NOTE: The courses listed below include active and historically offered courses. All courses may not be offered currently. View current course offerings at Gibson Online.
GHSD 6010 COMPARATIVE HEALTH SYSTEMS
Instructor: D. Hotchkiss
Offered: Fall & Spring
Health systems around the world are facing the dual challenge of ensuring continued improvement in population health in an environment of rapidly increasing demand with limited availability of societal and consequently healthcare resources. Despite these common concerns of health systems worldwide, no two healthcare systems are identical. This course introduces an approach for comparative analysis with a focus on assessing performance of diverse health systems. Systematic comparative analysis employing quantitative information can identify concerns and policy options for the health sector in general. A set of common indicators for benchmarking among health systems will also be discussed. Health systems of seven different countries will be presented to illustrate the diversity of global systems. The case studies will be drawn from the national classification scheme developed by the World Bank; including high income developed countries (USA and UK); high income primary product exporters (Saudi Arabia); upper middle income countries (Mexico and Cuba); lower middle income countries (China); and low income countries (Rwanda). Recent health reform initiatives will also be discussed. The World Health Organization’s building block approach will be used to understand the inter-linkages among different components of the system and the effects of reforms on system-wide outcomes. Performance measures of health systems will be developed by using the six building blocks of a contemporary healthcare system as identified by W.H.O.
GHSD 6030 PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT (3)
Instructor: M. Demosthenidy; J. Steinberg; V. Yeager
Offered: All Semesters
This course presents selected concepts and methods from management practices that are useful in the public health setting, concerning organizational structure, finance, budgeting, human resources, negotiation and others are presented with examples from public health practice.
GHSD 6050 HEALTH SYSTEMS CONCEPTS
Instructor:
Offered: Spring
Health Systems Concepts is a graduate-level course that introduces you to the historical development, current structure and operation, and future direction of the U.S. health care system. The course serves as a foundation for understanding the characteristics and complexity of a sector of our economy that currently makes up over 17% of our Gross Domestic Product. The material in the course provides an overview of the ways in which health is produced and supplied through public health activity and health care delivery systems, the factors that determine the allocation of health care resources and the establishment of priorities, and the relationship of health care costs to measurable benefits. The course content enables you to assess organized efforts to influence health delivery and policy formulation, the impact of these efforts on you as a manager and leader of your health care organization, and the role of societal values and individual behaviors on health system performance, reform efforts, and the health status of our population.
GHSD 6110 HEALTH ECONOMICS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (3)
Instructor: D. Hotchkiss
Offered: Spring
This course provides an introduction to the principles of designing and evaluating health systems strengthening strategies in developing countries. The course first presents an overview of health system constraints to scaling up priority health care services in low-income and middle-income settings. The course then provides an overview of the health systems policy process, including problem definition, diagnosis, policy development, implementation and evaluation. Finally, the course provides an overview of policy options to improve health systems performance, with a focus on financial, payment, and organizational strategies. Specific tools and methods for assessing problems and evaluating the impact of reform initiatives are introduced. To illustrate the issues and approaches, case studies are used and discussed throughout the course.
GHSD 6120 FOUNDATIONS OF MANAGEMENT
Instructor: D. Davis
Offered: Fall
The purpose of Foundations of Management is to give students a set of tools and insight into effective management concepts. This course will provide students with best practices pulled from several industries which have been successfully applied in healthcare. With the environment of health care being so diverse with a multi-generation workforce, students will need to become successful at motivating and coaching at all levels in the organization. The expectation of this course is the students will be required to research key topics, perform key concepts in class, and be provided with immediate feedback. The outcome is each person will have a set of tools to rely on when faced with various situations in the workforce, and will feel comfortable using the tools.
GHSD 6140 LEADERSHIP FOR CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT (3)
Instructor: R. Boss
Offered: Summer
This course is open to all students who are seeking future opportunities in executive, managerial, public health, or other health care leadership roles. The course offers students the knowledge, skills, and personal mastery tools that are a prerequisite to assuming leadership positions in the delivery of health services that improve the health status of the individuals and populations. Building on the perspective of clinical education and practice, the student begins his or her leadership journey, integrating and implementing the key structures and processes leading to clinical process improvement and the improvement of health outcomes. By grounding fundamental principles of organizational learning in experimental activities, this course enhances the student's mastery of the core competencies-visioning, dialogue, quality management and measures, systems thinking, personal and team learning, effective health care design, clinical change, and organizational transformation.
GHSD 6170 QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE (3)
Instructor: D. Davis
Offered: Fall
MHA students only
This course introduces the student of health systems management to areas of continuous process improvement and healthcare quality management. The course offers the concepts and tools required to examine, evaluate, and implement the key structures and processes of quality improvement programs in health care organizations. An integrative approach to improvement and organizational learning is taken, combining topics and methods from diverse improvement approaches in the development of an organization-wide commitment to continuous improvement. Through case analysis, the course emphasizes practical applications that prepare the participants to use the theory and techniques of quality improvement in situations with complex clinical and managerial implications. Course topics include measurement systems, quality improvement tools, and the design of programs for organizational learning.
