PUBH - Public Health

This course introduces students to the core principles and practices of information literacy within the public health disciplines. Students will learn how to locate, evaluate, interpret, and ethically use information from scientific, governmental, and community-based sources to support evidence-informed decision-making. Emphasis is placed on developing skills to navigate public health databases, assess the credibility and quality of research, understand data types and data limitations, and communicate findings clearly to diverse audiences.

This 3-credit course is designed to provide an overview of public health with an emphasis on the population perspective and cross-cutting nature of public health, including the population impacts of health care systems. This course also provides a big-picture, population perspective on the determinants of health and disease and the tools available to protect and to promote health. This course will provide the students with the tools to think critically about the various areas of public health, including the environmental and social/behavioral influences on the health of the public. The course will provide a broad overview of the public health system—what it is, its origins, and how it is structured. Students will learn how public health affects them in their everyday life.

Course designed especially for those entering the health education or health care field, covering the physiology of each of the major body systems as a basis for understanding those aspects of its function that reflect the importance of various nutrients.

This course will explore the history of health equity and disability and how prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities impact health. Students will learn how to apply health equity frameworks, theories, and research to address disability-specific models of health disparities and to achieve health equity in populations with disabilities.

This course explores the principles of population health with a focus on social determinants of health (SDOH) that influence health outcomes across diverse communities. Students will learn how factors like policy, income, education, employment, housing, and healthcare access shape health disparities and contribute to systemic inequities. Using an interdisciplinary lens, students will describe SDOH in relation to the healthcare delivery continuum (prevention, diagnosis and disease management, end of life care). Students will review community-level data and evidence-based approaches to determine programs and interventions to improve health of various populations.

This course introduces students to health-care delivery systems of non-Western countries, specifically developing countries. The various factors that influence health-care planning and delivery of health services are addressed.

The uniqueness of the U.S. healthcare delivery system will be explored in terms of a systems framework and its complexity. This course emphasizes the organization and delivery of health services, focusing on population health outcomes and the coordination of care across community and clinical settings. Topics may include the history and organization of the U.S. healthcare system, major stakeholders, healthcare policy, healthcare financing and insurance, and the role of public health systems and community organizations. The course also explores healthcare delivery systems, describing issues of access, quality, and cost in both national and global contexts. The fundamental characteristics that differentiate the U.S. healthcare delivery system from those of other countries will also be presented.

Study of selected topics in Public Health.

This course is designed to introduce students to several frameworks that explore factors or social determinants of health (SDOH) public health professionals may encounter when planning health behavior/health promotion programs or interventions. This writing-intensive course will strengthen students’ writing abilities to communicate in a clear and concise manner when discussing public health data. Students will also learn about several health behavior/health education theories as they develop a health-related program/intervention and design a plan to evaluate the program/intervention. As students develop the plan, they will consider a wide range of barriers and facilitators to program planning and evaluation to promote healthy behaviors/health education.

This study abroad service learning course will introduce the student to the political, social, cultural, ethical and administration issues involved in public health, prevention and health promotion globally. Students will travel to another country and learn the incidence/prevalence, morbidity/mortality, and identified public health problems in specific regions and countries.

This course will teach students about the relationship between human, animal, and environmental health. Students will examine how diseases emerge and spread across human and animals, the impact of the environment on health outcomes, and how integrative approaches are needed to prevent and manage health threats. The course will identify global health issues that require human, veterinary, and environmental applications for solutions. The course covers real-world challenges—such as zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and climate changes—as student develop skills in systems thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration to protect and promote health at various levels.

The course will introduce students to the main theories of leadership in public health covering key concepts and strategies using the six levels of leadership framework. The course will explore how individual, team, organizational, community, professional and global leadership impact population and public health.

The course will introduce students to the main theories of culture, health and diversity and examines what is meant by culture, the ways in which culture intersects with health issues, how public health efforts can benefit by understanding and working with cultural processes, and a brief selection of conceptual tools and research methods that are useful in identifying relationships between culture and health. The course will also include practical guidelines for incorporating cultural understanding in public health settings and examples of programs where that has occurred.

Identifies major issues and problems in meeting health care needs of the aged. Emphasis on role of social assets and supports in determining effects of life changes on the aging process.

Designed to provide information about community health resources. This course will focus on health administration and public health applications and is a writing intensive course.

This course covers financial management functions in healthcare organizations including operating and capital budgeting processes along with budgeting and financial controls.

This course introduces students to the principles and applications of health services research, focusing on quantitative and qualitative methods to study health outcomes. Students will learn research design, data collection, and common statistical analyses to address real-world questions about population health and public health challenges. Emphasis is placed on developing skills to critically evaluate research evidence and apply findings to inform evidence-based, public health decision making.

A review of the principles and practice of administering public and community health organizations and programs at federal, state, and local levels. Constitutional, statutory and administrative bases for organizing and conducting public/community health programs will be discussed.

This course will blend theory and application of epidemiology. This course will also provide a comprehensive introduction to epidemiology and explain how to use epidemiological concepts and tools to improve decisions about the management of health services.

This course will explore both health policy and the politics of health. Students will develop an understanding of the systematic and analytical framework for developing health and health care policy issues.

The internship will allow a student new to the health administration field or public health field to complete a 200-hour capstone internship that allows students to apply their academic coursework to real-world challenges and gain entry skills for a beginning career pathway in the profession. The course is intended to provide supervised field experience with an emphasis on professional competencies, such as problem solving, teamwork, communication skills, ethical practices, and roles and responsibilities of public health practitioners or health services administrators. A minimum of 200 hours is required for the 3-credit internship.

