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Curriculum
Ten courses (8 units of classroom
work) and two units comprising a mentored clinical research project
are required of all degree candidates.
PUB HLTH 301 Behavior, Society and Health (1)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
The interplay of social structure, technology, culture, and demography
on patterns of health, illness, and health behavior. Application
of theories of behavioral change for solving public health problems,
including stages of change, relapse prevention, social advertising,
and social marketing methods for use in primary care and community
settings.
The course focuses on the understanding of the concepts of descriptive
and inferential statistics and the application of statistical methods
in the medical and health fields. The topics include descriptive
statistics, basic probability concepts, probability distributions,
estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation, and simple linear regression.
Introduction to statistical inference, focusing on single-variable
research applications in clinical psychology. Topics include exploratory
data analysis, probability, and basic statistical tests such as
t-test, F-test, chi-square, and nonparametrics. Prerequisite: This
course may be substituted for PH 302 Intro to Biostatistics. Prior
undergraduate introductory statistics course is recommended, but
not required. This course proceeds at a more rapid pace than the
other section (PH 302) and is recommended for students that have
an affinity for solving math problems.
Research design in clinical research. Analysis of variance and
multivariate statistical models. Fundamentals of data analysis by
computer, using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
PUB HLTH 304 Introduction to Epidemiology (1)
Winter 2008 Syllabus
Introduction to epidemiology and its uses. Measures of disease
occurrence, common sources and types of data, important study designs
and sources of error in epidemiologic studies, and epidemiologic
methods. (The Medical School course MDM-2 may be substituted for
this course.)
PUB HLTH 390 International Public Health I (1)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
Introduction to major health problems in the developing world
and approaches to their solution. Students will learn about research
and intervention strategies, donor policies and about major players
in international health
PUB HLTH 413 Public Health Nutrition (1)
Winter 2008 Syllabus
Introduction to nutrition from the perspective of the
community rather than the individual. Includes the scientific basis
for nutritional requirements and recommendations, nutrition through
the life span, and the role of nutrition in health promotion and
disease prevention.
The purpose of this course is to help prepare health professionals
as leaders in the field of disease prevention and health promotion
(DP/HP). Students will learn the value of and barriers to DP/HP, how
to identify and use federal public health data sets, factors that
influence personal health decisions, preventive interventions directed
at individuals (clinical settings) and populations (community settings),
strategies for using population health principles to integrate DP/HP
into routine medical and public health practice, and the organization
of federal agencies that fund DP/HP activities. Special attention
will be given to understanding the causes and solutions of racial/ethnic
disparities, the role of low health literacy in preventive interventions,
and strategies for addressing the unique health needs of adolescents.
Class work will involve readings from the print and web-based literature,
interactive discussions, and exercises involving data gathering and
analysis from federal web sites.
PUB HLTH 421 Intermediate Biostatistics (1)
Winter 2008 Syllabus
This course builds upon the material learned
in Introduction to Biostatistics. Specifically, the course will
focus on multivariate methods of analysis for epidemiologic and
clinical studies including correlation, linear regression, logistic
regression, Cox proportional hazards regression, and lifetable analysis.
PUB HLTH 422 Intermediate Epidemiology (1)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
This course is designed to familiarize students interested in public
health and clinical epidemiology with a greater depth of knowledge
in observational epidemiologic methods, and classical methods of
statistical analysis applied to observational epidemiologic studies.
The material presented in this course will build upon methods presented
in Introduction to Epidemiology or Medical Decision Making II. Specifically,
this course will focus on the design, conduct, and interpretation
of observational studies in human populations including ecologic
and migrant studies, case-control studies and cohort studies. Moreover,
key issues related to the validity of measures of exposure and disease,
and sources of potential errors in interpreting epidemiologic studies
will be addressed. Prerequisites: PH 304 Introduction to Epidemiology
(or Medical Decision Making II) and PH 302 Introduction to Biostatistics.
Student MUST receive permission from Instructors if the two courses
listed above have not been completed.
PUB HLTH 431 Decision Analysis and Models of Medical Decision
Making (1)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
Quantitative techniques intended to inform decision makers at the
bedside as well as at the policy-making level. Topics include probability,
Bayes' theorem, sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests,
Bayesian decision analysis, utility assessment, cost-effectiveness
analysis, and expert systems. (The Medical School course MDM-3 may
be substituted for this course.)