GHSD 6190 ETHICAL CONCERNS OF HEALTH CARE MANAGERS (2)
Instructor: M. Demosthenidy
Offered: Spring
Everyone involved in health care today, to be effective both individually and as a member of health care teams, needs to be well grounded in the ethical issues and dilemmas involved in health care delivery, the effect of these issues on policy making for health care institutions, and the ethical principles and theories available for decision making. Through their study of these subjects, students also develop better understanding of their own bases for making ethical decisions, including identification and sources of presuppositions and biases.
GHSD 6210 HEALTH LAW AND REGULATION (3)
Instructor: M. Demosthenidy
Offered: Spring
Introduction to a wide range of topics in the area of health law and regulation including a number of relevant statutes. Students learn to recognize potential legal problems in various health care settings, identify the issues and rights that are implicated, and propose solutions or plans of action. They also learn to differentiate between legal problems and problems which can more appropriately be solved in other ways. There is an emphasis on formulating analyses clearly, both orally and in writing. Among the subject areas covered in the first two-thirds of the course are licensing, professional liability, confidentiality, informed consent, professional relationships, access issues, and antitrust. The last third of the course covers the legal aspects of a variety of bioethical issues.
GHSD 6220 PROGRAM SKILLS IN CRISIS AND TRANSITION SETTINGS (3)
Instructor: N. Morrow
Offered: Spring
This course is designed to equip students with a set of skills related to the assessment and analysis of the social, economic, and policy aspects of complex political emergencies, as well as post-conflict/transitional settings. The course covers selected topics in preparedness, response, and transition in complex political emergencies, and their effects upon the civilian populations and the agencies that seek to assist them. Students develop skills in the following areas: information management, program operations management, and policy and context analysis. In terms of information management, students develop the capacity to adapt surveys to conflict-affected settings and utilize a series of rapid assessment approaches and participatory rural appraisal techniques for data collection. Students also learn to identify and utilize the principal components of crisis prevention and early warning information systems. In terms of program operations management, students develop skills in the construction of a logistics management system appropriate for emergency settings, and learn how to develop key programs of particular importance in post-conflict and transitional settings. In terms of policy and context analysis, students are equipped with analytical skills related to assessing potential harmful effects of humanitarian assistance, international political aspects of humanitarian work, international humanitarian law, and opportunities for promoting conflict resolution, capacity building, and development through humanitarian assistance.
GHSD 6250 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF GLOBAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS
Instructor: N. Morrow
Offered: Spring
NEW: Course description under construction…
GHSD 6270 MONITORING OF PROGRAM INTERVENTIONS IN GLOBAL HEALTH (2)
Instructor: J. Bertrand
Offered: Fall & Spring
This course provides students with an introduction to program monitoring, a widely-valued set of skills for managing and tracking results in public health programs in both the domestic and international context. Students will learn to develop a conceptual framework, write goals and measurable objectives, develop appropriate indicators (of input, process, output, and outcome), and work with health information systems. Students will gain practical experience in translating concepts into applications for actual programs. This course is designed for students that (1) intend to work primarily in program design and implementation, or (2) wish to master these introductory concepts as a building block to further evaluation coursework.
GHSD 6280 EVALUATION OF PROGRAM INTERVENTIONS IN GLOBAL HEALTH (2)
Instructor: J. Keating; D. Meekers
Offered: Fall & Spring
This course provides students with basic concepts, principles, and practices for the evaluation of public health programs. This course focuses on the evaluation of important public health topics including malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tb, and Reproductive health programs. The course is intended to 1) provide an introduction to program evaluation, 2) provide basic professional skills for developing evaluation plans, and 3) provide a foundation for more specialized classes offered in the areas of data analysis, sampling, epidemiology, and operations research.
GHSD 6320 MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATIONS (2)
Instructor: T. Stranova
Offered: Fall
This course teaches successful coordination of written and spoken communication skills. Several written case studies and oral presentations based on the case studies are required. The oral presentations will be videotaped and critiqued to evaluate student progress. Topics for developing written skills include reader-centered writing, pattern recognition skills, writing myths, and the stages of writing. Topics for developing oral presentation skills include eye contact, gestures, movement, stage fright, and using visual aids. In addition, the class will discuss the three facets of the communication process: words used, tone of voice, and non-verbals. The course will explain the impact of these three facets on the listener and outline the four basic communication styles professionals come into contact with every day. Methods for adjusting an individual speaking style to the style of others will be demonstrated. The concepts of "style-flexing" and "opening in parallel" will be discussed as well as how to avoid conflict with an opposing style.
