MPH in Population and Health Sciences Courses

BIOSTAT449: Topics In Biostatistics

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 0 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s):
  • Prerequisites: Statistics 401 or permission of instructor
  • Description: This course will make use of case studies to discuss problems and applications of biostatistics. Topics will include cohort and case control studies, survival analysis with applications in clinical trials, evaluation of diagnostic tests, and statistical genetics. The course will conclude with a survey of areas of current biostatistical research.
  • This course is cross-listed with Statistics 449 in the Literature, Science and the Arts department.

BIOSTAT501: Introduction to Biostatistics

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Myra Kim (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: SPH MPH or permission of instructor
  • Description: Statistical methods and principles necessary for understanding and interpreting data used in public health and policy evaluation and formation. Topics include descriptive statistics, graphical data summary, sampling, statistical comparison of groups, correlation, and regression. Students will learn via lecture, group discussions, critical reading of published research, and analysis of data.
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum
  • Residential Syllabus for BIOSTAT501
KimMyra
Myra Kim
Concentration Competencies that BIOSTAT501 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Compare population health indicators across subpopulations, time, and data sources PUBHLTH515, BIOSTAT592, EPID590, EPID592, EPID643, BIOSTAT595, BIOSTAT501
Population and Health Sciences MPH Estimate population health indicators from high quality data resources from diverse sources PUBHLTH515, EPID643, NUTR590, BIOSTAT592, BIOSTAT501

BIOSTAT591: Introduction to R

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Philip Boonstra (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This is a two-credit hour course preparing students enrolled in the online MPH and MS programs -- Biostatistics concentration to be 'data-ready' using the R statistical environment.
  • Learning Objectives: Understanding the need to plot data Matching graphical techniques and data type Creating your set of 'go-to' graphical tools Understand the limitations of 'point and click' Incorporating the tidyverse into R Turning your "data" into data Learning R's capabilities Asking the right questions in R Writing reproducible R code Writing shareable R code CEPH learning objectives 1. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context 2. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate 3. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice
BoonstraPhilip
Philip Boonstra

BIOSTAT592: Applied Regression

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Kelley Kidwell (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: BIOSTAT 501, BIOSTAT 591
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This course is designed to introduce linear regression using multiple variables to predict a continuous outcome. This course emphasizes the application of multiple linear regression to substantive public health problems focusing on interpretation and inference. We use RStudio to analyze public health datasets, evaluate regression assumptions, and assess model fit.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge 2. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice
KidwellKelley
Kelley Kidwell
Concentration Competencies that BIOSTAT592 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Compare population health indicators across subpopulations, time, and data sources PUBHLTH515, BIOSTAT592, EPID590, EPID592, EPID643, BIOSTAT595, BIOSTAT501
Population and Health Sciences MPH Estimate population health indicators from high quality data resources from diverse sources PUBHLTH515, EPID643, NUTR590, BIOSTAT592, BIOSTAT501

BIOSTAT593: Design for Health Studies

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Roderick Little (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: Biostat 501 and Pubhlth 512
  • Description: Many courses in Biostatistics focus on how to analyze data, with little attention being paid to where the data came from and how it was collected. This course focuses on the design of health investigations, with particular attention to the role of randomization in the selection of units and the allocation of treatments. The first part will focus on probability sampling designs and alternatives for the selection of units from a population. The second part concerns study designs for comparing treatments or assessing potential risk factors for health outcomes. These designs include randomized clinical trials, prospective and retrospective observational studies, and clinical data bases. Key concepts include accuracy and precision of estimates, the definition of causal effects, internal validity and the role of measured and unmeasured confounders, and external validity and the role of effect modification on the generalizability of study findings. Examples of randomized and nonrandomized studies will be included to illustrate concepts. Students will be assigned readings and asked to assess design strengths and weaknesses. Quizzes will be assigned to assess knowledge of the key concepts.
  • Learning Objectives: (a) Learn key features of probability sample designs -- random sampling, stratification, clustering, multistage sampling. Understand potential limitations of purposive sampling designs, and techniques to reduce the potential bias from such designs (b) Review the main study designs for the comparison of treatments and potential risk factors for a health outcome, including randomized clinical trials, prospective and retrospective longitudinal studies, case-control studies, analyses of clinical data bases. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of these alternative designs. (c) Understand how the interpretation of statistical inferences is affected by the choice of study designs.
LittleRoderick
Roderick Little

BIOSTAT594: Applied Generalized Linear Models

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Trivellore Raghunathan (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: BIOSTAT501, BIOSTAT591, BIOSTAT592
  • Description: This course introduces public health Master's students to generalized linear models to analyze binary, discrete, ordinal, count, survival outcomes.The primary emphasis will be interpretation, inference and hands-on data analyses. We will use R to analyze public health datasets, evaluate regression assumptions, and assess model fit.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the context where non-continuous outcome data are generated, identify the most relevant aspects of these data that require modeling and formulate a scientific question in terms of one or a few model parameters 2. To develop the ability to use R to analyze public health data using GLM 3. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice
  • This course is cross-listed with .
RaghunathanTrivellore
Trivellore Raghunathan

BIOSTAT595: Applied Longitudinal Analysis Using R

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Matt Zawistowski (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: Biostat 501, Biostat 591, Biostat 592
  • Description: This course provides an overview of statistical methods for analyzing correlated data produced by longitudinal measurements taken over time. Topics include study design, exploratory data analysis techniques and linear mixed effects regression models. This course provides practical concepts and hands-on R computing skills to perform longitudinal data analysis.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Identify causes and patterns of correlated outcomes in health data 2. Perform exploratory data analysis of longitudinal outcomes 3. Fit linear mixed effects regression models 4. Interpret and perform hypothesis testing of regression parameters for mixed models
ZawistowskiMatt
Matt Zawistowski
Concentration Competencies that BIOSTAT595 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Compare population health indicators across subpopulations, time, and data sources PUBHLTH515, BIOSTAT592, EPID590, EPID592, EPID643, BIOSTAT595, BIOSTAT501

