MPH COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
REQUIRED COURSES
(MPH STUDENTS MUST TAKE ALL OF THESE COURSES)
Course pages can be found here.
Epidemiology 1 : Research Design
514-5501
This introduction to epidemiology focuses on measures of disease frequency and association, observational study design, and diagnostic and screening tests. The course reviews the use of these tools and the role of epidemiology in measuring disease in populations, estimating risks, and influencing public policy. Study designs reviewed include cross sectional, ecologic, case control and cohort studies.
Enrollment is limited.
Griffin (4 hours)
Biostatistics 1
514-5502
Basic concepts and methods of biostatistics, including data description and exploratory data analysis, study design and sample size calculations, probability, sampling distributions, estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, nonparametric tests, analysis of continuous, categorical, and survival data, data analysis for cohort and case-control studies, relative risk and odds ratio estimation, introduction to linear and logistic regression.
Enrollment is limited.
Arbogast (4 hours)
Clinical Trials
514-5504
Introduces issues in design, conduct, and data analysis of clinical trials, emphasizing practical use of methods. Topics include types/objectives of the clinical trials, study design, blindness, randomization and stratification, sample size determination, interim monitoring, ethical guidelines, data analysis and interpretation of results. The parallel design, factorial designs, cross-over designs, nested designs for superiority, non-inferiority, clinical equivalence and bioequivalence trials will be discussed. Other topics include role of clinical trials in FDA drug approval process, meta-analysis, and management of clinical trial data.
Enrollment is limited.
Shyr (4 hours)
Social and Behavioral Science for Public Health
514-5514
The course will address two core areas in social and behavioral science for public health: 1) the measurement of knowledge, attributes, attitudes and behaviors that are relevant to health behavior research, with a focus on scale development and 2) the dispositional and situational variables that underlie current theories of behavior and behavior change, with current applications.
Elasy (3 hours)
Biostatistics 2
514-5509
Modern multivariate analyses, based on the concept of generalized linear models . Includes linear, logistic and Poisson regression, survival analysis, fixed effects analysis of variance and repeated measures analysis of variance. Course emphasizes underlying similarity of these methods, choice of the right method for specific problems, common aspects of model construction, and the testing of model assumptions through influence and residual analyses. Prerequisite, Biostatistics 1 or consent of the course director.
Enrollment is limited.
Dupont (4 hours)
Epidemiology 2 : Non-randomized Study Design
514-5508
The design of non-randomized studies, including factors that are important in design selection. The design of cohort studies, including rationale for use of the cohort study, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, assembly and follow-up of the cohort, exposure measurement, outcome ascertainment, confounders, effect modification, calculation of measures of occurrence and effect, summary of multivariate statistical analyses for cohort studies. The case-control study, including rationale for use, conditions necessary for validity of the case-control study, selection of controls, sources of bias in case-control studies, and multivariate analysis. The ecological study, including when to use and when to avoid. Designs to usually avoid: cross-sectional, case-series and exposed-subject designs. The course includes didactic lectures and critical reading of important epidemiologic studies from the current medical literature. The latter encompasses discussion of the articles in small groups and structured presentation to the class. Prerequisites: Epidemiology 1, Biostatistics 2, Clinical Trials, or approval of instructor. Enrollment is limited to 24 students due to space restrictions, with priority given to MPH and MSCI students.
Ray (4 hours)
Health Services Administration 1: Healthcare Systems
514-5537
This course provides an overview of the organization, financing, and delivery of healthcare. The course will review the complex inter-relationships among key stakeholders in the industry, how this structure has evolved over time, and how these system wide challenges are likely to affect healthcare policy in the future. Prerequisite: Epidemiology 2, Biostatistics 2 or approval of instructor.
Van Horn (1 hour)
Health Services Administration 2: Program & Policy Evaluation
514-5511
The evaluation of changes in the health care delivery system, either through programs specifically implemented to achieve such changes or through changes in health care delivery/financing policies. The primary designs--before/after, concurrent/retrospective control, interrupted time-series-and their strengths and limitations. Class will include didactic lectures and small group critical reading/presentation of current program/policy evaluations published in leading medical journals. Prerequisite: Epidemiology 2, Biostatistics 2 or approval of instructor.
Ray (3 hours)
Environmental Health
514-5516
This course will review the 3 key public health functions of assessment, policy development and assurance in relationship to environmental health issues. Topics covered will include public health surveillance activities including bioterrorism issues; food safety; air pollution, and genetics and public health. Students will learn where to obtain publicly available population data on health-related events from a variety of surveillance activities and special surveys.
Vergara (2 hours)
Grant Writing and Scientific Communication
514-5517
Principles of scientific written and oral communication, with a focus on grant writing will be discussed. The principles of scientific grant writing will include how to write the background and significance, previous work, and methods sections. Students will review grants submitted to public health service study sections, participate in a mock study section, and prepare a sample grant application. Enrollment limited to matriculants in the MPH or MSCI programs. MPH matriculants must have completed Epidemiology 2.
Enrollment is limited.
Ray & N. Brown (1 hour)
Research Ethics
514-5518
Presents issues in the responsible conduct of research, including ethics, data management, research fraud, academic misconduct, and conflict of interest. The course covers federal and institutional guidelines regarding research in human and animal subjects. Topics include vulnerable populations in research, confidentiality and the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Cooper (1 hour)
Protocol Development
514-5527
This course focuses on development of the individual student's research protocol. Each student will present the background, methods, and limitations of their proposed research design in class. Students will complete the research protocol for their Master's thesis as a part of the course. Enrollment is limited to students in the MPH program.
Cooper (1 hour)
Thesis Research
514-5599
The primary objective is completion of the thesis project. The student will coordinate dissertation research activities with the Thesis Committee.
Cooper (up to 5 hours)
MPH Seminar (Present at 1 seminar, attend at least one other)
514-5519
A research seminar at which each student presents the results of the thesis research. This will be organized into a 1 hour presentation with a Background and Significance, Methods, Results, and Public Health/Research Implications covered. A total of 4 seminars are scheduled each year. Each student schedules a presentation at one of these (4 maximum) on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students are encouraged to attend all of the others and must attend at least one. Students must obtain approval of their Thesis committee prior to presenting.
Cooper (1 hour)
Public Health Practicum
514-5536
Each student will participate in a public health practicum which will provide students with opportunities to develop practical skills and competencies in public health practice settings.
Griffin (4 hours)
ELECTIVE COURSES
(MPH students may substitute elective courses for a portion of the dissertation research credit.)
Clinical Economics and Decision Analysis (offered every other year)
514-5512
This course will provide an overview of qualitative and quantitative decision making with a dominant focus on quantitative techniques for decision-making, using clinical and economic endpoints and their role in clinical strategies of care and health policy. Topics include: cognitive heuristics, Baye's theorem, ROC analysis, the study of diagnostic tests, meta-analysis, health states and utility measurement using expected value decision making, decision tree analysis, Markov processes and network simulation modeling, quantitative management of uncertainty, cost theory and accounting, cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis.
Dittus, Speroff, Stiles (3 hours)