Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• SPH PM 844: Health Policy and Policy-making for Public Health Researchers
  Graduate Prerequisites: For doctoral students in the health services research program. Othersonly with instructor approval.
  This doctoral level course will offer students in the Health Services Research program an in-depth look at major health policy debates. Particular attention will be paid to the factors affecting policy making and the role of scholarship in this process. The role of public health in policy debates or the lack thereof will be an ongoing theme throughout the semester. The course begins with a foundation on the policy making process at the federal, state, and local levels. Using these tools, students will examine the history of health reform in America and abroad, including the development and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the challenges and opportunities of payment and delivery reforms, the role of the Veteran's Health Administration, and mental and behavioral health. Students will apply theoretical concepts from the opening weeks to produce multiple types of deliverables about an issue of their choosing, including a blog post translating academic research for a broad policy audience, a literature review intended for researchers or potential funders, a manuscript in the style of a New England Journal of Medicine perspective intended for journalists and anyone participating in policy debates, and legislative testimony intended for policymakers.
• SPH PM 846: Advanced Quantitative Policy and Program Implementation and Evaluation
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PM 822 and SPH PM 828; or by permission of the instructor.
  The aim of this course is to provide advanced level graduate students with applied skills in quantitative policy analysis and program implementation and evaluation. To do so, we will review and further explore several topics of causal inference and research design that are partially introduced in other quantitative methods courses. Moreover, this course exposes students in an in- depth way to research projects completed by leading scholars in the field. The specific methods covered in this course include logic models, implementation evaluation, randomized experiments, and natural experiments applied to a broad spectrum of public policy problems and solutions. The course will integrate multiple skill sets, including quantitative modelling, statistical programming, research design, and proposal writing.
• SPH PM 847: Introduction to Organizational Theory
  Aligning with evidence-based medicine, evidenced-based management advances decision making from the realm of intuition to scientific study and implementation. Historically, however, there has been limited adoption of evidence-based programs without first changing an organization's culture. This suggests a need to both support "active users of evidence," but also to define which "evidence" is best, mindful that whoever controls the definition of "evidence" holds the power to disrupt the system. With this paradox in mind, the structure and behavior of healthcare organizations can have a major impact on the access, quality, safety, and cost of patient care. In this course, we will review and apply the major organization theory perspectives to address health care planning and action at the: (1) macrolevel - the ways that organizations adapt to various market and environmental factors; the (2) mesolevel - the structures and processes occurring at the level of the organization as a whole or within an organization network; and (3) the microlevel - the internal activities and relationships, such as within teams, inside an organization's boundaries. Particular attention is given to the theory of how organizations function in their changing environments, and in developing the student's ability to conduct theory-based research on health care organizations.
• SPH PM 849: Introduction to Quality Measurement
  The purpose of this class is to provide a scientific basis to quality measurement and evaluation. Topics include conceptual frameworks of quality measurement, reliability and validity of measures, data sources, rating scales, measuring different domains of quality, development of performance and composite measures, provider profiling and ranking, risk-adjustment, and quality measurement in an era of health reform. Topics are explored through readings and journal clubs, lectures, practical data exercises, and case studies. Readings are primarily drawn from the health services research literature.
• SPH PM 850: Consumer Organizing and Advocacy for Health System Change
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH719
  There is abundant evidence in public health that one of the most effective ways to improve population health is by changing the policies and structures that set the contexts in which people make their decisions about health, and through which they access their health care. To change these policies and structures, public health professionals should be familiar with existing techniques and technologies for mobilizing and expressing popular support and pressure within existing policy frameworks that often seem unresponsive to community-based public health concerns. This course introduces students to two key areas of knowledge in public health practice: 1) the principles and methods of community organizing and 2) campaigning for policy and structural change. A series of short assignments culminates in a final product: the creation of a campaign plan for changing public policy regarding a specific public health problem. Students will also choose an actual policy campaign, volunteer with that campaign, and use the course materials to reflect critically on their campaign experience.
• SPH PM 851: Organizing and Advocacy for Health Policy Change
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH719
  There is abundant evidence in public health that one of the most effective ways to improve population health is by changing the policies and structures that set the contexts in which people make their decisions about health, and through which they access their health care. To change these policies and structures, public health professionals should be familiar with existing techniques and technologies for mobilizing and expressing popular support and pressure within existing policy frameworks that often seem unresponsive to community-based public health concerns. This course introduces students to two key areas of knowledge in public health practice: 1) the principles and methods of community organizing and 2) campaigning for policy and structural change. A series of short assignments culminates in a final product: the creation of a campaign plan for changing public policy regarding a specific public health problem. Students will also choose an actual policy campaign, volunteer with that campaign, and use the course materials to reflect critically on their campaign experience.
• SPH PM 855: Cost Effectiveness Analysis and Decision Analysis
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH BS703 and PM814. Students may not take both PM807 and PM855 for degree credit.