EHS570: Water Quality Management

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Chuanwu Xi (Residential); Chuanwu Xi (Online MPH);
  • Last offered Fall 2023
  • Not offered 2024-2025
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Description: Principles of science and engineering used in the evaluation and control of water quality. Includes current legislation, types of pollution, sources and nature of pollution, introduction to water quality management practices, water supply and treatment, hydrologic concepts, effects of waste discharge on receiving waters, lake management, and water quality criteria and standards.
  • Residential Syllabus for EHS570
XiChuanwu
Chuanwu Xi
Concentration Competencies that EHS570 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
EHS Environmental Quality, Sustainability, and Health MPH Evaluate environmental quality and health, including environmental standards on air and water quality, and their effects on individual, community and global health EHS582, EHS570

EHS591: Environmental Toxicology In Communities

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Charles, Simone Charles, (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: Successful completion of PUBHLTH 514 is preferred
  • Description: Toxicology deals with the health effects that can result from environmental hazard exposures. In some communities, these exposures are compounded by historical inequities. Understanding the mechanisms by which these individual and cumulative exposures influence health outcomes is important to inform policy that promotes health and reduces health disparities.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Articulate basic concepts and terminology pertinent to environmental toxicology and the body’s response to toxicant exposures 2. Describe the various sources of toxicants to humans with an emphasis of sources in historically marginalized communities 3. Determine the influence of environmental factors, including environmental racism, on toxicological outcomes 4. Discuss cumulative risks and modifying factors that influence the toxicological response of the body, considering historical compounded environmental exposures 5. Discuss the regulatory framework and policies needed to address historical environmental racism-associated exposures to toxicants in communities
CharlesSimone
Simone Charles

EHS592: Infectious Disease And Emergency Response In Communities

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Charles (Residential);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This course will provide students an understanding of infectious disease outbreaks and control, the current infrastructure in the US to address infectious diseases and deploy emergency response, the role public health practitioners have in emergency response, and how gaps in infectious disease and emergency response in communities can be addressed.
  • Learning Objectives: By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Describe the source of infectious diseases. 2. Characterize modes of disease transmission. 3. Identify key factors impacting the emergence of infectious disease outbreaks, including the role played by the environment. 4. Describe the role of emergency response in infectious disease mitigation and management, as well as public health infrastructure. 5. Understand the United States' infrastructure to respond to infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics. 6. Describe the United States' capabilities and capacity to address infectious disease outbreaks and deploy emergency response. 7. Compare the United States' capabilities and capacity to address infectious disease outbreaks relative to other developed nations. 8. Explain the impact of environmental and social injustices, including racism, on the emergence and outcomes of infectious disease outbreaks and emergency response. 9. Explain how structural racism has undermined environmental health at community, organizational, and societal levels. 10. Report on how structural racism has undermined occupational health at community, organizational, and societal levels. 11. Examine strategies that can be applied to enhance emergency response to infectious disease outbreaks, including strategies that promote environmental justice in communities. 12. Determine the role of public health practitioners to address and dismantle structural racism in infectious disease emergency response.
CharlesSimone
Simone Charles

EHS593: Risk Assessment For Decision-making

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Charles (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: Successful completion of PUBHLTH 514 is preferred
  • Description: Risk assessment estimates the risks of environmental factors to human health and integrates knowledge from various disciplines. Understanding the nature and extent of environmental hazard exposures, combined with other scientific evidence including uncertainties, would allow public health practitioners to create and support responsible risk management and policy decisions.
  • Learning Objectives: a. Define risk assessment and explain the key concepts and principles in risk assessment.. b. Evaluate exposure assessment and how acceptable levels of exposure are determined across communities, with specific emphasis on environmental justice communities. c. Characterize and assess environmental risks in various communities accounting for variables, sensitivities, and uncertainties. d. Discuss the use of risk assessment for risk management decision-making for promoting health of communities (specifically disparate communities).
CharlesSimone
Simone Charles

EHS594: Global Environment and Health

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Stuart Batterman (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: PUBHLTH 514
  • Description: Minimize environmental risks, and promote health and sustainability. This course introduces the sources, transport and fate processes, and risks associated with pollutants in air, water and soil, describes sampling and assessment techniques, and presents mechanisms for management, including legal and regulatory approaches, markets and partnerships, and technological innovations.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Describe characteristics of pollutants and pollutant sources in all environmental media, including ambient air, indoor air, surface water, groundwater and soil, that are essential to understanding the potential for pollutant exposure and toxicity. 2. Obtain and analyze relevant data pertinent to environmental pollutant transport and fate, cross-media transfer, bioaccumulation, multimedia exposure pathways, and human exposure. 3. Describe and utilize concepts, terminology and models for mass balance approaches used in environmental modeling and assessments. 4. Specify monitoring needs, sampling approaches, and data quality objectives needed to characterize contaminants in air, water and soil 5. Obtain, describe and use standards and guidelines that pertain to exposure and risk-based limits for pollutants in air, water and soil. 6. Describe the rationale and assess the feasibility, applicability and performance of alternative management approaches to controlling environmental pollutants and promoting environmental health. 7. Utilize and interpret results of selected models that describe pollutant sources, transport and fate processes, and human exposure and risk, including the use of spreadsheet tools for modeling and data management.
BattermanStuart
Stuart Batterman

