An introduction to the philosophical, historical, ecological, legislative, and ethical foundations for understanding the practice of public health in Canada. The course is delivered in a 2-week block at the beginning of the MPH program sequence on the UW main campus. For MPH student only. The course must be successfully completed by MPH students before proceeding to other courses in the MPH program sequence.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health students only
PHS 602Capstone Integrative Seminar for Public Health0.50 units
The culminating experience in the UW MPH program, the Capstone provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate two very important dimensions of readiness to practice in public health: the ability to work in a diverse and multidisciplinary team and the ability to integrate lessons learned from a variety of sources (including, but not limited to, course work and practicum) and bring them to bear on a concrete public health problem. Graded on a Credit/Non-Credit basis. (The course is delivered in a two-week block at the end of the MPH program sequence, on the UW main campus).
A critical analysis of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation related to public health policy. This course will provide an introduction to contemporary issues in public health policy, as well as an overview of the public health system in Canada. The course will emphasize applied examples of public health within the Canadian context.
PHS 604Public Health and the Environment0.50 units
This course will explore the major sources of environmental stressors and types of environmental processes posing a risk to public health, and the mechanisms through which these interact with biological systems to exert adverse effects on human health.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health Students only. Co-requisite: PHS 605
This course is an introduction to biostatistics for those planning a career in public health. Students will learn various biostatistical techniques, how to apply those techniques in the analysis of data from health studies, and how to interpret the results from those analyses. Topics include types of data, descriptive statistics, probability, distributions of data, exploratory data analysis, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, analysis of variance, and brief exposure to categorical data analysis and survival analysis. Emphasis will be on conceptual understanding of topics as well as carrying out various data analysis applications.
PHS 606Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health0.50 units
This course introduces the principles, methods, and uses of epidemiology in the practice of public health. After completion of this course, students will be able to critically read and interpret epidemiologic research and clearly communicate epidemiologic findings. They will be familiar with health status measurement, data sources, screening, surveillance, outbreak investigation, and metholds to support program planning and evaluation. Students will have a sound understanding of basic epidemiologic concepts, including prevalence, incidence, study designs, measures of association, bias, confounding and causal inference.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health Students only and PHS 605
PHS 607Social, Cultural and Behavioural Aspects of Public Health I0.50 units
An introduction to the social, cultural and behavioural foundations of public health and outline the contributions of the social sciences to the planning and implementation of public health interventions. Prerequisite PHS 601.
PHS 608Health and Risk Communication in Public Health0.50 units
An overview of theories, research findings, and applications of health communication and risk communication in public health. The course examines theories of group interaction and mass communication related to community perceptions of public health problems and practices, the impact of new technologies on public health communication, intercultural issues in health communication, health literacy, social marketing, and links between health communication and public health policy. Prerequisite PHS 601.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health student's only.
PHS 609Management and Administration of Public Health Services0.50 units
Approaches to strategic planning and organizational design, key concepts of human resource management in achieving the strategic objectives of public health organizations, and the fundamentals of operation planning, budgeting, financial management and project management. Prerequisite PHS 601.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health student's only.
This course examines the environment in which health care systems operate, with a focus on policy formulation legislative frameworks, governance structures, and funding models. Special attention is given to issues related to electronic health records and health information systems. A focus on international settings with strong track records in health informatics is central to this course.
PHS 613Information Technology for the Health Professional0.50 units
This course introduces health professionals to the conceptual and physical building blocks of large scale distributed health information system. Network architectures, web architectures, distributed processing, securing information, database structures, and other technical topics are covered with a specific focus on the concepts that need to be understood by health professionals to facilitate interaction with technical system specialists.
PHS 614Evaluation of Public Health Programs0.50 units
Methods and applications of program evaluation in public health, as a means to ensure the effectiveness, accountability and continuous improvement of public health programs. Case examples are used to illustrate methodological, political and ethical challenges of program evaluation in the public health context. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health student's only and PHS 607
PHS 615Requirements Specification and Analysys in Health Systems0.50 units
This course introduces students to the requirements of definition phase of software development. Models, notations, and processes for software requirements identification, representation, validation, and analysis are discussed, as are mechanisms to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of health information systems.
PHS 616Decision Making and Systems Thinking in Health Informatics0.50 units
This course focuses on the process by which decisions are made and how decision-making processes can be codified and machine supported. It will include topics such as reasoning and inference, techniques for managing uncertainty and information representation. The course is anchored in a systems thinking approach to problem solving.
PHS 617Population Intervention for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion0.50 units
This course introduces the principals and methods for the effective design, selection and implementation of public health interventions to address socio-behavioural risk factors. At completion, students will be able to: determine when interventions are justified; differentiate between individual and population level interventions; describe various types of interventions; use theory and evidence to select and design interventions including the appropriate mixes of intervention types, sites, and delivery systems. Emphasis is placed on self learning through reading and problem-based learning. Lectures highlight and link important constructs, theories, perspectives, and bodies of evidence.
