PHC 4101: Introduction to Public Health (3). This course will introduce students to key public health concepts, the history of public health, and how the core areas of public health can be integrated to promote health at a population level. This course will cover principal areas of public health, including analytic methods, epidemiology, social and behavioral factors, environmental issues, and medical care.
PHC 4030: Introduction to Epidemiology (3). This course provides an introduction to epidemiology, i.e., to the study of the description and determinants of disease frequency in human populations. The course focuses on “how we know what we know” about the causes of disease in human populations.
PHC 4470: Health Behavior and Health Promotion (3). This course will introduce you to theoretical perspectives regarding health behavior, health promotion, and public health, as well as relevant and contemporary research regarding health. This course will also challenge you to think critically about health behaviors, health policies, and politics. Finally, this course will encourage students to engage in critical thinking, reading, writing, and discussing all facets of health behavior, health promotion, and public health.
PHC 4047 (previously PHC 4320): Environmental Health Science (3). This course will introduce students to environmental health issues, a scientific understanding of causes, and possible future approaches to address major environmental health problems. This course will cover key areas of environmental health, including environmental epidemiology, risk assessment, pollution, and education.
PHC 4157: Health Policy and Society (3). This course introduces students to the major public health concerns currently facing the U.S. population and a variety of policies intended to address them. We will begin with an overview of how the American healthcare system works and how it compares to other healthcare systems worldwide. We also will examine how issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, and age influence the availability, cost, and quality of the health care individuals receive.
PHC 4157: Introduction to Biostatistics for Public Health (3). This course will introduce students to basic data analysis and statistical inference concepts in medical and health sciences. This course will cover key areas of biostatistics, including probability, hypothesis testing, and design and analysis of medical and health studies.
PHC 4721: Qualitative Methods in PH Practice
This course is designed to be an introduction to the fundamentals of research study design, the relevant methods, and data collection. This course serves as an introduction to the paradigms of qualitative research and inquiry, selected data collection, management, and analysis methods for qualitative research in public health, and the standards for reporting qualitative findings.
GIS4421: GIS & Health (3). Geographic information systems (GIS) are a suite of computer-based tools that apply geographic theory to public health questions, such as where diseases are located, how places affect our well-being, and what geographic tools can be used to understand global health epidemics. The course is held in a GIS computer lab, where data on health will be analyzed, and applications in health and medicine will be discussed as ongoing challenges in data collection related to surveillance and privacy issues. In-class exercises and activities provide hands-on computing experience in collecting and mapping health data, interpreting geospatial and statistical results, and thinking critically about the social implications of using GIS and other geospatial technologies to uncover major public health problems.