GHSD 6360 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2)
Instructor: W. Martin
Offered: Fall
This course is designed and delivered to prepare master's degree candidates with the knowledge and skills required to effectively, efficiently and ethically manage human resources in a wide array of health care organizations at the corporate, departmental, team and individual level. This course is tailored for those students who will assume supervisory and managerial roles in health care delivery organizations. This course is also tailored to provide students with the knowledge and skills to know when to use the expertise of human resource professionals and when to resolve human resource issues at the departmental level.
GHSD 6370 GRANT WRITING (3)
Instructor: R. Hardy
Offered: Summer
This course is an intensive workshop-style class designed to teach students how to identify, research, and prepare grant proposals in the fields of international public health, population and nutrition, and development. Specific emphasis is given to the idiosyncrasies of developing proposals for the United States Agency for International Development, the European Union, and the British Department for International Development. By the end of the course students will know how to identify prospective funders, conduct pre-proposal research, and develop and write a full proposal, including writing clear and attainable goals and objectives, coherent methodologies, meaningful evaluations, devising budgets, and providing supplementary material. The first week of the course combines lectures with in-class exercises, daily writing assignments, and an oral presentation. The second week of the course is a required distance-learning component, during which the students are required to develop a full proposal and budget along with supplementary material to achieve the objectives of this course.
GHSD 6380 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (2)
Instructor: L. Amoss
Offered: Fall
This offering provides theoretical and practical content for managers of health care organizations. The course allows students to learn organizational theory and then to apply it to organizational settings. Broad topical areas include psychological and cultural processes affecting recruitment and selection, factors influencing training and development, the scientific method as applied to health care organizations, theories and practices influencing employee performance, effective management theory and practice, engaging and involving employees in organizational processes, employee well-being, and managing change.
GHSD 6450 HEALTH ECONOMICS (3)
Instructor: C. Campbell
Offered: Spring & Summer
This course introduces the student to the basic economic concepts and analytical methods used to address issues concerning the efficient and effective production of health and health services in a market economy, with an emphasis on the U.S. health system. The course applies tools of analysis to the behavior of the consumer/patient as well as to physician, hospital, health insurance, pharmaceutical, and long term care organizations and industries. The role of government in the production of health and the economic aspects of health reform are also explored.
GHSD 6490 POLICY OPTIONS ON MEDICAL PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES(3)
Instructor: L. Shi
Offered: Spring
The aim of the course is to give participants insight into and understanding of current developments affecting pharmaceutical policy making today. The course also aims to give participants a better understanding of the theories and methods available for analyzing the effects of policy interventions
GHSD 6500 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH CARE ACCOUNTING (2)
Instructor: H. Long
Offered: Fall
An overview of the basic accounting and financial processes needed to manage departments and programs within a health care organization. Emphasis is on understanding financial statements, analyzing organizations, and utilizing external information systems. Students strengthen their ability to interact with fiscal and executive managers in order to ensure the financial health of their organizations. Similarly, students develop the ability to understand, apply, and criticize principles and techniques in real world situations. Course is designed for health care professionals who have no background in accounting and finance.
GHSD 6540 MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING (2)
Instructor:
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: GHSD 6500 OR ACCN 6010
This course covers the theory and applications of internal accounting. Focus is placed on the analysis of costs behavior, and the use of that knowledge to plan and control for costs.
GHSD 6550 DYNAMICS OF PAYMENT SYSTEMS‒POLICY & FUNCTION (3)
Instructor: H. Long
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: ACCT 6010 or GHSD 6500 or equivalent. This course is designed to provide descriptions of how providers of health care services have been, are, and will be paid for the services by private-sector payers and public-sector programs. Knowledge of economic concepts and of financial/managerial accounting will be used to analyze public policy issues as well as implementation and reporting issues. Topics include (1) basic private insurance mechanics and the income-tax implications of health insurance and health spending, (1) the macro-economic environment within which current payment systems have evolved and continue to evolve; (2) payment mechanisms for institutionally based care, both acute and sub-acute, and for ambulatory care over a range of settings; (3) regulatory processes determining payment for services in entitlement programs; (4) the policy objectives furthered or impeded by public-sector and private-sector payment mechanisms; and (5) analysis of provider responses to payment systems incentives. The student is expected to have completed or be concurrently enrolled in GHSD 6540 or ACCN 6020, AND GHSD 6450 or FINE 6110 or to have had prior exposure to Managerial Accounting and Introductory Micro-Economics.
GHSD 6710 QUANTITATIVE DECISION MODELS (2)
Instructor: J. Steinberg
Offered: Spring
Prerequisite: BIOS 6030.