EHS596: Climate, Justice, Health & Sustainability

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Charles, Marie O'Neill, (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: PUBHLTH 514
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: Effective climate action that simultaneously acts to reduce inequalities must focus on climate justice if climate action is to result in resilient communities. We will focus on the science of climate change and health impacts through the lens of climate justice and environmental justice (EJ) for disproportionately impacted communities.
  • Learning Objectives: Learning objectives for this course are: a. Explain key features of the phenomenon of climate change (and the associated climate justice) including major drivers, time course, uncertainties, impact and distribution of associated risks b. Describe the major health-relevant exposures, specific to disparate communities, that are sensitive to climate change c. Describe the major anticipated health effects associated with exposures to disparate communities affected by climate change d. Discuss the health impacts of climate change specific to vulnerable populations e. Explain important tools used for assessing vulnerability of disparate communities to climate change impacts f. Discuss prevention, adaptation, and mitigation actions, with considerations of climate justice, to prevent and control anticipated exposures due to climate change g. Evaluate policy options for climate change resilience, mitigation and adaptation at the global, national, institutional and individual scales h. Discuss public health responses to anticipated climate change-related health outcomes in disparate communities
CharlesSimone
Simone Charles
O'NeillMarie
Marie O'Neill

EHS597: Environmental Health and Policy

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Tim Dvonch (Residential); Tim Dvonch (Online MPH);
  • Offered Every winter semester
  • Last offered Winter 2024
  • Not offered 2024-2025
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
  • Description: This course will provide the knowledge and skills necessary to assess policies and their impact on environmental health and sustainability issues, and understand the role that governmental and organizational bodies play in the development, implementation, and oversight of these policies.
  • Learning Objectives: The students taking this class are expected to be able to: 1) Analyze environmental health policies, considering stakeholder engagement and the role of state, federal, and international agencies; 2) Understand the role of bodies and agencies in environmental health policies at local, state, federal, and international levels; 3) Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity; 4) Recognize the challenges to successful development and implementation of environmental health policies.
DvonchTim
Tim Dvonch

EHS672: Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products- Life Cycle Assessment

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Charles (Residential);
  • Offered Every winter semester (next offering: Winter 2025)
  • Last offered Winter 2024
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This course describes how consumption, products and foods affect impacts on health and environment. After addressing the major health determinants, we assess diets nutritional and sustainable performances. We use LCA to analyze the environmental impact of products, with focus on chemicals in consumer products, discussing the path towards sustainable consumption.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. To identify the key factors impacting health and the environment, including the roles played by products. 2. To assess and compare the nutritional and sustainable performances of foods, accounting for both the consumer health and the environment. 3. To provide tools and practice opportunities for Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess the environmental impact of products and systems over the whole product life cycle 4. To set the fundamentals for comparative risks of chemicals in consumer products. 5. To adequately relate risk and impacts on human health to consumption and production, from single products to sustainable consumption.
  • Residential Syllabus for EHS672
CharlesSimone
Simone Charles

EPID590: Epidemiological Methods

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Sara Adar (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: BIOSTAT 501, PUBHLTH 512
  • Description: In this course, we will teach how epidemiologists study the frequency, patterns, and determinants of health in different populations. Students can expect to learn: The terminology, principles, and methods of population-based epidemiologic research; How to critically appraise epidemiological research. The course will be divided into the following three sections: Section 1 will serve as an introduction as to the way in which epidemiologists measure and describe trends in morbidity and mortality as well as the risk factors for these endpoints. In this section we ask: What are the trends? Do they differ by time or place? Where do we get the data to study these trends and how do we know if our information is any good? In Section 2, students will learn how epidemiologists conduct studies to try to understand causality. Here we address the following questions: What is causality? How do we design studies to determine if something increases or reduces the risk of morbidity or mortality? What are the measures that we use to characterize associations and how certain we are in those estimates? Section 3 teaches students to identify situations in which the data that we collect in epidemiological studies can mislead us and lead us to reach the wrong conclusions. Students will learn different types of problems that can bias our conclusions and will develop instincts as to the directionality and magnitude of these biases.
  • Learning Objectives: Calculate and interpret measures of event frequency to describe population patterns of health-related risk factors and health-related outcomes in terms of person, place, and time. Identify an unusual occurrence of disease or illness (e.g., an outbreak or disease cluster); Recognize the characteristics that help to define causality; Describe the characteristics of different study designs; Choose an appropriate study design for a research question; Calculate and interpret measures of association between risk factors and outcomes; Compare the strengths and weaknesses of different study designs to assess causality; Identify sources of bias that can influence epidemiological findings; Predict directionality of known biases; Understand basic tools of causal inference in epidemiology; Critically appraise and analyze the weight of evidence for causal associations.
Levin-SparenbergElizabeth
Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg
AdarSara
Sara Adar
Concentration Competencies that EPID590 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Compare population health indicators across subpopulations, time, and data sources PUBHLTH515, BIOSTAT592, EPID590, EPID592, EPID643, BIOSTAT595, BIOSTAT501

EPID591: Social Epidemiology: From Frameworks to Policy

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Tyler James (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Description: Why are some groups healthier than others, and how do these differences emerge and persist over the life course? How do social policies (e.g., housing, transportation, employment) relate to health and health inequalities? Why are there health disparities even in countries that have free universal health care? This course will address conceptual models for understanding health disparities in the US and internationally, how population science identifies the main sources of these disparities, and how public health can inform policy efforts to address these disparities.
  • Learning Objectives: See competencies below.
Concentration Competencies that EPID591 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Recommend evidence-based interventions that engage broad and diverse community stakeholders for population health improvement PUBHLTH515, EPID591, NUTR597, PUBHLTH511