Prereq: PHS 607; Master of Public Health students only.
PHS 623Risk and Exposure Assessment in Public Health0.50 units
Methods used to assess human health risks associated with biological, chemical and physical exposures in the environment, focusing on hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. The course examines the strengths and weaknesses of various types of risk assessment approaches, the inherent uncertainties in each stage of risk assessment, and the interactive role of risk assessment and risk management in public health decision-making. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
PHS 624Environmental Toxicology in Public Health0.50 units
Introduction to the underlying principles governing the interactions of foreign chemicals with biological systems, including a description of the human health effects that can occur as a result of chemico-biological interactions in the environment. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
Fundamental principles of public health surveillance and monitoring, describe the source of public health data in Canada and other countries. Topics covered include forecasting, information management and organization, and technological innovations for assessment, evaluation and program delivery.
PHS 632Health Economics and Public Health0.50 units
An exploration of the socioeconomic determinants of health, the role of economics in public health policy, and the uses of economic evaluation methods in public health decision-making. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health students only
This course covers the principles and methods of water quality management, major water contaminants (including infectious agents) affecting public health, prevention strategies and regulatory monitoring and reporting activities in Canada.
Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
PHS 634Environmental Epidemiology in Public Health0.50 units
Epidemiological methods used to characterize the major environmental risks to public health, including major pathways for microbial and chemical contamination. Methods for estimating exposure to hazardous substances carried by ambient and indoor air, drinking water, food, food production and services systems, and methods for control to reduce the risk of air, water, and food contamination. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
PHS 635Public Health, Environment and Planning0.50 units
An exploration of the complex set of relationships among public health, environment and planning at the community and global levels. Topics covered include the concept of sustainable development and how it relates to public health.
PHS 636Applied Epidemiology: Advanced Concepts and Applications for Public Health0.50 units
This course employs a case-study approach to demonstrate methods for investigation and control of communicable disease outbreaks and clusters of chronic diseases and injuries. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
This course examines the application of information technologies and information systems in public health practice. Selected topics include managing information to deliver value; data standards in public health; privacy, confidentiality and security in public health; surveillance systems, informatics of toxicology and environmental public health. Course open to MPH students. Others may be admitted with consent of instructor.
PHS 641Professional Experience Practicum1.50 units
The supervised practicum is intended to provide the student with an opportunity to apply course learning in a health or health system setting. The placement may involve any of the activities or functions of students' field of study: public health, informatics, evaluation, etc. A contract stipulating practicum objectives, and work to be completed and evaluated to meet these objectives, must be jointly approved by the student, the student's field supervisor, the academic supervisor, and the practicum coordinator. A written report by the student, together with a letter from the field supervisor, are used by the practicum coordinator to evaluate student performance at midterm and completion of the practicum. Graded on a Credit/Non-credit basis. Course open to School of Public Health and Health Systems students only. Completion of all prerequisite coursework is required before commencing the practicum.
Prerequisite: Master of Public Health students only
PHS 661Geographic Information Systems and Public Health0.50 units
The course introduces the concepts, methods, and applications of Geographic Information System (GIS), with a focus on spatial analysis in public health. The strong emphasis on assignments that require application of concepts and methods provides students with hands-on experience of important GIS applications in public health, including disease surveillance and control, disease risk estimation, health service planning, mapping disease, disease cluster detection, and analyzing environmental hazards at the neighbourhood, municipal, regional, and international level. Students will learn the fundamentals of GIS, methodologies for analysing spatial data, study design, spatial data issues and interpretation of the results of analyses for GIS applications in public health. There is no prerequisite for this course. However, basic knowledge of statistics with an interest in information technology, public health, and mapping is highly desirable.
Prerequisite: MPH and HSG Graduate Plans - All others require the permission of the instructor
"Global Health" refers to health issues and concerns that transcend national borders, class, race ethnicity, and culture. This course will examine Global Health issues and challenges in the 21st century from a Public Health perspective. Issues range from socioeconomic factors, health systems, culture, human rights, ecological sustainability, humanitarian assistance, and war and peace. Group work is emphasized. There may be opportunities for service learning or interviews with frontline providers to explore Global Health in a local context.
Prerequisite: MPH and HSG Graduate Plans - All others require the permission of the instructor
Course content includes normative and non-normative development across the lifespan as it is relevant to individual and population health and public health programming. The human is treated as an independent system nested within an environmental system. Consideration will be given to the interaction of the commonly recognized developmental domains, the individual's context, and wellness. Topics of discussion may include the impact on health and wellness of developmental continuity, resilience, transitions, and milestones.
Prerequisite: MPH and HSG Graduate Plans - All others require the permission of the instructor