This course encompasses a body of knowledge, a set of quantitative skills, and an orientation towards managerial situations which provide managers greater insight and analytic opportunities for improving the managerial process. Focuses on the systematic planning, direction, and control of the organizational processes that turn resources such as labor, equipment, and materials into services and the quantitative analysis that supports these decisions. In this environment, the processes involve allocation, scheduling, and procedural decisions that result in the effective and efficient utilization of resources for the delivery of health care services.
GHSD 6750 ADOLESCENT HEALTH POLICIES AND PROGRAMS (3)
Instructor: A. Gage
Offered: Fall
Prerequisites: BIOS 6030, BIOS 6040, or permission of instructor. This course provides students with an understanding of the context, design and effectiveness of the main interventions to prevent and reduce adolescent health risk-taking and develops students' professional skills in the use of quantitative methodologies to determine the health needs and problems of adolescents in developing countries and the formulation of workable strategies for responding to identified needs. The course begins with a discussion of major policy issues and controversies surrounding specific program approaches to reducing adolescent health risk-taking. Students will compare interventions for addressing common health problems in adolescence as well as services for meeting the needs of special youth populations in emerging and developed countries. The key components of successful and unsuccessful programs in specific health areas will be addressed.
GHSD 6760 HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING: INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING (2)
Instructor: J. Bertrand
Offered: Spring
The concept of health systems strengthening is fundamental to the delivery of health services in the developing world. The WHO framework outlines six building blocks for health systems; governance, health financing, service delivery, human resources, commodities management, and health information systems. Through this course, students will master these concepts as they apply to the "re-emerging area" of international family planning. Whereas the concepts of health systems strengthening generalize to other health topics, the focus on family planning will allow students to gain in-depth knowledge and experience in using key tools relevant to this field. This course will be especially useful to students interested in managing social development programs in the international context, especially in the area of reproductive health.
GHSD 6780 INFORMATION SYSTEMS (2)
Instructor: M. Diana
Offered: Fall
Information technology and information systems are increasingly important to the management of health care organizations. This course is designed to introduce the health administration student to the rapidly evolving discipline of health informatics in the complex and diverse world of healthcare. The course will review the history, current applications, and the potential future of information, information management and information technology, including: data acquisition, storage and processing; information systems (clinical and administrative); standards; security; decision support; and an understanding of medical/health informatics methods and principles.
GHSD 6850 POPULATION-ENVIRONMENT THEORY AND EVIDENCE (3)
Instructor: L. Murphy
Offered: Spring
This course entails a critical examination of major social science approaches (demography, anthropology, economics) to the understanding of relationships between population dynamics, environmental change, and development policies; and a broad survey of global environmental concerns (and their relationship to population dynamics) and proposed solutions. The main approaches which influence social science research and policy today are surveyed: Malthusian theories, Boserupian population-induced intensification, and mediated modes such as policies, structural constraints, and environmental change. Students survey conceptual models and seek evidence from empirical research on major concerns: food, forests, and biological diversity, urban and industrial issues, and climate change. Projects which integrate reproductive health and conservation concerns into practical, community-based interventions are examined. Techniques and data needs for researching population-environment interactions are briefly surveyed. A final segment focuses on Guatemala and the interrelated impacts on land, forests, biological diversity, and urban infrastructure of population dynamics, development policies, and historical inequities. GHSD 6850 is recommended for students interested in working in developing countries in reproductive health, environmental health, population policy, or development.
GHSD 6890 HEALTH MARKET ANALYSIS- EPIDEMIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL CONSIDERATIONS (2)
Instructor: A. Solieau
Offered: Spring
An introduction to the concepts of market analysis, marketing, strategic planning, and research presentation management. This course integrates students' knowledge of marketing, statistics and planning-and shares multiple research methods and healthcare databases. This course also incorporates students' grasp of the health care environment in the United States and its effects on the development, presentation and use of a strategic plan.
GHSD 6910 ADMINISTRATIVE INTERNSHIP I (0)
Instructor: T. Stranova
Offered: Fall
MHA or MBA/MHA or JD/MHA students only. This course combines didactic and field sessions to introduce students to the operational management of public and private components of the health care delivery system. Students will be exposed to the planning, delivery, and financing of health services in organizations including acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities, multi-institutional systems, not-for-profit entities and others.
GHSD 6920 ADMINISTRATIVE INTERNSHIP II (1)
Instructor: T. Stranova
Offered: Spring
MHA or MBA/MHA or JD/MHA students only. Prerequisite: GHSD 6910.The Administrative Residency
II is the fall MHA field experience designed to further expose the future health care manager to the operations environment. The course is a continuation of the administrative practicum in a health care organization. Following the summer residency course, this course consists of 14 weeks of part-time work during the fall semester. The student will complete longer-term projects begun during the summer, or begin to assume new responsibilities.
