Public Health Core

• SPH PH 506: International Health and the World Health Organization
  Principles of International Health is designed for students with an interest in the theory and practice of health management in developing countries. There are no prerequisites: students with a background in international relations, politics, and economics will all find that the course touches on issues relevant to their main field of study. The course is divided into six topics, including nutrition, maternal and child health, and infectious diseases. Policy issues involving research into the causes of illness and the treatment of disease in the developing world will also be discussed.The course will be directed and partly taught by Dr Philip Jenkins, who has worked on public health issues at the World Health Organization for eighteen years. There will also be many specialized guest lectures by international experts from the World Health Organization or other health-care organizations based in Geneva and field-trips to some of these organizations. This course is for undergraduates enrolled through the Geneva Internship Program only.
• SPH PH 510: Introduction to Public Health
  Students will gain an understanding of public health as a broad, collective enterprise that seeks to extend the benefits of current biomedical, environmental, social, and behavioral knowledge in ways that maximize its impact on the health status of a population. The course will provide a public health perspective that will assist the student in identifying and addressing an ever expanding list of health problems that call for collective action to protect, promote and improve our nation’s health, primarily through preventive strategies. The course includes an active learning component and is intended for both graduate and undergraduate students regardless of one’s program of study. It does not carry degree credit for MPH students. PH510 is a requirement for obtaining a minor in public health and is appropriate for undergraduates and others who are not in an SPH degree program.
• SPH PH 511: Pathogens, Poverty, and Populations: An Introduction to International Health
  This course will introduce students to issues of public health importance in developing countries. For each disease or public health problem considered, the class will explore its epidemiology, natural history, risk factors and contributing causes, and responses of the public health community at local, national, regional, and international levels. The course includes six sections: Core Concepts, Child Health and Nutrition, Infectious Diseases, Women’s Health and HIV/AIDS, Chronic and Non-communicable Diseases, and Concluding Sessions. PH511 is appropriate for undergraduates and others who are not in an SPH degree program. Students who complete PH511 as undergraduates should not also take IH703.
• SPH PH 709: The Biology of Public Health
  This course, designed for students who have little or no background in the biological sciences, provides a foundation in the biological mechanisms and principles underlying major public health problems. Selected public health problems are explored from a biological perspective in order to provide fundamental information about infectious and non-infectious agents of disease, disease transmission, biological defense mechanisms, co-evolution of man and microbes, the effects of nutritional deficiency and excess, effects of respiratory exposures, the biology of cancer, aging, and other topics. Each student completing this course should be able to knowledgeably participate in a discussion of public health problems with a basic understanding of the terminology, the underlying biological mechanisms of major public health problems, the biological impact of disease, and the major biological issues that influence the success of interventions. This course, or its equivalent, or SPH EH710, Physiology, are required pre-requisites for SPH EH768, Introduction to Toxicology.
• SPH PH 771: Topics in Public Health
  Varies by semester; see printed course descriptions and printed course schedules on School of Public Health web site, http://sph.bu.edu/registrar
• SPH PH 825: The Role of Human and Environmental Factors in Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
  The goal of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the human and environmental factors involved in the natural history of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Specific infectious diseases, including avian influenza, SARS, dengue, chikungunya, and enterohemorrhagic E. coli, will be employed as models to illustrate the involvement of these factors. Major emphasis will be placed on understanding the pathogenesis of the specific infectious diseases under discussion, as such an understanding is essential for appreciating how any disease emerges or re-emerges. At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to apply the principles they have learned to analyze and determine the factors involved in the new emergence or re-emergence of an infectious disease; knowledge which is ultimately essential for determining appropriate disease control and prevention strategies.
• SPH PH 850: Social and Cultural Factors Affecting the Health of Populations
  This course explores the roles of social and cultural factors as determinants of public health and examines social epidemiology concepts and approaches. Seminar participants explore how social science disciplines are useful in analyzing and solving public health challenges. Students will develop an overview of available research on the socio-economic, racial/ethnic, and gender gradients in health domestically and internationally. Structural violence as a social force will be emphasized. In addition, the course emphasizes the relationships among methodological strategies, theory development, and the evolution of social policy.
• SPH PH 851: Needs Assessment
  This course examines the processes by which local and regional health status and services can be assessed and analyzed. Students will learn approaches to: quantitatively and qualitatively defining public health problems; setting a community agenda by prioritizing distinct public health problems; engage the community in assessing local capacity to address those problems; visualizing those problems with Geographic Information Systems; and presenting the results of their assessment to audiences of decision makers and the public.
• SPH PH 852: Research Methods for Public Health Practice
  This course introduces students to the principles underlying the types of scientific studies that inform health programs methods such as cross-sectional surveys, qualitative studies, and randomized controlled trials. Issues related to sampling, instrument selection , variable construction , research ethics and community involvement will among those explored in the course. Instruction is primarily through discussion of the advantages and limitations of real life studies that have informed health programming,and through a student project to design a feasible study to address an issue of interest to the students. In this way students will learn about the advantages and limitations of various study designs. The goal of the course is to enable participants to review scientific studies and critically assess their relevance to their area of public health practice.
• SPH PH 853: Health Program Development and Management
