Course Descriptions

PUBH 8002 Essentials of Public Health: A Case Study Approach (4 cr.)
This course evaluates key aspects of public health, including its history, mission, essential services, core functions, infrastructure, resources, workforce, achievements, challenges, and career options. Students explore these facets through case studies, a hypothetical scenario, and journal articles. Although the main focus of this course is on the U.S. public health system, students are also exposed to global issues and views of public health. Note: It is recommended that this course be taken concurrently with PUBH 8101.

PUBH 8101 Principles of Communication in Public Health (2 cr.)
This course provides students with the written, oral, and online communication skills they need to be successful as scholar-practitioners and as public health professionals. Students learn theory and strategy-based communication principles for effectively disseminating public health information to varying audiences. Topics include risk communication, communication program planning, problem analysis, audience analysis, message strategies, media channels, and the impact of media on the public health. Emphasis is placed on scholarly writing, critical thinking, professional goal setting, and academic integrity in publications and research. Note: It is recommended that this course be taken concurrently with PUBH 8002.

PUBH 8115 Social, Behavioral, and Cultural Factors in Public Health (4 cr.)
This course presents an examination and analysis of the major social, behavioral, and cultural variables and issues that affect the health of populations, including community, gender, age, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and environment, as well as behavioral risks. Research, theoretical, and conceptual frameworks from the social and behavioral sciences are explored as applied to public health problems and the reduction of health disparities.

PUBH 8125 Biostatistics (4 cr.)
This course addresses the application and interpretation of biostatistics in public health research and practice, including descriptive methodologies, statistical inference and probability, analysis of variance, and simple linear regression. Students are introduced to a statistical computer package such as SPSS.

PUBH 8145 Epidemiology (4 cr.)
This course provides an epidemiological approach to the study of incidence, prevalence, and patterns of disease and injury in populations and the application of this study to the control of public health problems. Key sources of data for epidemiological purposes are identified, and principles and limitations of public health screening programs are addressed. Students learn to calculate basic epidemiological measures and to draw appropriate inferences from epidemiological data and reports. (Prerequisite: PUBH 8125.)

PUBH 8165 Environmental Health (4 cr.)
This course offers a study of the environmental factors that affect the health and safety of a community. Topics include causal links between chemical, physical, and biological hazards in the environment and their impact on health, and the genetic, physiologic, and psychosocial factors that influence environmentally compromised health outcomes. Environmental risk assessment methods, strategies for effective management and control of environmental exposures, and legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations at the federal, state, and local levels are explored. Examples of environmental threats including waste, water, air, vectors, and global warming are examined as well as issues related to bioterrorism and disaster preparedness and management.

PUBH 8175 Health Policy and Management (4 cr.)
This course examines the factors that influence and improve health outcomes of individuals and populations, with attention to the goals of Healthy People 2010 and the main components and issues of organization, financing, and delivery of health services and public health systems in the United States. Topics include management theories and processes, systems thinking, strategic planning and partnerships, quality and performance improvement, leadership, and organizational behavior. The policy process as well as the advocacy role of the public health professional in influencing local, state, and federal policy is addressed. The impact of global trends on public health practice, policy, and systems is also considered.

PUBH 8135 Leadership, Professionalism, and Ethics in Public Health Practice (4 cr.)
This course examines theories of leadership as well as the professional attributes, skills, styles, and strategies required to advance public health goals. Ethical choices, values, professionalism, opportunities for advocacy, and the application of principles of social justice implicit in public health decisions and practice are considered with emphasis on the importance of a collaborative approach to working with diverse communities and constituencies.

PUBH 8155 Research in Public Health (4 cr.)
This course provides an examination of the research that informs public health programs, policy, and practice. Topics include the logic that underlies scientific research, study design, sampling, identification of variables, methods of data collection and analysis, key concepts in measurement including reliability and validity, program evaluation, and research ethics. Students will be introduced to methods of participatory research as well as statistical software that is used to support research. Strategies and skills for presentation of research results will be presented. (Prerequisites: PUBH 8125 and PUBH 8145.)

PUBH 8235 Program Design, Planning, and Evaluation (4 cr.)
This course focuses on the competencies required of the public health professional in planning for the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of community health promotion and disease prevention initiatives. Attention is given to needs assessment and the social, behavioral, environmental, biological, and economic factors that contribute to health outcomes. Strategic approaches to planning, implementation, and evaluation including cost benefit analysis are addressed. Health behavior theories are considered in the development of educational programs, the application of evaluation findings, and prioritization of community concerns and resources.

PUBH 8010 Promoting Population Health (5 cr.)
This course concentrates on the social foundations for public health and the leadership and research skills needed for effectively organizing and conducting population-based disease prevention and health promotion programs. Topics include the social history of public health; determinants and risk factors for population health; policy analysis and advocacy; building coalitions, alliances, and consortiums; constituency and community mobilization; media communications; social marketing; community education strategies; and diverse populations as well as those with disproportionate disease burdens.

PUBH 8015 Administration and Leadership of Public Health Programs (5 cr.)
This course examines the administration of population-based health programs and the leadership skills needed to work effectively with diverse workforces and communities under varying political and economic conditions. Topics include organizational dynamics, team building, mediation, collaboration, systems thinking and planning, working within political structures, responding to political and economic forces, communicating public health issues, budgeting, funding proposal development, and grants management.

PUBH 8020 Public Health Informatics (5 cr.)
This course focuses on the application of information technology to various functions of public health, especially regarding decision-making. The course provides an overview of database design, data storage, architecture, and computer networking for integration of database systems. Other topics include the use of medical and financial records for disease surveillance; standards for the collection, recording, and transmission of personal data; use of geographic information systems for mapping disease and risk factors; and methods for the evaluation of public health information systems.

