Courses

The course descriptions below are correct to the best of our knowledge as of June 2010. Instructors reserve the right to update and/or otherwise alter course descriptions as necessary after publication. The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. The Course Rotation Guide lists the expected semester a course will be taught. Paper copies are also available in the BUSPH Registrar’s office. Please refer to the published schedule of classes for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• SPH EP 858: Design and Conduct of Case-Control Studies
  This course will develop students’ practical knowledge of the design and conduct of case-control studies. It will cover the relationship between cohort and case-control studies and study design issues, including identification of a study base, selection of cases and controls, collection of exposure information, sources of bias, and matching. Published papers will be used to illustrate design, bias, and analytic issues through reading and discussion. Each class includes a lecture and discussion of assigned articles.
• SPH EP 871: Advanced Topics in Epidemiology
  This advanced course covers selected epidemiologic topics in greater depth than in intermediate epidemiology courses. For specific information, please refer to the SPH schedule packet on the SPH Registrar's Office web site.
• SPH EP 911: Directed Studies in Epidemiology
  Directed Studies provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a SPH faculty member. Students may register for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study. Arrangements are made directly with a full time SPH faculty member. Studies to be completed with an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the Department chairperson. Students must complete a paper registration form and have a directed study proposal form signed by the faculty member with whom they are working. Section numbers are assigned by the SPH Registrar's Office. Students are limited to eight (8) credits of directed study, directed research or practicum during their MPH education.
• SPH EP 912: Directed Research in Epidemiology
  Directed Research provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. To register, students must submit a paper registration form and signed directed research proposal form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar’s Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education.
• SPH EP 915: Research Methodology and Medical Literature
  This course provides the student with a rigorous approach to critical reading of the medical literature. Each week articles reporting on research using varied designs and methods are reviewed in order to illustrate the application of epidemiologic principles. By the end of the course, the student is able to critique an article and identify its strengths and weaknesses. MPH students may take EP915 or EP914 or their combination for no more than 4 credits.
• SPH EP 980: Continuing Study
  PhD, DSc, and MS in Epidemiology students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their theses/dissertations and have graduated from SPH. Students are charged the equivalent of two credits of tuition, the student health insurance fee, and are certified as full time.
• SPH HC 840: Field Practice in the Philippines
  Students take HC840 as part of the The Program in International Health Practice (PIHP) in the Philippines. The program is open to students by application only. The deadline for applications for fall is April 15 and for spring is October 15. Students participate in an intensive five-week field experience in a rural setting a few hours from Metro-Manila. Students become a member of an existing group of Philippine students. This group will have chosen a topic such as "Diabetes as a Community Health Issue" or "Taking on Diarrheal Disease at the Community Level" in a community (barangay or “neighborhood”). As a group, they spend 10-12 hours every day, adding up to over 250 field practice hours spent analyzing their particular public health problem and planning the intervention. Short reports are written along the way, and the major academic product is a bound Final Group Report, which is presented to College of Public Health faculty and also brought back for review by the BU-DIH Faculty Coordinator. The Philippines Program plus two skills-based professional development seminars done separately from the Philippines Program meets the MPH degree practicum requirement.
• SPH HC 841: Community Health Financing
  Students take HC841 as part of the Program in International Health Practice Philippines. This program is open to students in the MPH program by application only; students must apply by the stated deadlines. The goal of HC841 is for students to acquire a theoretical and practical understanding of community health financing alternatives by exposure to actual community financing programs in the Philippines. Students learn how poor communities pool their resources to pay for medical care when it is needed. Specifically, students meet with fund managers at each of the rural health funds, interview them to find out how such a fund is set up and how it is kept running. Students pay special attention to discovering lessons of success at each of these community health financing funds, and any pitfalls experienced along the way. Community members are also interviewed, to find out their personal experience with a community financed health care system. In addition, students meet others involved with the community financing system, including midwives, rural health workers, and physicians, to discover their personal experiences with community financing systems.
