CPH Exam

Lindsey Sizemore, MPH, CPHSTD/HIV Epidemiologist

Tennessee Department of HealthSeptember 10, 2014

What do the letters ‘CPH’ behind your name mean?

Certificate of Public Health

Offered by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE)

Graduated from an accredited Public Health program by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)

Mastered foundational competencies in public health

How do I get certified?

There are two parts to the CPH credentialing process:

Passing the CPH Exam

A recertification process to maintain the certification

Will this certification benefit me in my career?

U.S. does not currently require any license to be hired in public health

Voluntary credential that demonstrates core knowledge of public health

Employers are preferentially hiring and promoting CPH professionals

Will this certification benefit me in my career?

Will this certification benefit me in my career?

You must meet one of the following eligibility criteria:

Alumni of a program of public health accredited by the CEPH

Current student of a school or program of public health accredited by the CEPH

Must have completed 21 core credit hours by the time the exam is administered

Am I eligible to take the CPH exam?

Starting with the October 2013 exam, individuals who have taken the five core classes at a CEPH-accredited institution are also eligible to sit for the CPH exam as long as they meet either of the two additional eligibility criteria:

Minimum of five years of public health experience

Possession of a relevant graduate degree

Am I eligible to take the CPH exam?

The Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam covers the five core areas of public health and cross-cutting areas relevant to contemporary public health

The examination was crafted to assess a person’s knowledge of these competencies, regardless of academic concentration

What is the Exam Content?

What are the core and cross cutting areas?

Five Core Areas Cross-Cutting Area

BiostatisticsCommunication and Informatics

Environmental Health SciencesDiversity and Culture

EpidemiologyLeadership

Health Policy and ManagementPublic Health Biology

Social and Behavioral SciencesProfessionalism

Programs Planning

Systems Thinking

Registration is now open for the 2014-2015 exams

Computer Based Exams will be offered on:October 4-25, 2014February 9-28, 2015June 1-30, 2015October 1-31, 2015

Candidates can register at:https://www.nbphe.org/registrationcenter.cfm

When are the exam dates?

Testing sites in Tennessee for Computer-Based tests are held at H&R Block Offices in the following cities:

Chattanooga: 2200 Hamilton Place BoulevardJohnson City: 3302 West Market StreetKnoxville: 308 North Peters RoadMemphis: 3566 Summer AvenueNashville: 2941 Nolensville Pike

Where will I take the exam?

The exam fee is $385.00 It is not refundable; however, it is deferrable

As of November 2009, the NBPHE is approved to offer the CPH exam through the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Veterans and their eligible dependents may qualify for reimbursement of the CPH exam costs through their veteran’s education benefits

How much does it cost to take the CPH exam?

CPH Exam: Quick Reference Review by Larry Holmes, Jr.

The cost is around $60.00 (new and used) for paperback or Kindle Edition

There are also practice questions, webinars, and a full length practice exam available on the NBPHE website: www.nbphe.org

How do I prepare for the exam?

The exam consists of 200 questions and is timed (4 hours)

Some questions are: matching items, part of a series of questions relating to a common narrative, or have associated charts

Blank answers are automatically marked as ‘incorrect’ so it is better to guess if you are unsure of the answer

What will the exam questions be like?

Sample Exam Questions

BiostatisticsA pilot study is conducted to examine whether a new drug effectively decreases cholesterol levels over a six-week period. Twelve participants are enrolled, and serum cholesterol levels are measured before and after the six-week treatment period. Investigators plan to use a paired t-test to examine whether the drug was effective in reducing cholesterol levels.

The paired t-test is more appropriate for analysis of the results than a two-sample t-test for which of the following reasons?

A. Dependence between the pre-test and post-test measurementsB. Elimination of noise due to confoundersC. Heterogeneous variances of the two groupsD. Non-randomness of the timing of the measurementsE. Potential non-normality of the responses

Environmental Health

Which of the following is a priority air pollutant regulated by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)?

A. AsbestosB. Carbon DioxideC. MethaneD. Ozone

Obesity interventions often utilize community trials to increase physical activity. These trials are usually part of a “Healthy Heart” program and incorporate social and environmental measures, including public service announcements about physical activity and total well-being. This approach in terms of a health behavior model is best described as the:

A. Transtheoretical ModelB. Health Belief ModelC. Social Support ModelD. Ecologic ModelE. Information, Motivation, and Skill Building Model

Behavioral Sciences/Health Education

What percentage of all spending on health in the United States is devoted to public health funding?

A. 3%B. 11%C. 28%D. 52%

Health Administration/Policy

EpidemiologyIn a case-control study of osteoporosis, investigators examined 100 women as cases and an equal number of women as controls and found low-calcium intake in 40 of the cases and 20 of the controls.

What is the odds ratio in the association between low-calcium intake and developing osteoporosis in this population?

A. 1.53B. 15.3C. 2.66D. 26.6E. Cannot be determined from the information provided

Everyone PASSED!

How is the exam scored?

The CPH exam is scored overall as pass/fail

Candidates who pass the exam are notified that they passed

Candidates who fail the exam receive a score report that includes:

Total score for the entire exam;Separate scores for each of the 5 core competencies;Separate score for all cross-cutting competencies combined

How is the exam scored?To determine the minimum passing standard for each new test, experts examine each item for:

Performance (i.e. was the answer chosen as expected or was the item clearly confusing)

Difficulty (again, based on the performance and based on expert opinion)

Usefulness in contributing to the overall score (i.e. if 100% of examinees answered it correctly it is not an informative item)

What are the passing rates?The first CPH exam was offered across the world in August 2008

To date, more than 3,500 individuals have passed the CPH exam

The passing rates for CPH exams to date are:84% in 200874% in 200988% in 201086% in 201184% in February 2012; 82% in October 201285% in February 2013; 76% in October 201379% in February 2014

What is the hardest subject area?

Performance by Domain

Biostat Avg. 78%

EOH Avg. 74%

HPM Avg. 70%

BSS Avg. 75%Cross Avg. 77%

When will I know my results?

Exam results will be available 45 business days after the last day of the testing window

Results are sent by U.S. Postal Service

Certificate in Public Health

NBPHE will verify every candidate's eligibility with their academic institution

When you pass the exam and all requirements have been verified, you will be Certificate in Public Health, and can add the initials CPH to your name and degree

Must earn 50 recertification credits (hours) every two years

All credits must be earned in the current recertification period; no roll over of recertification credits will be accepted

All credits are entered into the recertification portal on the NBPHE website

There is a renewal application fee of $95.00 for each recertification cycle

Recertification

CPH Closing Thoughts“Public health is critically important in the protection and promotion of health and the prevention of disease. The CPH provides evidence that we as public health professionals have attained a nationally recognized level of expertise to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy. I believe that everyone eligible who is in the field should take the exam.”

Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, CPHDirector, Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness

Questions?

For additional information, please visit: www.nbphe.org

Lindsey.Sizemore@tn.gov