Courses
The course descriptions below are correct to the best of our knowledge as of August 2011. 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.
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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: 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. -
SPH PH 990: Continuing Study in DrPH Program
Must be DrPH student working on dissertation. Doctoral students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study Fee every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their dissertation and graduated from SPH. Students are certified full time, charged for student health insurance, and pay the equivalent of two credits of tuition. -
SPH PM 702: Introduction to Health Policy & Management
Close to 90 percent of the $2.6 trillion spent on health care in this nation in 2010 was used to provide medical services to individuals. High costs, declining coverage, stresses on many caregivers, tradeoffs among quality and cost and access, and growing political tensions afflict U.S. health care. These problems affect all of us who work in public health. This course analyzes these problems, their causes, and ways to solve them. Specifically, how can our vast human and financial resources be marshaled and managed to improve health care delivery for all Americans? To answer this question, the course examines how people are covered, how care is organized and delivered, how caregivers are paid, management, politics, ethics, and more. It considers hospitals, physicians and other caregivers, long-term care, prescription drugs, and mental health. NOTE: This course meets the health policy and management MPH core requirement. It is the prerequisite for most others in the department. Peace Corps/MI students who are not HPM concentrators, students studying on F-1 or J-1 visas, students who are not permanent residents of the U.S. and who are not Health Policy and Management concentrators and all International Health concentrators may substitute IH704. -
SPH PM 721: Organizational Behavior and Health Management
This course provides a framework for understanding, diagnosing, and taking actions to improve individual, group, and system-wide effectiveness in health services organizations. The conceptual framework is derived from the organizational behavior literature and applied to health services organizations. Some of the topics this course addresses and integrates are leadership, motivation, corporate culture, teams, organization design and coordination, and organization change. Case studies, brief lectures, student presentations, and experiential exercises are used throughout this course. -
SPH PM 733: Health Program Management
This course associates practical management in health care settings with real-world business knowledge and skills. It aims to better equip present and future health care managers in order to plan effectively, anticipate challenges and marshal resources. Students will gain an appreciation for the complexities of management and leadership in challenging health care situations. Concepts will be discussed briefly with the greater emphasis on the development of critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in today's healthcare environment. This course will make significant use of case study and requires class participation. Topics include differentiating leadership from management, budgeting, patient and process flow, and managing change. In addition, one session is devoted entirely to healthcare negotiations. PM733 is a summer-long course. -
SPH PM 734: Principles of Non-Profit Accounting
This course combines didactic and case study approaches to the fundamentals of nonprofit accounting, with emphasis on health care institutions. Topics covered include accrual accounting, fund accounting, budgeting, and cost concepts. Analysis and interpretation of financial statements for decision making by the nonfinancial manager are stressed. -
SPH PM 735: Health Care Finance
This course describes how money works in health care, presents a variety of useful analytic techniques, and explores alternative methods of using money to shape more accessible, affordable, and effective health care. We examine current financial crises and managerial problems in health care and their proposed solutions. No financial or accounting background is assumed. -
SPH PM 736: Human Resource Management in Public Health
This course provides students with a skills-based orientation to human resource management, especially in a public health or human services setting. Core human resource management activities such as staffing, training and development, compensation, and employee relations are explored via readings, cases, and experiential activities. Using case examples that illustrate basic principles, students develop strategies to improve human resources practices through job analysis, selection, training, compensation, employee relations, while developing an awareness of the legal mandates and unique aspects of health care workforces that affect human resource management in such settings.
