Online Public Health Courses

• Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice.
• Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for given public health context.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate.
• Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.

• Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
• Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels.

• Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health.
• Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs.
• Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention.
• Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management.
• Select methods to evaluate public health programs.

• Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
• Propose strategies to identify relevant communities and individuals and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
• Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
• Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

• Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue.
• Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.

• Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
• Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and thorough oral presentation to a non-academic, non-peer audience with attention to factors such as literacy and health literacy.
• Describe the importance of cultural humility in communicating public health content.

• Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.

• Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than a standard narrative.

• Critically evaluate the social determinants of health and how they affect families and communities.
• Evaluate health programs and policies through the application of appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods, models, theories, and best practices.
• Prioritize community needs, concerns, and resources when addressing family and community health issues.
• Critically evaluate the factors that create, perpetuate and ultimately eliminate health disparities.
• Demonstrate communication skills and strategies for promotion of family and community health.

This course is an introduction to epidemiology, the study of the patterns, causes, and impact of disease in populations. Epidemiology comprises an important part of public health and medical surveillance and research, and is a key tool for health policy development. This course will discuss the basic principles and methods of epidemiology, including measurements of disease occurrence and association, study designs, and determination of causality. Contemporary examples will be used to illustrate the application of these concepts.

Credits: 3

This course presents an introduction to chemical, physical and biological factors in the environment that affect community health. Students examine health issues, scientific understanding of causes, and approaches to the control of major environmental health problems in industrialized and developed countries.

Credits: 3

Acquaints students with the basic concepts and methods of statistics, the applications, and their interpretation as used in public health. Students learn basic terminology and its meaning, how to calculate various statistical measures and indices, how to quantify health relationships, and how to compute and interpret inferential statistical techniques. Students will acquire the ability to utilize statistical software as a tool to facilitate the processing, editing, storing, displaying, analysis and interpretation of health research-related data.

Credits: 3

Coursework examines the theoretical foundations of health behavior. Students explore the development of a conceptual framework for understanding and facilitating behavior enhancement, elimination and/or maintenance in health promotion and education. Topics include current theories regarding health-related behaviors.

Credits: 3

An introduction to the principals of management as applied to public health organizations, particularly local health departments. Topics include the organization of the U.S. public health system, legal and ethical obligations of public health administrators, the public health workforce and human resource issues, public health budgeting and finance, and leadership in the public health agency. The course is designed to introduce master’s level students in public health to the management skills necessary to successfully implement a public health program.

Credits: 3

This course addresses professional competencies in design, implementation, evaluation and diffusion of health interventions in community settings. Program planning paradigms, determinants of health behavior and behavior change strategies serve as a basis for analyzing health interventions.

Credits: 3

The healthcare environment is increasingly complex, and poses many challenges for communication professionals seeking to improve communication with key health industry stakeholders, including patients, providers, payers, government agencies, and others.

Credits: 3

Family ties and family processes in the promotion of individual health and management of disease across the life course are covered. Course topics include: health promotion and disease prevention, disease management, health care, and caregiving in the family context.

Credits: 3

This course is an introduction to public health priorities from an international perspective, illustrating the interdependent nature of health promotion and disease prevention issues across diverse regions and populations. Coursework examines population health determinants, contrasting industrialized and developing countries and how these influence health goals established by public health institutions, such as the World Health Organization, philanthropic foundations and governmental agencies.

Credits: 3

The goal of this course is to educate advanced graduate students on the multidisciplinary challenges that exist in meeting the food and nutrition needs of a growing world population. The course aims to instill an appreciation of the importance of economics, food production and technology, trade, culture, communication, political processes and institutions, demography and related factors in determining adequate food availability and health globally. The end point for this multi-disciplinary perspective is nutritional adequacy, and much of the focus will be on factors that can prevent or limit malnutrition.

Credits: 3

This course provides an overview of the methods required to evaluate the effectiveness of public health intervention or prevention programs and policies. The course introduces a range of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research designs, and the process for applying and tailoring these designs to program and policy evaluations. In addition, we will focus on the process of engaging communities and stakeholders in program evaluation efforts. The course is intended for graduate students in public health; however, it may be of interest to students in social work, nursing, education, criminal justice, psychology and other related fields. Permission of instructor required.

Credits: 3

Students integrate public health theory and practice in a professional setting. The practicum allows students to apply concepts from core and concentration courses, conduct projects and interact with a range of professionals in the designated setting.

Credits: 3

MPH students will show mastery of the public health competencies through a culminating project in their final course. This experiential learning includes training on the formation of competitive grants for non-profit organizations aligned with the student’s interest area. The student will select a topic and partner with a local agency to craft a grant that addresses a need for that particular agency. The student will receive one-on-one support from a faculty mentor and produce both a written and oral presentation at the end of the course.

Credits: 3

This course is a contemporary examination of the growing threat and potential public health consequences of disasters and role of climate change. Additionally, we review the variety of public health and environmental health disasters, their consequences and the role of public health agencies health care systems and practitioners in preparedness, response and recovery from a local, national and global perspective. The course is designed to develop proficiency in analyzing and evaluating the public health response to disasters, the linkage to emergency management frameworks and identifying solutions and methods for improvement.

Credits: 3

This course examines the role of law in promoting or impeding positive health outcomes. Students will study the authority and limitations of governments engaging in public health activities as well as the types of legal interventions available to promote public health. Students will apply legal principles to public health case studies on topics such as infectious disease, chronic disease, and violence prevention, among others. Students will also apply public health legal research methodologies to current public health issues and discuss the role of law in public health advocacy.

Credits: 3

This course is designed to help you keep pace with the rapidly changing world health and healthcare. We will (1) explore the drivers of value creation, valuation approaches, and the differences in capital structures between nonprofit and for-profit healthcare providers; (2) examine horizontal consolidation and integrations among nonprofit and for-profit providers mergers and acquisitions, join ventures, and vertical consolidation and integration between providers and payers; and (3) discuss the ethos of healthcare, disruptive innovation, and emotional intelligence.

Credits: 3