EPID592: Introduction to Spatial Epidemiology and GIS for Public Health

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 4 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Peter Larson, Jonathan Zelner, (Online MPH);
  • Offered Every Fall
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: In this class, students will be exposed to the conceptual foundations of spatial analysis in public health and will develop familiarity with spatial data manipulation and visualization using GIS software.’
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Develop familiarity with the historical and conceptual foundations of modern spatial epidemiology. 2. Learn about the different types of spatial data used in epidemiology and public health. 3. Obtain, load, and visualize spatial datasets using ArcGIS Online.
LarsonPeter
Peter Larson
ZelnerJonathan
Jonathan Zelner
Concentration Competencies that EPID592 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Compare population health indicators across subpopulations, time, and data sources PUBHLTH515, BIOSTAT592, EPID590, EPID592, EPID643, BIOSTAT595, BIOSTAT501

EPID594: Key Concepts in Spatial Analysis

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Peter Larson, Jonathan Zelner, (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: EPID592
  • Description: In this course, students will gain familiarity with the key issues and statistical and theoretical tools for asking and answering epidemiological questions using spatial data.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Identify challenges to causal inference using spatial data. 2. Evaluate and employ appropriate analytic methods for diverse public health questions. 3. Fit basic regression models to spatial data and evaluate model fit.
LarsonPeter
Peter Larson
ZelnerJonathan
Jonathan Zelner

EPID595: Applied Spatial Modeling

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s):
  • Prerequisites: EPID 592 and EPID 594
  • Description: The large availability of geographically indexed health data, along with advances in computing, have enabled the development of statistical methods for the analysis of spatial epidemiological data. This course will introduce students to the most commonly used statistical models used to understand spatial variation in disease risk.
  • Learning Objectives: By the end of the course students will be able to: (i) Recognize different types of spatial data. (ii) Formulate research questions and determine the appropriate spatial statistical model to analyze the data. (iii) Understand the concept of spatial correlation and how to estimate it in point-level spatial data. (iv) Include spatial random effect in generalized linear models for the analysis of spatial data. (v) Interpret the results of a spatial generalized linear model. (vi) Perform spatial interpolation of point-referenced data over space to predict missing data at unsampled locations. (vii) Smooth disease rates and disease counts over space using multilevel hierarchical models. (viii) Understand the definition of a (disease) cluster. (ix) Obtain a kernel density estimate of the intensity function representing the likelihood of observing a disease case at a given location. (x) Identify clusters of disease cases via appropriate statistical methods. (xi) Formulate statistical models to characterize spatial variation in the distribution of disease cases.
LarsonPeter
Peter Larson

EPID602: Epidemiologic Data Analysis

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 0 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s):
  • Offered Every Year
  • Prerequisites: Epid 600, and EPID 639, or permission of the instructor.
  • Description: A practicum in epidemiologic data analysis designed to integrate and apply concepts learned in previous biostatistics and epidemiologic methods courses. Students learn practical skills to analyze and interpret epidemiologic data with continuous and dichotomous outcome variables through lectures and hands-on exercises.
  • Residential Syllabus for EPID602
Levin-SparenbergElizabeth
Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg
Concentration Competencies that EPID602 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
EPID General Epidemiology MPH Describe population patterns of health-related risk factors and health-related outcomes in terms of person, place, and time EPID600, EPID602
EPID General Epidemiology MPH Compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of common epidemiologic study designs (e.g., cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, randomized experiments) EPID600, EPID602
EPID General Epidemiology MPH Interpret the impact of bias, confounding, and effect modification on causal inference in epidemiologic research EPID600, EPID602
EPID Clinical Research-Epidemiology MS Analyze research data and interpret these results from a population health or clinical-translational perspective EPID602, BIOSTAT522

EPID674: Epidemiologic Data Analysis Using R

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Michael Hayashi (Online MPH);
  • Offered Every Year
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: (EPID 640, PH 512) or (EPID 600, BIOSTAT 521 or 501)
  • Description: This course introduces the R statistical programming language for epidemiologic data analysis. Content focuses on organizing, managing, and manipulating data; basic graphics in R; and descriptive methods and regression models widely used in epidemiology. The 2-credit option includes statistical modeling in R. The 3-credit option adds programming in R.
  • Residential Syllabus for EPID674
HeadJennifer
Jennifer Head
HayashiMichael
Michael Hayashi

EPID719: Bioinformatics Analysis Of Epigenomics Data

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Edward Ruiz-Narvaez (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: Basic Epi Basic Biostats
  • Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
  • Description: This course is to provide students with bioinformatics tools to analyze and interpret epigenomics data in the setting of epidemiological studies. Topics to be included: epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), differentially methylated region (DMR) analysis, and estimation of different epigenetic clocks. Data management and analyses will be carried out in R.
Ruiz-NarvaezEdward
Edward Ruiz-Narvaez

HBHEQ530: Techniques of Survey Research

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for residential students; term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 0 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Scott Roberts (Residential);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: Students should have completed at least one Biostatistics/Statistics course or will need permission of instructor
  • Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
  • Description: Techniques of survey research are introduced including survey design, modes of data collection, sampling, questionnaire construction, maintaining data quality, pretesting techniques, and ethical considerations of survey research. This course focuses on innovative data collection methods, skill-building interactive workshops and real world experiences from survey researchers in the field.
RobertsScott
Scott Roberts

HBHEQ590: Principles of Community Engagement for Health Promotion

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Paul Fleming (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This course will help students better prepare for engaging community members and community-based organizations for public health work. The course has three major focus areas: (1) Consideration of power, privilege, and social identities in community engagement, (2) Strategies for engaging stakeholders and building coalitions, (3) CBPR principles and other models of community engagement.
  • Learning Objectives: By the end of the course, students are expected to: (1) Demonstrate critical self-reflection of how social identities, power, unearned advantage/disadvantage, and privilege impact community engagement work (2) Describe the ethical considerations for community engagement (autonomy vs. paternalism) (3) Apply the 9 principles of Community-based Participatory Research and its Core Components/Phases and how this fits with ethical considerations (4) Identify different types of stakeholder groups for a given health issue and motivations/perspectives of each (5) Strategize how to build a coalition for a specific health issue in a specific health setting (6) Demonstrate understanding of interpersonal skills required for effective community engagement
FlemingPaul
Paul Fleming
Concentration Competencies that HBHEQ590 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Design multisector collaborations that will support all phases of population health improvement (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation) PUBHLTH515, HBHEQ590, HBHEQ591, PUBHLTH511

