Introduction

We think of the community as a "patient", diagnosing health problems at the community level and working with the community to develop a treatment plan. We incorporate this approach into our educational programs so that the physicians and public health professionals we graduate will be able to address the needs of the underserved communities where they will practice.

The Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine shares in the mission of the Morehouse School of Medicine: to train primary care physicians and public health professionals, particularly minorities, for careers in medically underserved communities. The Department provides future primary care physicians and public health professionals with the skills to analyze scientifically the health and health care delivery problems of minority and underserved communities and to understand the social, cultural, environmental and economic determinants of health and disease. As a bridge between local neighborhoods and the medical school, the Department engages in research and service to improve the health of the communities of which it is a part. The goals of the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine are:

• To conduct innovative programs of education, research, and service that focus on the special health problems of minority and other underserved populations, including those in the developing world. 
• To conduct and strengthen a residency program that prepares specialists in public health and general preventive medicine. 
• To advocate for community and public policy measures that improve the health of underserved
  communities. 
• To conduct projects that will improve the health of underserved people. It is expected that all members of the Department will devote a portion of their time to community service. 
• To establish relationships with other community agencies and organizations with similar goals. 
• To increase the number of minority public health professionals through training in the Master of Public Health Program.