  This course provides an applied, practitioner-oriented survey of major topics involving the management and finance of public health organizations and programs. The goal is for students to develop an understanding of the underlying conceptual frameworks, theoretical structure, principal issues involved, and knowledge and skills required in the management and financing of governmental and non-profit organizations which provide, and oversee the provision of, public health services. The course draws upon the theories of public sector management, economics, public finance and expenditure, financial and managerial accounting for governments and non-profits and financial administration.
• SPH PH 854: Program and Policy Evaluation
  Evaluation research is critical to the advancement of public health knowledge and the improvement of program services. This course focuses on the theory and practice of program evaluation and the development of student evaluation skills and their implementation in practice. Students will use case study materials. Students will learn to conceptualize the entire evaluation process from the development of program logic, through evaluation design, measurement, sample size calculation and an analysis plan. In addition, students will learn about cost-effectiveness analysis and meta-analysis for policy development. PH854 is a summer-long course.
• SPH PH 856: Law & Ethics for Public Health Leaders
  Law, ethics, and human rights often either determine or heavily influence both the range of choices open to public health policymakers and the means available to achieve public health goals. Using case studies, including rationing flu vaccine, responding to catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, protecting and promoting women’s health and reproductive rights in developing countries, and regulating research to prevent exploitation of subjects in resource poor countries, students will recognize and integrate legal, ethical, and human rights concepts into public health policy development.
• SPH PH 857: Health Economics and Financial Management for Public Health
  This course is an applied, practitioner-oriented survey of major topics in health economics and the financial management of public health organizations and programs. It will provide students with a brief introduction to the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of health economics and financial management, but the focus will be on practical application to health care market issues, resource allocation policy problems, financial and managerial accounting, performance measurement, and economic evaluation of public health programs.
• SPH PH 858: Cases in Public Health Management
  This course will focus on developing tools for and perspectives on decision- making in senior public health positions through analysis of a series of case studies. Students will adopt different roles in preparing the cases, sometimes singly and sometimes in groups. The cases will address challenges faced by senior leadership including human resources, facilities design, quality control, organizational change and integration of policy and program planning. Students will be assessed on: (1) memos prepared for their roles in individual classes; (2) the quality of their participation in class discussions of the cases; and (3) their response to a case that will be distributed as a final examination.
• SPH PH 866: Doctor of Public Health Leadership Seminar
  The leadership seminar will provide a place for combining and applying knowledge from previous courses and field experience to address crosscutting issues that may not be covered in any single Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) core or departmental course. The exact subject matter will change annually but continually address challenges encountered in public health leadership. The seminar will also provide an opportunity to interact with senior Pubic Health practitioners. DrPH students will take this course in fall and spring of their first year of coursework.
• SPH PH 970: Public Health Practicum
  This course allows students the opportunity to integrate and apply classroom learning in a public health work environment through an approved, planned and supervised practicum. For students matriculating in Fall 2009 and after, course components include: 1. placement in an agency or organization with a scope of work which develops and applies learned public health skills. 2. minimum of 112 practicum work hours 3.approved learning contract 4.faculty and agency oversight 5.midpoint review 6.written abstract 7. poster presentation and integration seminar 8.evaluations 9. attendance of 2 skill-based professional development seminars. For students matriculating prior to Fall 2009, see the Practice Office for requirements. Practicum course is graded pass/fail.
• SPH PH 971: Public Health Practicum
  This course presents an opportunity for students to use his/her second year SSW field placement to fulfill the MPH practicum requirement. Course components include one, 2-hour seminar and an individualized learning experience (choice of seminars or reflective essay, focusing on social work and/or public health practices). Students must also attend two skill-based professional development seminars. Practicum is graded Pass/fail.
• SPH PH 975: Public Health Practicum
  This course allows students the opportunity to integrate and apply classroom learning in a public health work environment through an approved, planned and supervised practicum. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. For students matriculating in Fall 2009 and after, course components include: 1. placement in an agency or organization with a scope of work which develops and applies learned public health skills. 2. minimum of 112 practicum work hours 3.approved learning contract 4.faculty and agency oversight 5.midpoint review 6.written abstract 7. poster presentation and integration seminar 8.evaluations 9. attendance of 2 skill-based professional development seminars. For students matriculating prior to Fall 2009 who do a 2 or 4 credit practicum, see the Practice Office for requirements. Students matriculating prior to Fall 2009 who select a 1 or 3 credit practicum in Fall 2009 or thereafter must follow the new requirements. Practicum course is graded pass/fail.
• SPH PH 984: Public Health Practicum
  This 4-credit directed practicum option and is available for the student who will produce an enhanced academic product suitable for publication or for presentation upon completion of the practicum. In order to choose this option, the student must also identify a BUSPH faculty member with whom to work. Expectations and guidelines for the academic product must be discussed with the faculty preceptor at the onset of the practicum. The student must demonstrate the capacity to complete such a project. The faculty member should commit to such a project only if he/she is willing to co-author with the student on the practicum product. The faculty member must also commit to meeting with the student several times during the course of the practicum semester. For students matriculating in Fall 2009 and after, course components include: 1. placement in an agency or organization with a scope of work which develops and applies learned public health skills. 2. minimum of 112 practicum work hours 3.approved learning contract 4.faculty and agency oversight 5.midpoint review 6.written abstract 7. poster presentation and integration seminar 8.evaluations 9. attendance of 2 skill-based professional development seminars.10. submission of enhanced academic product. For students matriculating prior to Fall 2009, see the Practice Office for requirements. Practicum is graded.
• SPH PH 986: DrPH Practicum
  Required practicum for DrPH students. Students must submit paperwork to Sebastian Bach in the DrPH Program Office for approval prior to registration. Course is pass/fail.

Note that this information may change at any time.

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