• SPH HC 842: Coursework at University of Philippines, Manila Campus
  Students in HC842 at part of the Program in International Health Practice in the Philippines. As part of the requirements of HC842, students attend classes in Manila, at the University of the Philippines, College of Public Health, earning 8 credits towards the MPH degree. For more information, go to http://sph.bu.edu/ih/philippines.
• SPH IH 702: Skills in Critical Analysis and Evidence Based Writing for Public Health Professionals
  This introductory course will develop students’ abilities to read the public health literature critically and to integrate evidence into a well-crafted policy memo. The class will focus on critical analysis of a case study focused on two research articles analyzing interventions to prevent HIV transmission. Through in-class discussions students will explore why the studies drew different conclusions. Course assignments will allow students to hone the applied critical analysis and writing skills they will need as public health professionals.
• SPH IH 703: Global Public Health: History, Approaches and Practices
  “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of Giants”. Sir Isaac Newton, 15 February 1676. As public health professionals, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This course has two major goals --- to welcome incoming the MPH class into membership in the professional social movement called public health and to expose you to the rich historical tradition of the profession you have chosen. We will introduce you to the history of public health and connect those historical events to current global health practice and issues. Using selected public health case studies and through a review of selected leaders and heroes/heroines we will highlight a selection of extraordinary individuals and events. These case studies will examine the complexities and the importance of heroes/heroines and mentors. We will ensure that all the incoming MPH students have a functional literacy of the current global health architecture and understand the politics of priority-setting and decision-making. The course will address issues of human rights, individual rights, population rights and ethics. Intended for new International Health concentrators or students interested in International Health; not for students who have completed IH700 or PH511 or IH771 in fall 2008.
• SPH IH 704: International Public Health and Medical Care: A Systems Approach
  This course gives students an understanding of the elements common to all medical care systems and the factors which influence the shape, cost, performance, and quality of health systems. Examples are drawn from countries whose wealth and stage of development vary widely. The interaction between the public and private components of the health sector is explored. Equity in health services is a crosscutting theme. Students learn about the organization, delivery, and financing of medical care and the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches to health care finance and delivery. The major problems in health care facing low- and middle-income countries and the strategic options available to these countries are addressed. The course is taught in an interactive lecture format. There is an emphasis on systems thinking and systems approach. All International Health concentrators, including domestic students, and MPH students who are not U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or Health Policy & Management concentrators may substitute this course for the health policy & management MPH core requirement course, PM702. Students who have taken PM702 for MPH degree credit may also take this course. There is very little overlap between the two courses. IH concentrators are given preference in registration but registration is open.
• SPH IH 707: Kenya Field Practicum in Public Health and Environment
  This 5-week course in Kenya focuses on environmental and community health as it relates to the indigenous Maasai residing at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. In the early 1980s Kenya began a process of privatizing open grazing land into group ranches. This significant land use change has forced traditionally nomadic peoples, including the Maasai, onto smaller plots of land. This change in lifestyle has been associated with a rise in sanitation-related and water-borne diseases, infant and childhood disease and HIV/AIDS. Participants in the Kenya Field Practicum will be trained in field-based data collection, analysis, report-writing and presentation skills. Past summer sessions have collected baseline information on water and sanitation practices, community health indicators and worked with local organizations to evaluate the success of health interventions. Results and recommendations are presented to local Maasai leaders and other stakeholders. Contact Joe Anzalone for information regarding application, travel, and related information. The course also fulfills the BUSPH field practicum requirement if students also complete two skills-based professional development seminars.
• SPH IH 715: Antiretroviral Program Management and Adherence Issues in Low-Resource Settings
  Successful HIV/AIDS treatment programs rely on consistent, uninterrupted supplies of antiretrovirals (ARVs), appropriate ARV prescribing, retention of patients in treatment programs, and a high level of adherence by patients. Ineffective ARV management can lead to treatment failures, ARV resistance, and insufficient program uptake. This course provides students with practical knowledge and skills to manage challenges in the areas of ARV selection, pricing, quality, and program monitoring and evaluation. Guest lecturers with relevant expertise will be invited to speak on several specific topics. One session will be devoted to a field visit to an adherence clinic to learn directly about the ARV program management issues faced by practitioners and patients.