  This course offers an introduction to the uses and conduct of cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) as decision making aids in the health and medical fields. It provides students with an understanding of the roles and limitations of CEAs and criteria for evaluating these studies. Important theoretical and practical issues encountered in measuring costs and effectiveness, evaluating outcomes, discounting, and dealing with uncertainty are discussed. Discussions on framing and reporting of CEAs focus on the purpose of the analysis and the effective communication of its findings. Case studies demonstrate the use of CEAs in the areas of prevention, drug treatment, and new technologies. Students who take PM855 should not enroll in PM807.
• SPH PM 860: Contemporary Structures of Health Services
  This course is designed to provide an introduction to the objects of inquiry in health services research: the structures of health services that are the sites of organized processes that produce health outcomes. These structures include financial arrangements, e.g., insurance, ambulatory services, hospitals, systems for providing community-based care, and the socially organized relationships between organized services and their clienteles. These structures are examined in light of their constant evolution in changing social, economic, and political contexts.
• SPH PM 862: Theory in the Analysis of Health Services
  This course is an introduction to theory to inform analyses of the structures, processes, and outcomes of health services. Theoretical approaches, drawn from the social sciences, are reviewed in elucidating the evolving structures of health services, the providers' practices within organizations, and the relationships between providers and consumers of health care.
• SPH PM 864: Contemporary Structures of Health Services
  This course is designed to provide an introduction to the objects of inquiry in health services research: the structures of health services that are the sites of organized processes that produce health outcomes. These structures include financial arrangements, e.g., insurance, ambulatory services, hospitals, systems for providing community-based care, and the socially organized relationships between organized services and their clienteles. These structures are examined in light of their constant evolution in changing social, economic, and political contexts.
• SPH PM 866: Theory in the Analysis of Health Services
  This course is an introduction to theory to inform analyses of the structures, processes, and outcomes of health services. Theoretical approaches, drawn from the social sciences, are reviewed in elucidating the evolving structures of health services, the providers' practices within organizations, and the relationships between providers and consumers of health care.
• SPH PM 871: Advanced Topics in Health Policy & Management
  Description varies by semester; see published semester schedule and descriptions on School of Public Health web site for details.
• SPH PM 874: Causal Inference for Health Services Research
  Public health research often entails asking and trying to answer questions about the causes of health outcomes. Answers to such causal questions require us to combine data (e.g., from randomized trials or observational studies) with assumptions to infer causal effects. This course will teach students to think critically and rigorously about the implications of study design and analysis for addressing public health questions. Students will develop a rigorous understanding of the statistical foundations of causal inference approaches, including classical regression models and extensions. They will also be asked to draw upon their own research experiences and prior training to evaluate public health studies.
• SPH PM 931: Directed Studies in HPM
  Directed Studies 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 a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study by submitting a paper registration form and a signed directed study proposal form. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students are placed in a section by the SPH 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 PM 932: Directed Research in HPM
  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 SPH 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 PM 940: Health Policy and Management Culminating Experience
  Graduate Prerequisites: HPM concentrators in their final semester who have completed their Management or Policy & Planning distribution requirement.
  Health Policy and Management concentrators must complete a culminating experience in their final semester of registration. To document their work on the culminating experience, concentrators must register for SPH PM940, a zero-credit, pass/fail course. For more details on the requirements for the culminating experience, please see the Concentrator Guide for the concentration.
• SPH PM 950: Applied Studies in Health Services Research
  This is an upper-level applied seminar, in which a small group of students is mentored through the completion of one of the most significant steps in the research process: the development of a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Students will analyze existing literature, previously collected data, or available datasets in order to explore a health services research topic and conduct all steps in developing a final manuscript for submission. Through a combination of workshops, written assignments, and oral presentations, students will develop research questions and/or hypotheses, conduct literature reviews, perform data analyses, and draft and edit each section of their manuscripts.
• SPH PM 951: Applied Studies in Health Services Research 2
  This is a continuation of SPH PM950.
• SPH PM 980: Continuing Study in Health Services Research
  Graduate Prerequisites: M.S. and Ph.D. students in health services research approved for dissertation or thesis work by program director
  M.S. and Ph.D. students in Health Services Research who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their thesis or dissertation and graduated from SPH. Students are charged the equivalent of two credits of tuition, student health insurance, and all relevant fees, and are certified as full time students.
• SPH SB 710: Nutrition and Public Health
  This course examines the principles of public health nutrition and explores the nutritional status of individuals throughout their life cycle. Faculty focus on nutrition assessment, the development of nutrition policy, the role of diet in obesity and chronic diseases of an affluent society, nutrition program planning, and national and local nutrition surveillance. In addition, the course reviews the components of administering nutrition services on a local, national, and international level. The impact of overall socioeconomic development on nutrition and health status, infectious disease, and public health policy is considered. No previous coursework in nutrition is required; a basic introduction to nutrition is provided.