Family Health Discipline

The Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM) first offered the Master of Public Health (MPH) programme in 1973. Although family health courses were not offered as structured courses in the early years of MPH, the lectures dealing with Maternal and Child Health plus community nutrition were the crux of the MPH programme.

In the 1990s, the programme started to offer a core Family Health curriculum, and this became the foundation for the courses that were created for the Master of Public Health 4-Year Programme, introduced in 1997.

In 2000, this 4-year programme offered more formalised and structured Family Health courses and students were able to graduate with a Family Health subspecialty at the end of the four years. The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree programme replaced the MPH 4-Year programme in 2008. It is the highest professional degree for individuals focusing on Public Health practice. The discipline contributes to this programme through advanced family health courses and research. Apart from postgraduate programmes, our Family Health members also contribute to Population Medicine lectures and Community Posting for University of Malaya Medical Programme students.

Leaders of Family Health

1999 – 2005

Professor Dr Hematram Yadav

2005 – 2010

Associate Professor Dr Nabilla Al-Sadat Abdul Mohsein 

2013 – 2015

Associate Professor Dr Wong Yut Lin 

2015 – 2016

Associate Prof. Dr Nabilla Al Saddat Abdul Mohsein

2009 – 2020

Dr Maslinor Ismail

2020 – Present

Associate Professor Dr Nik Daliana Nik Farid, 2020-present

Moving Forward

The people from the Family Health discipline under the leadership of Associate Professor Nik Daliana Nik Farid started the Family Health Discipline websites which highlight the aspiration and development of the discipline.