Program - Teaching and training of MBBS students (I to VII semester) and Interns involves problem-based learning through direct in-depth interactions with the community (rural and urban areas). Family Health Advisory Program (FHAP), unique to our department, enables students to understand the clinical, socio-cultural and environmental aspects that contribute to the health and disease processes, by means of a weekly follow-up of a family for a period of six months.

Field visits in connection with Community Diagnosis Postings, National Health Programs, Environmental Health and various health care delivery institutions are tailored according to the recent revisions in programs. Training of interns at JIUHC and JIRHC is structured to enable competencies in basic community health practice.

MD Program - 

Postgraduate course in the department was started in 1979. Each year 6 students are enrolled for MD Community Medicine. Residents are trained in concepts of epidemiology, biostatistics, research methodology, sociology, health planning and management, health education with a community-based approach though intensive community posting. In addition, MD students participate in community development activities, monitoring and evaluation of National Health Programmes and community surveys, organize outreach services through camps, which equip them with academic, administrative and managerial skills to serve as effective professionals in any academic/research institution or public health organizations. Postgraduates from this department have been placed in WHO, UNICEF, CDC, USA and various national and state medical colleges, ICMR institutions and NGOs. 

MPH Program

MPH course was started in 2014 with an annual intake of maximum 30 students. The goal of the MPH program is to equip public health professionals to plan, develop, implement, monitor and evaluate population-based and individual approaches for quality health care. All MPH trainees undertake a research project in the form of dissertation. MPH candidates from this institute have been placed in various national and state institutes, at ICMR institutions, in notable research projects and NGOs.

PhD Program

Public Health PhD Program provides training and experiences that support interdisciplinary learning, promotes critical and theory-based knowledge, develop analytical skills through conducting research addressing public health problems and fosters the development of public health professionals.

Workshops and Conference conducted by the department:

Dept. of P&SM, JIPMER conducts various workshops throughout the year. These workshops have become very popular as they provide a wide range of exposure and hands-on training for the participants.

1. Short course on Basic Epidemiology has been conducted every year since 2009 by the Faculty of Dept of P&SM, JIPMER. The 5 day workshop consists of lectures which will summarize the basic key concepts and methods of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, followed by practical sessions and exercises including hands-on experience in IBM SPSS. Various faculties, postgraduates, MPH candidates and residents all over the country had been trained in this workshop.

10^th Basic Epidemiology workshop conducted from 22^nd to 26^th July 2019

2. National Workshop on Tobacco Control has been conducted by Faculty of Dept of P&SM since 2015. This 4-day workshop for Postgraduate students and MPH scholars all over the country has sessions by key pioneers from JIPMER and various public experts, Government officials, Policy makers related to the Tobacco Control Programme. It provides useful insights and knowledge about various tobacco control issues like Epidemiology of Tobacco, its use practices in India, Health and socio-economic impact of Tobacco, National and International policies and legislations, Tobacco surveillance (GATS, GYTS), Tobacco cessation, Tobacco industry interference and Endgame strategies for Tobacco Control.

5^th National workshop on Tobacco Control was conducted from 27^thto30^th August 2019

3. Verbal autopsy training of Anganwadi workers and part time enumerators for South India States and UTs in 2019-2020 was done by the Faculty and Residents of JIPMER as per MINERVA under guidance of Central Government. The Staff from JIPMER travelled to various districts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar to train the anganwadi teachers of those respective districts and strengthened the process of verbal autopsy. The resource material in the local language was shared with the participants and one day learning workshop was conducted.

Verbal Autopsy Training Workshop conducted for Anganwadi workers of Puducherry in JIPMER, November 2019

4. National Workshop on Health System Strengthening has been conducted by Department since 2017. This workshop is planned meticulously with the idea of taking participants on a journey through the building blocks of Health Systems to the problems of existing systems and ideas for solution. This workshop also preaches techniques of operational research, enlighten managerial skill in health care, tackling conflict and train participants as good leader for the betterment of Health Care System.

3rd National workshop on Health System Strengthening from 11^th to 15^th November 2019

5. Health Technology Assessment Workshop - Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) supported by the development of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in India co-organised an “Introduction to HTA” workshop at the JIPMER campus in Puducherry. The event was open to JIPMER researchers and students as well as external participants. Training covered all aspects of HTA, ranging from HTA concepts, evidence identification and modelling to policy formulation, with a more hands-on approach using case study exercises and facilitated discussions. The workshop concluded with a panel discussion focusing on Indian and international experiences of HTA use and uptake.

Workshop on Health Technology Assessment conducted from 3rd to 5th October 2019

6. Workshop on data analysis using Stata - This 3-day workshop on data analysis on Stata course conducted yearly from 2019 was jointly organised by the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, JIPMER and The Union (International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease). The workshop consisted of lectures & discussions, demonstrations and hands-on exercise to understand the fundamentals of biostatistics and data analysis. The course had been attended by faculty, PhD students, postgraduate students, research assistants, and public health researchers working in various medical college and public health programme settings in India.

7. ‘Workshops on EpiData and Epicollect5’ has been conducted in department of Preventive and Social Medicine since 2018 as a one- or two-days’ workshop targeting individuals involved in health research (postgraduates and faculties). The focus of this course is to drive home the importance of quality assured data capture.
8. Geographic Information System in Public Health- Three days’ workshop on ‘GIS’ is conducted by the department. The participants are introduced to GIS and QGIS and how it is used in public health and epidemiological research for informed decision making. Also, Hand on experiences on QGIS Map navigation, layer functions & Attribute Table, Advanced digitization, heat map and hotspots, etc. are provided.
9. 65th IPHACON 2021 - The 65^th Annual National Conference of the Indian Public Health Association (IPHACON 2021) was organized by the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, JIPMER International School of Public Health (JISPH), and IPHA Pondicherry State Branch from 24th to 26th September 2021. The virtual conference spanned over three days, and was preceded by 10 pre-conference workshops. The Scientific sessions, research paper presentations, and national and global health experts’ presence had provided an excellent networking platform for public health professionals.