Master of Public Health

The American Health Care System

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the organization of the U.S. health care ?system.? It examines the major institutions, professions and political forces that influence the provision of health care services. Students explore the development of major components of the medical care system from an historical perspective by examining the changes in their organization and role over time. They also consider the major problems presently confronting each aspect of health care and discuss alternative means of resolving these issues for the future. (3 units)

Environmental and Occupational Health

This course introduces students to physical, chemical and biological hazards found in the environment and health risks associated with workplace and community exposure to them. Risks to special populations and mechanisms of reducing or controlling these risks are discussed. (3 units)

Public Health Promotion and Disease Intervention

This course discusses approaches to health promotion and disease prevention intervention in different settings, using varied strategies, and for different target groups. The course is intended to be practical in nature focusing on the specifics of intervention development and delivery and how these might vary across settings, behaviors and strategies. The course will emphasize the careful exploration of examples of intervention creation, delivery and effectiveness. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the resources, and other practical considerations necessary to produce, deliver, monitor, and disseminate an intervention with demonstrated effectiveness. (3 units)

Social and Behavioral Sciences Applied to Health

The overall framework for the course is based on the bio-psychosocial or ecologic perspective on health. In these models, health is seen as being determined by biologic, behavioral, social, and environmental factors that interact with each other and, to a greater or lesser extent, can be influenced by individuals and groups. (3 units)

Current Issues in Public Health

This course provides historical perspectives, definitions and discussion of current public health issues. Additionally, this course prepares future public health professionals to draw on knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines to define, critically assess/evaluate contemporary public health challenges. Topics may include emergency preparedness for environmental/natural disasters, bioterrorism and a review of the responding agencies (e.g. FEMA, etc.). In addition, determination of potential funding sources required to meet identified public health needs, with an emphasis on the process of formulating a fundable plan, and communicating that plan in NIH-style or an alternate appropriate format. (3 units)

Strategic Management for Public Health Services

This course is designed to provide knowledge and skills pertaining to the functions of strategic planning and marketing in the health care setting. Areas to be covered include an analysis of strategic planning and marketing theory, emphasizing strategic planning concepts in an era of regulation and competition, and a marketing orientation to designing the services offered by the health care organization. Students will examine contemporary health service issues through multi-disciplinary perspectives within organizational leadership, analyzing how leaders account for internal and external factors to improve organizational and system performance, thereby meeting individual and community health. (3 units)

Principles and Methods of Epidemiology

Principles and methods used to investigate the distribution, determinants, and prevention strategies for disease in human populations. Major topics include: disease classification, measures of disease frequency and relative effect, comparisons and contrasts of analytic study designs, methods used to isolate effects, statistical significance testing, interpretation of results, and screening for latent disease. (3 units)

Statistics in Public Health

This course will cover the statistical methods commonly used in the collection and analysis of public health data. Includes descriptive statistics, basic concepts in regression, non-parametric statistics, and parametric statistics as well as an introduction to the use of statistical software. Emphasis on understanding and applying statistical concepts to the interpretations of health research data. (3 units, Spring)

Health Law and Ethics

Students explore and analyze current ethical issues such as biomedical research, insurance statutes, and demand management. Students survey the extensive legal foundations of health care, and apply current case law to contemporary situations. Topics include legal aspects of legislation, patient rights, data security, professional liability, and labor relations. (3 units)

Public Policy and Healthcare Advocacy

This course includes a review of healthcare systems, policy actors and processes in the United States, roles of government, bureaucracy, and interest groups in health policy and the policy process. Students taking this course will also become familiar with common advocacy techniques and strategies used to initiate legislative and regulatory policies including coalition building, the use of policy studies, and media relations. (3 units)

Global Health

Introduces issues in international health, emphasizing core disease conditions, leading causes of death and disability within an international context, as well as programmatic and policy responses to improve international health. Topics may include environmental/natural disaster preparedness, food security, infectious/communicable disease management, essential drugs and immunizations, population/family planning and maternal-child health, traditional practices and cross-cultural communications, literacy, and international public health policy/advocacy. (3 units)

Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation

This is an introductory, graduate level public health program planning, development, and evaluation course that broadly addresses program planning models, process of program development and methods of evaluation in the area of public health. This course will be focused on the following three areas: (1) study of program planning models, (2) process of program development, and (3) methods of evaluation in public health settings. (3 units)

Research Methods

This course provides an introduction to research methods that examines two major approaches in research paradigms. The course will study in depth different types of quantitative research designs such as experimental, quasi-experimental, and descriptive approaches and students will initiate a research project that investigates behavior, knowledge, or attitudes factors that help students to understand the complexity of behavior change through the use of qualitative and quantitative data. Prerequisite: HSC 544 or STA 544. (3 units)

Public Health Practice Experience

This course consists of structured and supervised professional experiences. Students will demonstrate foundational public health competencies through applied practice experiences in appropriate sites outside of academic and classroom settings. Approved sites may include governmental, non-governmental, non-profit, industrial, university, wellness-center, or for-profit settings. (1 unit)

Applied Knowledge in Public Health

This course is a culminating experience that allows the student to demonstrate public health knowledge they have gained throughout the MPH program. The culminating exercise will be in the format of a comprehensive examination, research thesis or project. Students completing a thesis or project will prepare a presentation (both oral and written) that focuses on that experience. Prerequisite: HSC 590. (3 units)