RSCH 8100   Research Theory, Design, and Methods  (4 cr.)
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for understanding, analyzing, and designing research at the doctoral level. Students explore the philosophy of science, the importance of theory in research, and research processes. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method research designs and methods are introduced. Ethical and social change implications of conducting research, producing knowledge, and engaging in scholarship are emphasized. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing elements of simple research plans.  (Prerequisite a Foundations course or first course in a program)

RSCH 8200   Quantitative Reasoning  (4 cr.)
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for designing quantitative research at the doctoral level, including understanding data analysis and applying statistical concepts. Students explore classical quantitative research designs and common statistical tests, the importance of quality assurance, and ethical and social change implications of conducting quantitative research and producing knowledge. This course approaches statistics from a problem-solving perspective with emphasis on selecting appropriate statistical tests for a research design. Students use statistical software to calculate statistics and interpret and present results. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a quantitative research plan.  (Prerequisite: RSCH 810.0)

PUBH 9000 Public Health Dissertation (30 cr. minimum—6 credits per term for minimum 5 terms)
This course offers doctoral students the opportunity to integrate their Program of Study into an in-depth exploration of an interest area that includes the completion of a research study. Students complete the dissertation independently, with the guidance of a dissertation supervisory committee chair and committee members, in a learning platform classroom in which weekly participation is required. Students complete a prospectus, proposal, Institutional Review Board application, and dissertation. Once students register for PUBH 9000, they are registered each term until successful completion of the dissertation. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula; appointment of an approved dissertation committee chair.)

Community Health Promotion and Education

PUBH 8200 Organizing Community Action for Health Promotion and Education (5 cr.)
This course explores leadership in the effective organization of communities, interagency collaborative efforts, and work sites for collective action regarding health promotion and education. Course topics include analysis of risk factors at the community, work site, local, state, national, and international levels. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8210 Public Campaigns for Health Promotion and Education (5 cr.)
This course investigates the persuasive use of mass communications media and marketing strategies in promoting health, reducing risk factors, and influencing community leadership to support healthful conditions. Topics include the design of mass media campaigns, target markets, and working with and responding to media, including broadcast, print, World Wide Web, and other electronic communication media. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8215 Public Health Policy Design and Implementation (5 cr.)
This course examines the application of scientific data in the formulation of policy recommendations, and the drafting of legislation and ordinances to promote equitable distribution of health resources, healthy living conditions, and other activities to reduce health risk. Students learn leadership strategies for effective lobbying of decision-makers and community leaders. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8220 Health Promotion and Education Interventions in Diverse Populations (5 cr.)
This course examines the planning and organization of health promotion programs for underserved, economically disadvantaged, and underrepresented populations. Students learn to design health promotion programs that consider the social, economic, and medical conditions influencing the health status of diverse populations. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8225 Design and Analysis of Community Trials (5 cr.)
This course investigates randomized controlled trials of health promotion and education programs, and disease-prevention interventions, with communities as the units of analysis. It provides students with an in-depth study of techniques for randomization, multicenter coordination, data management, team building, statistical analysis, models for community assessment, publication, and ethics. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

RSCH 8300  Qualitative Reasoning  (4 cr.)
This research course provides students with core knowledge and skills for designing qualitative research at the doctoral level, including understanding data analysis. Students explore the nature of qualitative inquiry; fieldwork strategies and the nature of observation; theoretical approaches to qualitative research; the importance of quality assurance; and the ethical, legal, and social change implications of conducting qualitative research and producing knowledge. Students use software to code data and interpret and present results. Students will apply and synthesize their knowledge and skills by developing a qualitative research plan.  (Prerequisite: RSCH 8100.)

Epidemiology

PUBH 8300 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (5 cr.)
This course examines the epidemiology of infectious and acute diseases, including the impact of infectious diseases on populations, taxonomy and structure of disease agents, modes of transmission, infectivity, pathogenicity, virulence, incubation, and surveillance methods. Topics include diarrheal diseases, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and airborne and vector-borne organisms. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8310 Social and Behavioral Epidemiology (5 cr.)
This course explores various works in social, behavioral, and psychiatric epidemiology, including those on the occurrence and distribution of illness. Course studies focus on the application of basic epidemiologic research designs; the study of social, behavioral, and psychiatric conditions in all age groups; and the relationship between sociocultural factors and individual or community behavioral issues. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8320 Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (5 cr.)
This course focuses on methods used in evaluating the health effects of physical, biological, and chemical agents in the environment and evidence-based information of such exposures. Assignments include policy questions raised by the scientific evidence and review and criticism of current literature on specific environmental and occupational health issues of current interest. Special emphasis is given to study design, exposure assessment, outcome definition, and sources of bias. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8330 Chronic Disease Epidemiology (5 cr.)
This course examines the major chronic diseases: cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, and diabetes. The course also focuses on major risk factors impacting chronic disease. Topics include surveillance of chronic diseases and evaluation of chronic disease prevention interventions. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8340 Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology (5 cr.)
This course acquaints students with the fundamentals of molecular and genetic epidemiology. Topics include molecular markers of environmental exposures, applications to risk assessment, genetic markers of susceptibility, the Human Genome Project, genetic testing, gene-environment interaction, and pharmacogenomics. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)

PUBH 8350 Field Methods and Data Analysis in Epidemiology (5 cr.)
This course offers the opportunity to conduct epidemiological field studies. A focus is placed on theory and practice, which foster a better understanding and appreciation of survey methodology. Techniques and resources are given to successfully design and carry out the field portion of an epidemiological investigation, including staff recruitment and training; counting and listing techniques; enumeration methodologies; subject recruitment, retention, and tracking; data storage and management; and general survey instrument issues. (Prerequisites: Foundational and core curricula.)