GHSD 6980 HEALTH SYSTEM OF CHINA: AN APPLIED PERSPECTIVE (2)
Instructor: L. Shi
Offered: Summer
This course introduces students to various aspects (epidemiology, social, economical, cultural) of China's healthcare system. The course will be delivered in China so that the materials learned in the classroom can be observed in the real world through field visits and field observations. Health reform strategies of China in recent years will be critically examined through directed readings, seminar lectures, and a number of sites including primary care centers, tertiary hospitals, public health entities, and research organizations. Financing of health care and system for paying the providers will also be evaluated and analyzed.
GHSD 7020 COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH FOR FAMILY PLANNING AND HEALTH (3)
Instructor: D. Meekers
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: BIOS 6240 or a working knowledge of SPSS. This course constitutes a practical introduction to the research methodologies used in planning a communication program for promoting desirable health behaviors, designing appropriate messages, pre-testing communications and evaluating program effectiveness. Most examples and data sets will involve international family planning and sexual risk behaviors, but will be applicable to other areas of public health. Lectures will be combined with exercises in which students carry out communication pretests, conduct and analyze the results of focus groups and do secondary analysis of existing communication data sets using statistical software. These skills are basic to the systematic approach in designing, implementing, and evaluating a health communication program.
GHSD 7070 THE SOCIAL IMPCT OF HIV/AIDS: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EPIDEMIC (3)
Instructor: K. Andrinopolous
Offered: Spring
HIV/AIDS is an important public health problem. Developing an appropriate response to the epidemic requires an understanding of factors at multiple levels that influence vulnerability and behavior. Patterns of infection also serve as a vehicle for understanding social disparities. The goal of this course is to provide students with the skills to critically reflect on current strategies to stem the epidemic through a sociological approach to understanding epidemiological patterns. We will analyze structural and social factors (for example, poverty, racism, stigma) and processes (migration, incarceration, social exchange) that influence vulnerability to infection, and successful provision of testing, treatment, and care. Our exploration is centered on “praxis” meaning that we aim to translate our exploration of these constructs and processes into meaningful action to mitigate the epidemic. Students will participate in group work and individual assignments that apply concepts discussed in class. Through these activities they will be challenged to create solutions that address elements of the structural and social environment. The course format combines lectures and presentations, seminars, and small group activities to highlight the complexities of the epidemic and equip students with the skills, resources, and agency to become active participants in the global response.
GHSD 7120 MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH (3)
Instructor: A. Gage
Offered: Fall
This course is designed to serve the purpose of (1) providing students with an understanding of the context and design of the main interventions to improve maternal and child health in developing countries, (2) developing professional skills in the use of quantitative analytical tools and technologies to appropriately monitor and evaluate maternal and child health programs in developing countries, and (3) increasing students; abilities to use monitoring and evaluation results to improve the planning and delivery of maternal and child health services in developing countries.
GHSD 7140 MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS (3)
Instructor: A. Gage
Offered: Fall
Prerequisites: BIOS 6030 and GHSD 6270
This course focuses on the monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programs. The course is intended to (1) provide an introduction to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment programs; (2) strengthen skills in the application of tools for global and national level monitoring of the HIV epidemic and response; (3) provide a foundation for monitoring and evaluating specific HIV/AIDS programmatic areas (prevention, testing and counseling, treatment, community and home-based care, tuberculosis/HIV integration, orphans and vulnerable children, most-at-risk populations, and behavior change communication); and (4) demonstrate how M&E findings are used to prioritize options for improving the national HIV/AIDS response.
GHSD 7160 PRACTICAL ISSUES IN HIV/AIDS RESEARCH (2)
Instructor:
Offered:
This seminar series will provide students with first-hand knowledge in practical aspects of HIV/AIDS programs and research. Students should already have basic knowledge of the virus, its transmission, the disease course, and minimal experience in HIV/AIDS related work, either in the U.S. or in developing countries. In this course, students will hear from clinicians and public health practitioners who are involved in providing prevention, treatment and support services to people who are at risk of or who have HIV/AIDS. There will also be site visits to clinics, non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations to have first-hand discussions with service providers.
GHSD 7200 DEVELOPMENT ISSUES: THEORY AND MEASUREMENT (3)
Instructor: L. Murphy
Offered: Fall
Prerequisite: GHSD 6040 or equivalent introduction to international development
This course critically reviews major theories, concepts and debates about social, human and economic development in the developing world. These concepts are useful to public health researchers and practitioners aiming to advance human well-being. We compare and contrast major development theories: economic growth, modernization, dependency, neoliberalism, sustainable development, human development, and human rights approaches. Then we address contemporary, critical perspectives that are reshaping development practice: the Capabilities Approach, Human Rights, and Post-Development thought. These challenge notions of: poverty, participation, gender, culture, technology, globalization, sustainability, foreign aid, and development actors/institutions. Insights from critical research on development agencies and projects show how theories, worldviews and assumptions translate into real "development" programs and projects that have often unexpected, unintended outcomes. The course is required for all doctoral students. It will be helpful for the reflective public health student who wants a broad, interdisciplinary, critical overview of current trends in development theory and its implications for practice.