PUB HLTH 433 Health Economics and Healthcare Financing (1)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
In this class, we will examine selected topics in health economics
that have major implications for health delivery, healthcare financing
and clinical and public health research. Essential economic theories
and methods for exploring each topic will be discussed along with
examples drawn from the existing research literature of the application
of these theories and methods. In addition, existing empirical research
will be examined and assessed. The specific topics to be examined
include: consumer behavior and health demand with a special focus
on the analysis of secondary data; principles of price and quality
competition; principles of health insurance; and methods for economic
evaluations. Students will develop a good working understanding
of economic theories and methods specific to these issues examined
through this course and will also learn how to apply these to research
problems.
PUB HLTH 435 Design and Analysis Strategies in Health Services
Research (1)
Spring 2007 Syllabus
Broad overview of health services research, including an introduction
to research methodologies unique to the field. Includes a historical
retrospective of economic and policy issues leading to the emergence
of health services research as a distinct discipline. Class topics
include small-area variations, medical effectiveness, outcomes research
and case-mix adjustments for outcomes research, measuring quality
of care, continuous quality improvement, guideline development,
and technology assessment.
Overview of law and legal system, terminology in legal writing,
state and federal court systems. Learn basic legal scholarship to
help in researching public health issues in judicial and legislative
source materials. Prerequisite: Pub Hlth 304 Introduction to Epidemiology
(or MDM II) or permission of instructor.
This course is designed to provide hands-on experience in the
design and analysis of epidemiologic studies, with emphasis on applying
methodology learned in Intermediate Biostatistics/Epidemiology or
equivalent coursework. Through independent projects and class exercises,
students will learn the practical aspects of conducting research
from defining a statistically testable hypothesis to building a
database and generating results. A brief review of biostatistical
methods will be provided in the context of appropriate statistical
tests to address given statistical questions, however the focus
of the course is not on biostatistical methodology as students are
expected to have adequate preparation. The centerpiece of the course
is the independent project. MPH students are encouraged to bring
ideas for their Culminating Experience to the course so that they
can further develop and refine their research plan. However, students
are also invited to develop a "hypothetical" or future
study, as the emphasis of the course is in developing the skills
necessary to conduct an independent research procjet in a range
of settings (e.g., academia, industry, public health agencies).
During this process, students will be taught to use current technology
to build databases, questionnaires, and conduct data analyses. The
target audience for this course is advanced MPH and MSCI students
and postdoctoral fellows. Prerequisites: Pub Hlth 302 Introduction
to Biostatistics and Pub Hlth 304 Introduction to Epidemiology,
with Intermediate Biostatistics/Epidemiology desired, but not required.
Pub Hlth 438 Survey Design & Methodology
Summer 2007 Syllabus
This course will focus on methodological issues regarding the
design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of surveys
and questionnaires in public health research. Various types of self-report
data will be discussed, including knowledge, attitudes, behaviors,
and patient-reported outcomes such as general health status, pain,
fatigue, etc. Design issues will include wording of items and response
scales, multilingual translations, sampling, timing of assessments,
and respondent and staff burden. Implementation issues will include
formatting and layout, methods of administration (paper-and-pencil,
interviews, computer-based), interviewer training and participant
recruitment. Analysis issues will include psychometric measurement
properties (dimensionality, scoring, reliability, validity), cross-sectional
and longitudinal analytic models and techniques, missing data, and
clinical significance. Interpretive issues will include guidelines
for reports and manuscripts, and internal and external validity.
This course will primarily focus on study designs using nonprobability
sampling, e.g., convenience samples recruited at selected clinics/sites.
A brief overview will be provided regarding probability sampling,
that is, studies where each element in the population of interest
has a measurable chance of selection. This course will emphasize
hands-on experience in the design, administration, analysis and
interpretation of survey data from public health research studies.
Prerequisites: Pub Hlth 302 Introduction to Biostatistics and Pub
Hlth 304 Introduction to Epidemiology.
Pub Hlth 439 Qualitative Research Methods (1)
Spring 2007 Syllabus
Qualitative research involves the use of multiple methods to explore
social interactions in natural settings. The focus of qualitative
research is usually on the underlying meanings of human behaviors,
beliefs, attitudes, etc., from the research participant's own view,
and in his/her own words, sometimes referred to as an ?mic? perspective.
