MPH Context Certificate: Global Health

In our constantly evolving world, global health practitioners must have the ability to adapt to emerging challenging in a variety of settings, including designing culturally appropriate disease prevention activities and having the capacity to rapidly respond to sudden crises such as the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The global health professional of the future must therefore be equipped with the contextual knowledge needed to address global health problems while respecting social norms and values, using data to set priorities, and incorporating the latest technologies and other innovative strategies to meet global health needs.

This certificate helps to lay the foundation for a global health career by providing students with a nuanced understanding of the causes and consequences of health problems, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and methods for influencing health behaviors, programs, and policies to improve health outcomes. Students who complete the certificate will gain necessary knowledge and skills for analyzing global health issues and participating in the development of evidence-based solutions to key global health problems.

Upon graduation, students will be able to:

• Describe current health challenges faced at global, national, regional, and community levels including major causes of morbidity and mortality, and reasons for geographic variation in health outcomes.
• Analyze a health system and its component elements in order to examine its performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, and compare it to other systems.
• Critically evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of health programs administered by governments, the private sector, and commercial entities; and identify factors that influence health program sustainability.
  Apply skills to aid in the design and implementation of health programming activities while working on teams and in collaboration with different organizations or disciplines.
• Integrate socio-cultural and political awareness with social justice and human rights principles to promote culturally acceptable solutions to improve health status and conditions, and advocate for health equity.

Course Requirements

• GH 760 Foundations of Global Health (4 cr)
• Choose 4 credits from the following:
  • GH 743 Implementing Health Programs in Developing Countries (4 cr)
  • GH 744 Program Design for Global Health (4 cr)
  • GH 887 Planning and Managing MCH Programs in Developing Countries (4 cr)
• Choose 4 credits from the following:
  • GH 715 Antiretroviral Program Management and Adherence Issues in Low-Resource Settings (2 cr)
  • GH 775 Field Practicum in Tanzania (4 cr)
  • GH 774 Implementation and Evaluation of Community Health Assessment in Mexico (4 cr)
  • GH 741 Global Health Consultation Techniques (2 cr)
  • GH 755 Managing Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (4 cr)
  • GH 757 Fighting Corruption Through Accountability and Transparency (2 cr)
  • GH 762 Essentials of Economics and Finance for Global Health (4 cr)
  • GH 766 Sexual and Reproductive Health in Disaster Settings (4 cr)
  • GH 770 Poverty, Health, and Development (4 cr)
  • GH 805 Controversies in Global Control and Eradication of Infectious Diseases (2 cr)
  • GH 880 Confronting Non-Communicable Diseases in the Developing World (4 cr)
  • GH 881 Program Design for Global Reproductive and Perinatal Health (4 cr)
  • GH 888 Seminar on Global Health Policy Issues (2 cr)
  • PM 740 Comparative Health Systems and Policy in Industrialized and BRIC Countries
  • GMS MA 622 Religion, Culture, and Public Health