GHSD 7330 NEGOTIATION ANALYSIS (2)
Instructor: T. Keogh
Offered: Spring
This course serves as an introduction to decision analysis for health care negotiation.
GHSD 7350 THEMES IN MORTALITY AND HEALTH (3)
Instructor: P. Anglewicz
Offered: Fall
Prerequisite: GHSD 6800
Is there a limit to human life expectancy? Why do some populations have greater longevity and less premature death than others? How will trends on obesity affect life expectancy in the U.S.? Is economic development necessary to achieve better population health? What programs and policies have achieved the greatest effect in reducing premature mortality? These and other questions will be discussed in this course, which covers the core thematic areas of mortality research. Readings include overviews of trends and variation in mortality and health,as well as papers that represent exceptionally important, interesting, or clever approaches to the study of mortality. Particular attention will be paid to (1) variation in mortality levels over time, across populations, and within countries - with a particular focus on variations in mortality within the U.S., (2) reasons for changes in mortality levels in developed and developing countries, and (2) policies that best address problems in population health.
GHSD 7420 MALARIA PREVENTION AND CONTROL (3)
Instructor: J. Keating & T. Eisele
Offered: Fall
Prerequisite: EPID 6030
NEW: Course description under construction…
GHSD 7440 HOUSEHOLD SAMPLING APPLICATIONS TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Instructor: T. Eisele
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: BIOS 6030 and EPID 6030, or approval from the instructor. The use of sample surveys to satisfy program-related information needs has become increasingly common in recent years in the international health, population and nutrition sectors. In order to take full advantage of recent developments in survey methodologies, professionals working in these sectors need to have a solid understanding of the intended uses and limitations of various standard protocols, as well as of the underlying principles of survey measurement. Accordingly, the purposes of this course are twofold: to establish a solid understanding of the basic principles of survey measurement, and to review the state-of-the-art in survey measurement in global health, with primary attention to the methodological basis of the protocols considered, and the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches in actual practice.
GHSD 7580 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (3)
Instructor: H. Long
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: GHSD 6500 or ACCN 6010, GHSD 6502 OR ACCN 6020, and GHSD 6450 or FINE 6110.
This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts and principles of managerial finance, the application of the principles of microeconomics to resource allocation decisions at the level of the firm (provider organization). Emphasis is on the relevance of basic notions of finance in both for-profit and non-profit private-sector health care settings. The course surveys techniques focused at the provider level of economic valuation, alternative valuation concepts and choosing among them, required rates of return, the cost of capital, identification of relevant cash flows, simple resource allocation addressing asset acquisition and divestment, concepts of risk measurement, capital structure management, and an overview of acquiring and servicing capital.
GHSD 7660 HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS (3)
Instructor: M. Demosthenidy
Offered: Fall
Prerequisites: GHSD 6010 or GHSD 6030; can be taken concurrently. This course surveys the public and private financing mechanisms used in the U.S. health care delivery industry from a public policy perspective. In light of current economic and political pressures, the course examines the concepts underlying federal entitlement programs and private-sector health benefit programs, alternative health policy approaches, and federal regulation of prices for and supply of services. The mechanisms by which regulations are promulgated and enforced and their effect on managerial behavior are explored.
GHSD 7800 INTRODUCTION TO POPULATION STUDIES (3)
Instructor: M. Vanlandingham
Offered:
This course introduces students to key concepts and measures; major theoretical perspectives and central debates; empirical material on population size, distribution, and trends; and basic methodological tools used in the field of demography, the study of population processes. There is no prerequisite for the course, but much of the material is quantitative in nature and so students considering taking the course should be comfortable performing computations and comfortable with basic algebra. Familiarity with a spreadsheet package such as Excel will be helpful for completing the homework problem set assignments.
GHSD 7910 ADMINISTRATIVE RESIDENCY I (1)
Instructor: T. Stranova
Offered: Fall
MHA, MBA/MHA, and JD/MHA students only. Prerequisite: GHSD 6910 and GHSD 6920.This is a summer residency course consisting of 14 weeks of full-time work and starts in mid-May immediately following the end of the spring semester. During this summer experience, each student is expected to be intensely involved in the daily operation of the organization and, when appropriate, receive exposure to organizational governance.
GHSD 7920 ADMINISTRATIVE RESIDENCY II (1)
Instructor: T. Stranova
Offered: Spring
MHA, MBA/MHA and JD/MHA students only. Prerequisite: GHSD 6910, GHSD 6920, and GHSD 7910.