Data collection activities can include first-person accounts, life
history narratives, life history calendars, visual or documentary
records, semi-structured and open-ended interviews, informal and
formal observations, as well as other biographical and autobiographical
materials. Through triangulation of methods, the researcher attempts
to make sense of and interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings
people bring to them. Essentially, qualitative research deals with
words, spoken and written. This course will focus on qualitative
research methods and will include investigation of issues related
to research design, sampling, data management, analysis and report
writing. Methods covered will include unstructured, semi-structured,
and structured interviewing, writing and using field notes, cognitive
interviewing for survey construction, group interview methodologies,
participant observation, cognitive tasks such as decision modeling,
domain analysis and the use of mapping techniques in qualitative
research. Questions of reliability and validity in qualitative research
will be addressed. Data analytic procedures will include thematic
analyses and code development, consensus and network analyses, and
an overview of qualitative data management programs. We will also
explore the relationships between qualitative and quantitative research,
and the use of multiple methods in the research setting. Ethical
issues related to face to face work with research participants will
be addressed. Examples of research and evaluation studies using
qualitative methods will be reviewed. The course will emphasize
hands-on work with qualitative data and students are encouraged
to come with a data set in hand.
PUB HLTH 441 Ethical Issues in Clinical Research (.5)
Debate and discussion of ethical issues surrounding
clinical research studies, including merits of research proposals,
both historical and contemporary, from the perspective of an institutional
review board (IRB) charged with the protection of research subjects.
Issues considered include research studies involving prospective
cohorts, studies of vulnerable populations, clinical trials, and
use of genetic data in epidemiologic research studies.
PUB HLTH 444 Advanced Decision Analysis (1)
Winter 2008 Syllabus
This course covers advanced decision-analytic methods useful in medical
decision modeling. Included are the probabilistic theory of
hazard rates and modeling of age-dependent mortality, Markov modeling,
stochastic tree modeling, techniques for multi-way sensitivity analysis
such as probabilistic sensitivity analysis and information-value analysis,
the use of spreadsheets for Markov models, and software for stochastic
tree modeling. Medical decision-analytic literature is reviewed
and theoretical underpinnings of models are explored. A project
using decision analysis software is required. Prerequisite:
PUB HLTH 431 or equivalent.
PUB HLTH 445 Writing and Peer Reviewing for
Publication (.5)
Winter 2008 Syllabus
Hands-on advanced course in writing for publication
in the medical science journals how to be a successful peer reviewer;
not a course in basic writing. The student will be expected
to prepare an article through 2 peer review cycles to be ready to
submit to a journal. Uses real world practices. Prerequisite:
PUB HLTH 304 and PUB HLTH 302.
CLIN SCI 301 Topics in Molecular Medicine
(1)
Summer 2007 Syllabus
This course is designed to introduce students
to concepts related to the molecular pathogenesis, diagnosis and
treatment of disease. Topics to be covered include:
an introduction to the principles of human genetics, including the
organization of the human genome, the structure and function of
chromosomes and genes, regulation of gene expression, transmission
of human genetic disease, and basic genetic techniques; use of transgenic
animals as models of human disease, molecular basis of Mendelian
(monogenic), mitochondrial, and multifactorial complex diseases;
approaches to the study of monogenic and multifactorial diseases;
molecular approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
of diseases; and ethical issues related to genetic studies.
The course includes a series of illustrative case studies in molecular
medicine. Disorders such as Huntington’s disease (autosomal
dominant), cystic fibrosis (autosomal recessive), and diabetes mellitus
(multifactorial) are discussed to illustrate the application of
the basic principles described above to the study of genetic diseases.
Three units of courses are electives. Students opting
for a “translational research” career are encouraged to take the
following two elective courses:
CLIN SCI 303 Drug Development Process (1)
Spring
2007 Syllabus
Introduces the rationale for, practical aspects
of, and new issues in drug and device development as well as the
relevant industry and government policies and regulations. Class
topics include: illness targets, unmet medical needs, and the pharmaceutical
life cycle; scientific basis of drug development (e.g., drug discovery,
pre-clinical drug development, patient studies including clinical
pharmacology); protocol and budget preparation; pharmacoeconomics
and quality of life; regulatory aspects (FDA, GCP, ICH, QA); pharmacogenetics
and information technology; biotechnology and technology transfer;
role of academia in drug development.