HBHEQ591: Planning and Implementing Health Promotion Programs

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Spring-Summer term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): William Lopez (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: none
  • Advisory Prerequisites: none
  • Description: This course examines focuses on planning and implementing health promotion programs broadly defined, including health communication, health education, policy advocacy, environmental change, health service provision, and community mobilization. By the end of the course, students will understand and apply key concepts related to developing a health promotion program.
  • Learning Objectives: Course Goals: By the end of this course, students should be able to: Describe approaches to health promotion programs; Identify a health issue and priority population; Consider historical and structural factors that may impact the priority population and/or the health promotion program; Critically assess the relevant literature; Develop a vision, SMART goals, and program objectives that address the health issue; Create program activities and evaluation plans that link to goals and objectives; Construct a program implementation timeline (i.e. Gantt Chart) and work plan; Calculate a budget and justify budgetary expenses; and Consider the needed membership for a multisector collaboration. By successfully completing this course, students will acquire the Following Foundational competencies: HBHE Concentration Competencies: Specify approaches for planning, implementing, and managing sociobehavioral health education-focused programs and/or policies to promote human health. Foundational Competencies: Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention. Program Competencies: Design multisector collaborations that will support all phases of population health improvement (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation). This course substantially covers material related to the following competencies: HBHE Concentration Competencies: Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health. By the end of this course, students will have been exposed to the following Foundational Learning Objectives:
LopezWilliam
William Lopez
Concentration Competencies that HBHEQ591 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Design multisector collaborations that will support all phases of population health improvement (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation) PUBHLTH515, HBHEQ590, HBHEQ591, PUBHLTH511

HBHEQ592: Health Program Evaluation

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s):
  • Prerequisites: Population and Health Sciences MPH
  • Advisory Prerequisites: .
  • Description: The goal of this course is to teach students how to design evaluations and become critical consumers of evaluation reports. This course covers the theoretical concepts and methodologies of evaluation including process and impact evaluation, evaluation designs and threats to validity, measurement, and basic quantitative and qualitative data analysis basics.
  • Learning Objectives: Course Goals/Foundational Competencies (FC) -Select methods to evaluate public health programs (CEPH #11). -Apply research and evaluation methods to understand the effect of health education and health behavior interventions (HBHE #3). Learning Objectives Specifically, you will be able to: 1. Articulate the role of systematic evaluation in public health. 2. Describe the types of evaluations, their purpose and the typical strategies of each. 3. Create logic models of programs and use them to formulate evaluation questions. 4. Understand and address validity and reliability in evaluation designs and measurement. 5. Gain familiarity with common methods of collecting high quality evaluation data. 6. Critically review evaluation reports. 7. Design and communicate an evaluation plan that is suitable for a specific program.

HBHEQ593: Theoretical Foundations for Understanding Psychosocial Determinants of Health

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s):
  • Prerequisites: None, but is only available to online MPH students
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: HBEHED 593 is a 2-credit course designed to provide an overview of the psychosocial determinants that affect the health of individuals, communities, and populations. This course addresses these determinants within theories, models, and frameworks of health behavior and explores the practical application of theory to public health practice.
  • Learning Objectives: Course Competencies This course substantially covers material related to the following HBHE Concentration Competencies: -Describe how to use social-ecological and life course frameworks to address key determinants of health and health disparities through programs and policies -Apply relevant social and behavioral science theories, concepts and models that are designed to understand and modify health behavior Course Learning Objectives By successfully completing this course, students will be able to: -Distinguish between a theory, model, and framework -Explain behavioral and psychological factors that affect a population’s health through the use of relevant social and behavioral science theories, models, and frameworks -Describe the role of social and behavioral science theories, models, and frameworks in identifying appropriate points of intervention -Evaluate the strengths and limitations of different social and behavioral science theories, models, and frameworks -Apply social and behavioral science theories, models, and frameworks to understand a public health issue and to identify appropriate intervention approaches.

HBHEQ597: Clear Health Communication

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Brian Zikmund-Fisher (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This course covers a variety of techniques and skills that lead to clear health communications, including ways of making health data more understandable and health messages more memorable. Participants practice these skills through a series of exercises and through creation of health communication products.
  • Learning Objectives: 1) Define clear, audience-appropriate goals for a health communication 2) Identify and use features of messages to increase message memorability (i.e., stickiness) 3) Identify and provide contextual information to make health data (e.g., test results, risk statistics) more intuitively understandable and usable by different audiences 4) Evaluate to what degree health messages follow best practices such as using plain language 5) Apply principles of user-centered design and usability testing to develop and refine health messages using audience input.
Zikmund-FisherBrian
Brian Zikmund-Fisher

HBHEQ620: Behavioral Research Methods in Public Health

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Staff (Residential); Marc Zimmerman (Online MPH);
  • Offered every year
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Description: Principles of design of behavioral research on public health problems and programs. Objectives, philosophy, and methods of science including causal inference, the role of hypotheses, criteria for establishing adequate hypotheses, research designs and data collection techniques. Formulation of a research problem within a program setting.
ZimmermanMarc
Marc Zimmerman