The Administrative Residency II is the fall MHA field experience designed to further expose the future health care manager to the operations environment. The course is a continuation of the administrative practicum in a health care organization. Following the summer residency course, this courses consists of 14 weeks of part-time work during the fall semester. The student will complete longer-term projects begun during the summer, or begin to assume new responsibilities.
GHSD 7950 RESEARCH APPROACHES AND DESIGN FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (3)
Instructor: P. Anglewicz
Offered: Fall
Prerequisite: Doctoral student in good standing and permission of instructor.
Many of the class sessions are about epistemological issues in research. How do we know what we think we know? How can we answer research questions with data that best reflect "objective truths?" Starting with these epistemological questions, and transitioning to research design, this course presents research as a systematic method for examining questions derived from related theory and practice, and links questions and theoretical standpoints to different sources of data and analytical approaches. Students will be exposed to major research designs for interdisciplinary research, ranging from experimental designs to quasi-experimental studies using cross-sectional surveys and secondary data analysis of large-scale data sets, to non-experimental approaches such as ethnographic methods, group discussions, and case-study designs. The range of research designs discussed provides a basic understanding of approaches that are relevant and widely used in interdisciplinary global health and health services research. Attention will be paid to issues of sampling strategies for quantitative and qualitative inquiry; appropriate methods and techniques of analysis for different research designs, levels and unit of analysis, measurement issues, and how they are handled, and logic, validity, and reliability of designs. This course is also designed to provide guidance on various steps of the research process, including research ethics, and organizing and writing a research paper.
GHSD 7960 APPLIED INTERDISCIPLINARY THEORY FOR GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH
Instructor: K. Andrinopolous
Offered: Spring
Through readings and discussion of theory, students explore the nature of health, human behavior and social and behavioral change. This exploration is intended to assist students in the process of developing their doctoral dissertation proposal, with emphasis on the theoretical basis and conceptual model for their chosen area of investigation. The course will take a critical and multidisciplinary perspective to the task of integrating and applying interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks to address research questions. The course will emphasize how theories, worldviews and assumptions are used to develop and support research projects that will guide: 1) empirical research approaches (quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches) and 2) the design and assessment of public health programs, policies, and other interventions. This course critically reviews several major theoretical frameworks applied to global health such as the determinants of health outcomes, the structure and performance of health related organizations, and the causes of health–seeking behaviors. GHSD 8020 is a required course for doctoral students in this department. Good academic standing and permission of the instructors are prerequisites for this doctoral level course.
GHSD 7990 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-12)
Permission of coordinator is required.
GHSD 8250 ADVANCED RESEARCH METHODS IN GLOBAL HEALTH (3)
Instructor: P. Hutchinson
Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: BIOS 6040, BIOS 6040, EPID 6030 or permission of the instructor.
This course is intended for upper-level masters students interested in applied research methods and doctoral students working towards their dissertations. The focus is on providing skills for conducting program, impact or other forms of evaluation using econometric methods to analyze health, population and nutrition data. Of particular focus will be analyses of population-based household surveys using the Stata 9.0 statistical software package. Key topics that will be covered are: research methods and designs, linear regression models with their assumptions and limitations, limited dependent variable models (logit, probit tobit, multinomial logit), instrumental variables and two-stage least squares, sample selection and censored regression models, multilevel models, propensity score matching, applications of program evaluations,and time series analysis with pooled and longitudinal data.
GHSD 8050 DOCTORAL SEMINAR (1)
Offered: Fall & Spring
Students in this course will select individual papers published from peer-reviewed journals on topics of interest to them, and lead a summary, critique, and group discussion of the research methodology and general science underlying the article; develop critical thinking skills related to issues of research design, methodology, implementation, presentation, and discussion of results; develop critical and presentation skills through guided mentoring and close and structured interaction with their peers and the faculty.
GHSD 9970 DISSERTATION (0)
GHSD 9990 DISSERTATION RESEARCH (2)
Executive Doctor of Science Courses
(Courses offiered in sequence over two year program period. Click here to view program page for more information)
ESCD 8310 ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY AND ASSESSMENT (3)
Instructor: M. Diana
This course will be taught from three perspectives. One is as a history of ideas to organizational theory and structure, where classic texts are considered first and subsequent developments are presented as reactions to these viewpoints. A second is to teach the organizational theories as independent of one another and as being self-contained. This approach focuses on the coherent aspects of the theory and its strengths and weaknesses. Third, one can teach from a particular point of view, derived from empirical work, an integration of theoretical reading, and from intuition. The choice of approach is also influenced by the intended applications of the derived knowledge.
ESCD 8410 COST BENEFIT AND COST EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS (3)
Instructor: L. Shi
The purpose of this course is to introduce techniques of economic evaluation applied to health interventions and clinical decision making. Topics covered include: cost analysis, effectiveness measures, cost-effectiveness, utility measures and cost-utility analysis, benefits of health interventions, and cost-benefit analysis. The course will discuss a number of case studies in clinical and health economics to illustrate the use of economic evaluation techniques in the health sector.