• SPH IH 720: Social and Behavioral Sciences in International Public Health
  Public health professionals know what behaviors contribute to health; however, they know less about why people fail to adopt healthy practices. This course is based on the premise that the more we understand about why people behave the way they do, the more successful we will be as we develop and implement programs and policies designed to improve health. This course uses psychology, sociology and anthropology to improve our understanding of the determinants of health behavior and will provide an introduction to a variety of health behavior theories and basic qualitative research methods. Our intent is to develop practical strategies for understanding the social and behavioral foundations of public health, enabling us to plan effective interventions. Working individually and in groups, students will use conceptual frameworks such as BEHAVE to help identify a public health problem, select a target audience, conduct basic qualitative research to determine facilitators and barriers to engaging in a given practice, and propose several behavior change and communications (BCC) strategies based on an assessment of the situation. This course is intended to provide students a foundation for future coursework in program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The two sections of IH 720 that are offered in the Fall (as well as SB 721) focus more heavily on the contributions of psychology and sociology while the Spring section emphasizes anthropology. All IH concentrators and international, nonresident students who are not SB concentrators may substitute IH 720 for the behavioral sciences MPH core requirement, SB 721. Students who have taken SB 721 may not take this course for degree credit. Preference is given to IH concentrators for registration.
• SPH IH 731: Leadership & Negotiations
  It is surprisingly difficult to lead, structure, maintain, reinvigorate and negotiate one's way through organizations, especially during times of downsizing, change, and uncertainty. This course investigates how to do so by drawing on a variety of interdisciplinary approaches. Students enhance their skills in collaborative problem solving and leadership by analyzing and proposing solutions to organizational and managerial challenges. Core topics are drawn from a continuum of current issues facing leaders and followers, such as leadership styles, conflict resolution, and negotiations. Case studies, practical experiential exercises, and self-discovery questionnaires are used throughout this course. Students are required to do a presentation & a research paper.
• SPH IH 733: Managing Teams and Groups for the New or Emerging Leader
  Every leader, manager, or supervisor undoubtedly has many goals to achieve and roles to fulfill. One major challenge is to successfully work with various internal and external groups and constituencies. Meetings with task forces, staffs, district health boards, relief camp workers, NGOs, community, and governmental groups, and facilitating retreats are just a few of the opportunities for an effective leader/facilitator to impact an audience. These tasks require that person to call upon skills and knowledge in positive interpersonal relations, effective problem analysis, negotiation and conflict resolution, giving positive and negative feedback, and motivating civil service employees. This course is designed to equip students with these skills that are necessary to work effectively as a member and as a leader/facilitator of teams. To acquire these skills, each student will have the opportunity to form and lead a team to present at least one case. In addition, each student will gain practice facilitating group exercises.
• SPH IH 735: Gender, Sexuality, Power, & Inequity in International Health
  This course explores the socio-cultural, economic and political contexts in which people live their lives and how these, and local and large-scale forces of structural violence (inequity, marginalization and gender discrimination) impact health and development. Course readings and discussions examine how these forces constitute immediate and fundamental risk factors and must therefore be considered and addressed as part of any effort to improve public health. Course format: seminar with topics introduced by professor and guest lecturers.
• SPH IH 737: International Organizational Behavior: A Cross Cultural Approach
  The purpose of this course is to begin and/or enhance the process of learning to work and interact successfully with individuals and groups in non-American cultures. Health care delivery and accessibility differ in various parts of the world; so do the quality, cost, management, and vision of health care. This course emphasizes the major influence of country or ethnic culture on organizational behavior and will present a selection of these topics: leadership, team building, organizational change, influence and power and motivation.
• SPH IH 738: Negotiating with Positive Power
  The purpose of this course is to begin or enhance the process of building successful health care leaders in the United States and abroad. Students will increase their level of self-awareness and gain knowledge, skills and abilities to proactively respond to contemporary issues of positive power and negotiations confronting health care professionals. Students will actively demonstrate their understanding and use of these two concepts through multiple role-plays and analysis of cases and a film.

Note that this information may change at any time.

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