HMP603: Organization and Management of Healthcare Systems

  • Graduate level
  • Executive Masters, Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall, Winter term(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2-3 credit hour(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Christine Stead, Michael Rubyan, (Residential/Executive Masters); Michael Rubyan (Online MPH);
  • Offered every year
  • Prerequisites: HMP Masters Standing or Perm Instr
  • Description: Focuses on servant and transformational leadership from the perspective of buyers, insurers, policy makers and leaders of nonprofit health organizations to understand how to deliver high quality, cost effective health care and reach and implement decisions about future activities and the best managerial practices for non-profit advocacy and community-based organizations.
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP603
SteadChristine
Christine Stead
RubyanMichael
Michael Rubyan
Concentration Competencies that HMP603 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
HMP MPH Develop strategies to continually improve the long-term success and viability of an organization, based on an analysis of the business, demographic, ethno-cultural, political, and regulatory implications of decisions HMP603, HMP604

HMP606: Managerial Accounting for Health Care Administrators

  • Graduate level
  • Executive Masters, Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall, Winter term(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Singh (Residential/Executive Masters); Simone Singh (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: HMP 608 and HMP 660 (residential students only)
  • Description: Concepts and techniques of managerial accounting for generalist health care administrators. Topics covered include full cost measurement, differential cost measurement and analysis, sources of revenue, price setting, budgeting and control, costs and decision-making fund accounting
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP606
SinghSimone
Simone Singh

HMP607: Corporate Finance for Health Care Administrators

  • Graduate level
  • Executive Masters, Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Jeffrey McCullough (Residential/Executive Masters); Jeffrey McCullough (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: HMP606
  • Description: Corporate finance theory and applications to health care organizations. Topics include the capital expenditure decision, the capital financing decision, financial feasibility, financial planning, cash management, and financial aspects of prepayment programs. The course makes extensive use of case studies.
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP607
McCulloughJeffrey
Jeffrey McCullough

HMP608: Health Care Financial Accounting

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1-2 credit hour(s) for residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Simone Singh, Matthew Comstock, (Residential); Matthew Comstock (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: none
  • Description: This course provides an overview of financial accounting for students interested in health care management and policy. It is designed to serve the needs of both students who have never had a course in financial accounting (for 2 credits) and students who have had an introductory course in financial accounting but without health care applications (for 1 credit).
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP608
SinghSimone
Simone Singh
ComstockMatthew
Matthew Comstock
Concentration Competencies that HMP608 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
HMP MPH Healthcare financial accounting. HMP608

HMP654: Operations Research and Control Systems

  • Graduate level
  • Executive Masters, Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2-3 credit hour(s) for Executive Masters and residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): David Mendez, David Hutton, (Residential/Executive Masters); David Mendez (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: Biostat 501 or Biostat 521 or equiv and Grad Status
  • Description: Provides rational framework for decision making for both operating and control systems in the hospital environment. Emphasizes basic modeling techniques and examples of actual hospital applications. Aims at thorough understanding of concepts of total value analysis, objective function formation, and exception reporting. Students become familiar with operations research techniques of inventory modeling, queuing, computer simulation, PERT/CPM, mathematical programming, and quality control. Presentation emphasizes objectives, constraints, and required assumptions of each of these techniques as applied to specific hospital examples.
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP654
MendezDavid
David Mendez
HuttonDavid
David Hutton

HMP660: Economics Of Health Management And Policy I

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall, Spring-Summer term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2-3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Richard Hirth, Elisa Maffioli, (Residential); Richard Hirth (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: Graduate standing
  • Description: This course covers the principles of microeconomic theory and the fundamental concepts of the field of health economics. Purpose is to give students experience analyzing health management and health policy issues using economic tools.
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP660
HirthRichard
Richard Hirth
MaffioliElisa
Elisa Maffioli
Concentration Competencies that HMP660 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
HMP MPH Describe how basic microeconomic theory explains the influence of incentives on consumer, provider, and payer behaviors, costs, and other outcomes HMP660

HMP669: Data Management And Visualization In Healthcare

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1.5-3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Rahul Ladhania (Residential); Rahul Ladhania (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Advisory Prerequisites: Graduate Standing
  • Description: This course is an introduction to the use of relational databases and data visualization tools for decision-making. It covers: A. design and implementation of, and data retrieval from, small-to-medium relational database systems using Microsoft Access; and B. data manipulation, analysis and visualization using the R programming language.
  • Residential Syllabus for HMP669
LadhaniaRahul
Rahul Ladhania

NUTR593: Food Security, Policy, and Programs

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Suzanne Cole (Residential);
  • Prerequisites: PUBHLTH511
  • Advisory Prerequisites: None
  • Description: This course is a critical exploration of the health issues related to domestic food security, food policy, and food programs, with a focus on maternal and child health. We will examine the array of negative health outcomes associated with food insecurity, discuss potential mechanisms underlying these associations, how food policy is made, the intersection of food policy with public health nutrition, and the influence of federal food assistance programs on diet-related outcomes for children and families.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the terminology and measurement of food insecurity 2. Understand families’ lived experiences of food insecurity 3. Articulate the process for creating federal food policy and national dietary guidelines 4. Participate in the policy process through public comment 5. Identify the primary federal food assistance programs that serve the MCH population and their recent policy changes 6. Critically evaluate research on food security and food policy 7. Develop strong written and verbal communication skills
ColeSuzanne
Suzanne Cole

PUBHLTH508: Social Determinants of Health

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s):
  • Prerequisites: SPH MPH and SPH MHSA Residential Students Only or By Instructor Permission
  • Description: This course is designed to increase students' awareness, knowledge, and understanding of issues related to behavioral, psychological, and structural factors that contribute to understanding population health and health inequities. We will discuss key roles of health professionals in ensuring equitable treatment at multiple levels of influence to enhance population health and reduce health inequities through opportunities to practice skill building using case studies, deliberative dialogues and active listening strategies. This course will have a hybrid style (online & in-class) of instruction.
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum

PUBHLTH510: Communication Fundamentals

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Brian Zikmund-Fisher (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: SPH MPH and SPH MHSA Residential Students Only or By Instructor Permission
  • Description: This course will cover fundamental skills in how to communicate science and health information clearly to both scientific and non-scientific audiences. This course uses a blended format combining in-person sessions and online tasks to maximize students' ability to practice these skills.
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum
LopezWilliam
William Lopez
Zikmund-FisherBrian
Brian Zikmund-Fisher

PUBHLTH511: Nutrition and Public Health

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall, Winter term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Liz Hudson (Residential); Liz Hudson (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: SPH MPH and SPH MHSA Residential Students Only or By Instructor Permission
  • Description: Introduce MPH students to important topics in nutrition and public health, program planning and program evaluation. PUBHLTH511 is an introductory course to nutrition research and will cover topics, such as healthful diet patterns, methods of dietary assessment, nutritional epidemiology, nutrition through the life cycle, and nutritional needs of diverse populations. This course will have a hybrid style (online & in-class) of instruction.
  • Learning Objectives: Students will be able to: 1) apply nutrition indicators for different public health purposes, including: estimating prevalence, monitoring and surveillance, and investigating diet and disease relationships, identifying at-risk individuals and groups, and evaluating programs; 2) apply public health conceptual frameworks and nutrition research evidence to inform public health actions; 3) use evidence-based knowledge to develop nutrition programs and interventions for diverse populations; and 4) develop appropriate designs to rigorously monitor and evaluate nutrition programs and policies in diverse contexts.
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum
HudsonLiz
Liz Hudson
Concentration Competencies that PUBHLTH511 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Design multisector collaborations that will support all phases of population health improvement (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation) PUBHLTH515, HBHEQ590, HBHEQ591, PUBHLTH511
Population and Health Sciences MPH Recommend evidence-based interventions that engage broad and diverse community stakeholders for population health improvement PUBHLTH515, EPID591, NUTR597, PUBHLTH511

PUBHLTH512: Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Fall, Winter term(s) for residential students; Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Alison Mondul, Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg, (Residential); Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez, C. Leigh Pearce, (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: SPH MPH and SPH MHSA Residential Students Only or By Instructor Permission
  • Advisory Prerequisites: BIOSTAT 501 or equivalent course
  • Description: This course provides a foundation to the principles of epidemiology for applications to public health. This introductory epidemiology course is for students who are NOT pursuing an Epidemiology MPH. The course will overview the fundamental concepts of epidemiology including measures of frequency and association, study design, data collection and interpretation. This course will have a hybrid style (online & in-class) of instruction.
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum
  • Residential Syllabus for PUBHLTH512
MondulAlison
Alison Mondul
Levin-SparenbergElizabeth
Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg
Karvonen-GutierrezCarrie
Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez
PearceC.
C. Leigh Pearce
Concentration Competencies that PUBHLTH512 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
EHS Industrial Hygiene MS Analyze, interpret, and apply statistical and epidemiological data PUBHLTH512, EPID601, Thesis

PUBHLTH513: Public Health Systems, Policy and Management

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for residential students; 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Michael Rubyan, Sheela Kennedy, (Residential); Michael Rubyan (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: SPH MPH Students Only
  • Description: This course will introduce students to the public health system, public health policy development, and fundamental management concepts for managing public health organizations. Topics covered include organization, financing and history of public health, public health policy-making, advocacy, and basic principles of finance and human resource management in public health organizations.
  • Learning Objectives: (1) Students should be able to describe how public health and health care are organized and financed in the United States. (2) Students should be able to provide a brief history of public health. (3) Students should be able to explain key aspects of health care reform. (4) Students should be able to describe the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services. (5) Students should be able to describe the importance of financial and human resource management in public health and health care organizations (6) Students should be able to apply negotiation and mediation skills to address interpersonal and interorganizational challenges. (7) Students should be able to discuss the format and use of different types of budgets, prepare simple operating budgets and conduct variance analysis. (8) Students should be able to discuss the public health policy-making process. (9) Students should be able to describe the role of ethics in policy making. (10) Students should be able to advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations. (11) Students should be able to propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes. (12) Students should be able to write and deliver effective testimony.
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum
RubyanMichael
Michael Rubyan
KennedySheela
Sheela Kennedy

PUBHLTH514: Public Health Sciences and the Environment

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a first year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for residential students; 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Richard Neitzel (Residential); Richard Neitzel (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: MPH, MHI, or MHSA Residential Students Only or By Instructor Permission
  • Description: Many public health outcomes are directly influenced by human contact with the environment. This course will explore an important discipline within public health, environmental health sciences- that is, the study of how environmental factors affect human health and disease. We will apply environmental health and systems thinking principles to evaluate several major threats to public health: climate change, the built environment, and environmental justice issues. We will also assess the effectiveness of policies designed to address and reduce the threats presented by these and other issues.
  • Learning Objectives: After completion of the course, students should be able to: --Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge (CEPH LO 6)--Explain effects of environmental factors on a population's health (CEPH LO 7, linked to competency M1, CEPH C15) --Explain how globalization affects global burdens of disease (CEPH LO 11, linked to competency CEPH C22) --Apply process mapping methods to systematically evaluate the generation and movement of environmental hazards on the public (linked to competency CEPH C22) --Explain the impact of pollution control policies on public health outcomes (linked to competency CEPH C15) --Explain how environmental and occupational exposures can be measured and connected to human health (linked to competency M1) --Explain why a focus on sensitive and vulnerable groups is critical in environmental health science (linked to competency CEPH C15) --Explain strategies that can be applied to reduce environmental and occupational hazards
  • This course is required for the school-wide core curriculum
NeitzelRichard
Richard Neitzel