Introduction to fundamentals of clinical trials,
including design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of trial
results. Topics will include commonly used designs, methods for
randomization, blinding and sample size determination, choice of
controls, collaborative/ multicenter trial requirements and operational
issues, data management and data quality issues, interim analysis
methods, critical review of clinical trial results, and statistical
techniques for analyzing data. Prerequisites: Introduction to Biostatistics
(PH302) and Introduction to Epidemiology (PH304).
Students opting for a “clinical epidemiology”
career are encouraged to take two of the following courses:
PUB HLTH 524 Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
(1)
Spring 2007 Syllabus
The course will cover selected topics in cardiovascular
disease with critical analysis of the current epidemiologic literature.
Students will have the opportunity to study methodological issues,
contemporary findings, and recommendations for future research.
Prerequisites: PH 302 or CLIN PSY 426 (Introduction to biostatistics)
and PH 304 (Introduction to epidemiology)
This course covers both the major theoretical concepts and practical
issues involved in conducting research involving molecular biomarkers
in human populations. Class topics include: the theoretical
advantages of biomarkers, criteria for evaluating potential markers,
sample collection and storage, laboratory quality control considerations,
issues in epidemiologic study design and analysis, ethical/legal concerns,
and discussion of specific examples of research involving molecular
markers of internal dose, susceptibility, early pathological alteration,
and prognosis. Important barriers in current methods and newly
emerging technologies (e.g., proteinomics) are also discussed.
The purpose of this course is to review the basic concepts and
issues relevant to cancer epidemiology. Specifically, this course
will focus on interpreting cancer statistics, and describing the
current state of knowledge regarding the etiology and risk factors
for the major cancer sites. In addition, issues in research design
and interpretation within the context of cancer epidemiology, as
well as the molecular and cellular basis of carcinogenesis as it
pertains to cancer occurrence in populations will be discussed.
The course is appropriate for students who have an introductory
knowledge of epidemiology. Previous study of cancer biology is helpful
but not required. Prerequisites: • Introduction to Epidemiology
– PH 304 (or Medical Decision Making II) • Permission
of Instructor for non-MPH or non-MSCI majors
Pub Hlth 527 Cancer Screening: Principles and Practice
Summer 2005 Syllabus
Screening is the early detection of cancer in "healthy"
people with the sole goal of improving a person's ultimate outcome.
This course provides an overview of the key theoretical principles
behind cancer screening, as well as an overview of the pragmatic
issues faced in conducting research in this area. The emphasis is
on research concepts; this is not a survey of current knowledge
on cancer screening. Most discussion will relate to specific examples
from the medical literature. The course is appropriate for students
who have at least an introductory knowledge of epidemiology (PH
304) and biostatistics (PH 302).
Pub Hlth 528 Behavioral Science in Cancer Prevention and Control
(.5)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
The purpose of this course is to review the basic concepts and
issues relevant to behavioral science in cancer prevention and control.
Specifically this course will introduce the major theoretical models
used in behavioral science, provide information on the behavioral
risk factors for cancer, briefly review the major behavioral clinical
trials in cancer prevention and control, and address measurement
issues in behavioral studies. Prerequisites: Introduction to Epidemiology
PH 304 (or Medical Decision Making II) and Introduction to
Biostatistics PH 302, or Permission of Instructor.
Pub Hlth 529 Chemoprevention of Cancer (.5)
Fall 2007 Syllabus
The purpose of this course is to review the basic concepts and
issues relevant to cancer chemoprevention. Specifically, this course
will focus on describing the current state of knowledge regarding
the molecular pharmacology of therapeutic intervention, targeted
to early stages of carcinogenesis, for the major cancer sites. In
addition, issues related to the function of a specific target, characteristics
of a drug, choice and characteristics of an endpoint biomarker,
and research design and interpretation, as they relate to molecular
and cellular carcinogenesis, will be discussed. The course is appropriate
for students who have an introductory knowledge of epidemiology
and statistics. Students should also have an understanding of cancer
biology – per approval of the instructor.
Additional elective courses (all other MPH courses and all IGP
courses) are offered to students who have received credit for (a)
graduate course(s) similar to the required courses of the program
and have obtained the program’s consent. Electives can substitute
for up to two units worth of required courses. In addition,
elective courses are available to any student wishing to take more
than the required number of courses to graduate.
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