This course provides a basic understanding of marketing in a health care setting. It will cover the following: the history of marketing in a health care setting, health care markets, marketing techniques, and leadership skills in managing and supporting the marketing efforts.

This course provides the students with a basic knowledge of health law and examines legal issues confronting health services administrators in various health care environments.

This course focuses on healthcare informatics (information systems) and applications in health care organizations. It provides an overview of health information system concepts, management, and integration of technology in healthcare organizations.

This course provides the opportunity for the study of selected topics in public/community health or health administration, including informatics, under the supervision of a faculty member.

Supervised research on a specific problem in health services administration or public health. Regular meetings with faculty and a written/oral report are required.

Identifies major issues and problems in meeting health care needs of the aged. Emphasis on role of social assets and supports in determining effects of life changes on the aging process.

Designed to provide information about community health resources. This course will focus on health administration and public health applications.

This course covers financial management functions in healthcare organizations including operating and capital budgeting processes along with budgeting and financial controls.

This course introduces students to the principles and applications of health services research, focusing on quantitative and qualitative methods to study health outcomes. Students will learn research design, data collection, and common statistical analyses to address real-world questions about population health and public health challenges. Emphasis is placed on developing skills to critically evaluate research evidence and apply findings to inform evidence-based, public health decision making.

A review of the principles and practice of administering public and community health organizations and programs at federal, state, and local levels. Constitutional, statutory and administrative bases for organizing and conducting public/community health programs will be discussed.

This course will blend theory and application of epidemiology. This course will also provide a comprehensive introduction to epidemiology and explain how to use epidemiological concepts and tools to improve decisions about the management of health services.

This course will explore both health policy and the politics of health. Students will develop an understanding of the systematic and analytical framework for developing health and health care policy issues.

This course provides a basic understanding of marketing in a health care setting. It will cover the following: the history of marketing in a health care setting, health care markets, marketing techniques, and leadership skills in managing and supporting the marketing efforts.

This course provides the students with a basic knowledge of health law and examines legal issues confronting health services administrators in various health care environments.

This course provides the opportunity for the study of selected topics in public/community health or health administration, including informatics, under the supervision of a faculty member.

Introduces students to 21st century environmental health issues and challenges, and examines how they affect health in the region, nation and world. Topics include: air/water quality, food safety and food-borne illness, antibiotic resistance, emergency preparedness and response, sea level rise, vulnerable populations, radiation safety and health, pediatric environmental health, tick-borne illness, hazardous substances, environmental health policy and practice, and environmental risk communication.

An overview of environmental health law and governance at the local, state, federal and international levels. Students examine the environmental health policy-making process and how laws, regulations and treaties are made and implemented. Students also will be familiarized with U.S. environmental public health statutes, key institutions and agencies, current controversies, issues of environmental justice, and major international treaties related to environmental health.

Provides an introduction to the multidisciplinary field of public health by examining the history, structure and functions of the public health system. Course is organized around the three core functions of public health: assessment, policy development and assurance while focusing on elements of the basic public health disciplines.

Students will learn about different theoretical perspectives and how to apply appropriate social and behavioral models to public health programs. Topics discussed include social inequalities in health status related to culture, race, social class, gender, and the critical intersection between social risk factors, behavioral risk factors, and the development and implementation of public health interventions.

This is a course in research methods that will provide an overview of the basic principles of research design, methods, measurement, data collection and data management in the field of public health. Students will learn the differences between quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to public health research, as well as how to formulate and evaluate research questions.

Students will learn the practice of systems thinking, which includes the ability to integrate multiple perspectives and synthesize them into a framework or model that encompasses the various ways in which a system might react to policy choices.

This course is an introduction to quantitative and qualitative risk analysis and examines the fundamental aspects of risk, focusing on environmental, occupational, and public health risk. Hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response evaluation, risk characterization, and risk communication are emphasized.

This course provides an introduction to the topic of global health disparities through an in‐depth examination and discussion of the relationship between social injustice and inequitable health outcomes. Students will be introduced to the social and environmental determinants of health disparities and the pathways and mechanisms leading to inequitable health outcomes in vulnerable groups, as well as strategies for addressing these determinants to improve health.

An introduction to the fundamentals of toxicology with emphasis on the interaction of environmental and industrial chemicals with humans are studied. Exposure, dose response, kinetics and distribution of toxicants, metabolism of toxic agents, factors that affect toxicity and introductory chemical carcinogenesis are discussed.

This course provides a culminating learning experience in the MPH curriculum, which gives students the opportunity to demonstrate integration of foundational and concentration competencies and to apply the knowledge and skills achieved in their study of public health. The learning outcome is the demonstrated mastery, via course assignments, of core public health and discipline- or concentration-specific competencies.

This course covers basic epidemiologic methods and research study design such as case-control and cohort studies, randomized trials, risk estimation, and causal inferences. Content also covers the use of epidemiology in public health practice, links to health policy, and the factors and associations determining the distribution of disease in the population.

The goal of this course is to guide students with a public health perspective to develop skills to identify and analyze environmental health problems globally. It is designed to provide knowledge on recognizing and evaluating major environmental health issues and risk factors in developed and developing countries by using group discussions and real-life case studies.

This course examines the interrelationships between individual and societal decisions and the global environment, and analyzes the consequences these interrelationships have for public health and sustainability. The course will review food, environmental quality, climate variability, sea-level rise and public health, homes-workplaces-communities, environmental health and sustainability, in the region, the nation and around the world