PUBHLTH515: Population Health

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 3 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Sharon Kardia (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: Biostat501 or higher, PubHlth 512 or higher
  • Advisory Prerequisites: Pubhlth511
  • Description: This course is intended to serve as an introduction to population health from both the vantage point of both public health and healthcare. We will examine the key components of community health needs assessments, how they are used, and how to compare population health assessments across subpopulations and time. We will also explore the epidemiological sources and criteria by which to select high quality data sources to estimate population health indicators and to select evidence-based interventions to improve population health. Finally, we will design of multisector collaborations that support the phases of population health improvement. As a survey of the population health, the course provides an overview for students wishing no more than an introduction to the field, as well as good grounding for students who wish to pursue additional coursework in population health.
  • Learning Objectives: 1. Explain differences between population health assessments for public health and healthcare. 2. Understand the key components of community health needs assessments (CHNA). 3. Analyze how public health and healthcare will use a CHNA to improve population health. 4. Estimate key population health indicators for social determinants of health, chronic disease outcomes, and opioid abuse. 5. Categorize data sources by epidemiologic criteria. 6. Analyze differences between subpopulations and across time trends. 7. Design multisector collaborations that support population health improvement. 8. Outline a plan for population health improvement. 9. Recommend evidence-based interventions based on epidemiologic criteria and community suitability.
KardiaSharon
Sharon Kardia
Concentration Competencies that PUBHLTH515 Allows Assessment On
Department Program Degree Competency Specific course(s) that allow assessment
Population and Health Sciences MPH Analyze the focus and function of population health assessments between public health and health care systems across local, state, and national settings PUBHLTH515
Population and Health Sciences MPH Compare population health indicators across subpopulations, time, and data sources PUBHLTH515, BIOSTAT592, EPID590, EPID592, EPID643, BIOSTAT595, BIOSTAT501
Population and Health Sciences MPH Estimate population health indicators from high quality data resources from diverse sources PUBHLTH515, EPID643, NUTR590, BIOSTAT592, BIOSTAT501
Population and Health Sciences MPH Design multisector collaborations that will support all phases of population health improvement (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation) PUBHLTH515, HBHEQ590, HBHEQ591, PUBHLTH511
Population and Health Sciences MPH Recommend evidence-based interventions that engage broad and diverse community stakeholders for population health improvement PUBHLTH515, EPID591, NUTR597, PUBHLTH511

PUBHLTH516: Leadership Skills For Interprofessional Practice

  • Graduate level
  • Both Residential and Online MPH
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for residential students; Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 1 credit hour(s) for residential students; 1 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Laura Power (Residential);
  • Not offered 2024-2025
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Undergraduates are allowed to enroll in this course.
  • Description: PUBHLTH 516 is an accelerated 7-week course that highlights foundational leadership skills needed by public health professionals to effectively work in interprofessional teams. Course themes include self-reflection on leadership style, growth mindset, fostering collaboration, motivating teams to accomplish goals, leading change, and guiding decision making.
  • Learning Objectives: Students should be able to: 1. Identify their leadership style. 2. Explain the importance of active learning and resilience in strengthening leadership skills. 3. Understand leadership structures across health sectors and the roles of public health professionals in leading change. 4. Describe the key domains of interprofessional practice. 5. Develop a mission, vision, and values to guide the work of teams. 6. Describe strategies to foster collaboration among interprofessional groups. 7. Compare strategies for motivating and influencing teams to accomplish goals. 8. Explain the relationship between leadership and learning through growth mindset principles. 9. Describe how interpersonal agility inspires risk-taking and collaboration.
  • Residential Syllabus for PUBHLTH516
PowerLaura
Laura Power

PUBHLTH680: Applied Practice and Integrative Experience I

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Fall term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg, Melissa Beck, (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: PubHlth 512, Biostats 501
  • Description: Students will launch their integrated learning experience, which involves addressing an applied health problem and presenting their work in a professional communication format, synthesizing competencies they achieved throughout the program. Students will partner with community organizations in the Real-World Writing Project to develop two products, fulfilling the program’s APEx requirements.
  • Learning Objectives: At the end of this fall-semester course, students should: - have started their integrated learning experience and capstone product, the culmination of their experiences and learning in the MPH program. - have written something for the real world of public health that achieves a specific purpose and that is appropriate for a specific audience, and is written in a particular style. - have further developed their composing process through reflection, discussion and trying new approaches. - have gained experience collaborating with their peers and have connected these collaborative activities to public health practices. - be able to identify and/or create effective written and oral arguments within each of the communication formats we cover in the course. - explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge.
  • Residential Syllabus for PUBHLTH680
AugustElla
Ella August
KardiaSharon
Sharon Kardia
Levin-SparenbergElizabeth
Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg

PUBHLTH681: Applied Practice and Integrative Experience II

  • Graduate level
  • Online MPH only
  • This is a second year course for Online students
  • Winter term(s) for online MPH students;
  • 2 credit hour(s) for online MPH students;
  • Instructor(s): Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg, Melissa Beck, (Online MPH);
  • Prerequisites: PubHlth 512, Biostats 501
  • Description: Students will continue with research, analysis, evaluation and writing to complete their capstone project. They will also explore different professional writing format.
  • Learning Objectives: Objectives: - Complete integrated learning experience project, through research, analysis and evaluation - Produce a written capstone in a professional format - Understand how to tailor written product (aka your capstone) to a specific audience (intended readers of student's work) - Be able to develop effective written and oral communications - Get practice using conventions specific to practice-based and/or academic writing - Further develop writing process through reflection and trying new approaches - Revise own writing based on feedback from advisor - Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge
Levin-SparenbergElizabeth
Elizabeth Levin-Sparenberg