ESCD 8430 DECISION ANALYSIS / ADVANCED UTILITY THEORY (3)
Instructor: J. Steinberg
This course improves the ability of health services researchers to analyze complex and sophisticated decision problems and to design models of individual choice behavior, probability, and statistical decision making. Students learn to analyze problems by identifying objectives, consequences, likelihood of those consequences, and preferred outcomes. Progressing from simple to complex, the course develops practical analytical techniques for the decision sciences researcher. Topics include probability theory, Bayesian inference, utility models interaction with experts and group decision modeling, multi-stage decision models, clinical decision making, multi-criteria utility theory, break even analysis, and the role of risk attitudes in decision making.
ESCD 8510 APPLIED HEALTH ECONOMICS (3)
Instructor: C. Campbell
Prerequisites: BIOS 603; GHSD 603; or equivalent; Preferred HSMG 6450 or equivalent, or one semester of intermediate economics.
This is a doctoral seminar in health economics and health finance that applies economic concepts and tools of analysis to problems and issues in health and medical care. The purpose of the course is to develop the student’s ability to recognize, interpret, incorporate, and assess the economic and financial aspects of health services and policy research through the reading, critical examination, and analysis of the health management and health services literature. The course emphasizes the application of economic tools of analysis to health-related organizations, health policy questions, and health services research. The course is intended to stimulate awareness of economic questions and issues that students might address their dissertation research and/or other research investigations.
ESCD 8610 SEMINAR HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS (3)
Instructor: TBA
The primary aim of this course is to present an overview of health policy in American government -- its scope, its dynamics, and its conceptual and practical dilemmas -- to students relatively new to the study of policy. More concretely, the course is designed to acquaint students with major issues involved in formulating, implementing and assessing those patterns of decision (i.e., policy) established by government. Because the study of policy is essentially interdisciplinary, readings for the course have been drawn from several fields including sociology, political science, and economics.
ESCD 8710 HEALTH OUTCOMES (3)
Instructor: L. Shi
This course is designed to help the student understand outcomes research and to provide background in the basic tools used in outcomes studies. Upon completion of this course, the student will be literate in the questions, methods and approaches used in outcomes research.
ESCD 8730 BIOSTATISTICS: REGRESSION ANALYSIS (3)
Instructor: B. Luckett
This is an intermediate course in biostatistics. It covers one-way and two-way analysis of variance, repeated measures designs, simple and multiple regressions and correlation analyses, analysis of covariance, simple and multiple regression. It will introduce the student to biostatistical methods and the role they play in decision making in public health. The student will be enabled to select and carry out appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The student will be enabled to interpret the results of a statistical analysis
ESCD 8750 ADVANCED REGRESSION (3)
Instructor: N. Zhivan
Prerequisite: ESCD 8730
This is a continuation of a course in applied biostatistics. It covers one-way and two-way analysis of variance, the regression approach to performing analysis of variance, multiple comparison procedures, and power and sample size calculations.
ESCD 8770 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS (3)
Instructor: C. Campbell
Prerequisites: BIOS 6030; EPI 6030 or equivalent.
This is a doctoral level course that develops the conceptual knowledge and skills needed for designing and conducting applied research in health, health systems, and health services. The course will provide opportunities to critically describe and evaluate prior research and to formulate a viable research project based on a comprehensive literature review. The student will learn how to identify and assess the weaknesses in study designs and methods, summarize the existing state of knowledge in a particular area, and identify existing gaps in the literature. Students will also demonstrate their knowledge of research ethics. The course is conducted as a seminar so participants are expected to bring their knowledge and experience as well as what they have learned from the readings and exercises. At the end of the course, the student participant should be a more careful reader of the literature, understand the limits and challenges of different research designs and approaches, be able to assess the tradeoffs in selecting an appropriate research design, and be able to recognize and apply alternative strategies to improve their research effectiveness.
ESCD 8780 ADVANCED STATISTICAL METHODS (3)
Instructor: T. Carton
This course is designed to introduce the student to the world of qualitative research methods. The data that we use in qualitative research comes in numerous shapes and sizes and usually involve multiple levels of complexity. The methods that we use to obtain this data are many and include various types of interviews, observations, record reviews, focus group discussions and more formal methods such as free lists and pile sorts. There is no other way to learn qualitative research methods other than by actually practicing them yourself. This course provides hands-on experience using qualitative research methods useful for health research. Students will be able to practice the methods through course research exercises and as part of the research project the student will complete as a requirement for the course.
ESCD 8790 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS (3)
Instructor: TBA
Prerequisite: ESCD 8770
This course presents a number of empirical methodologies widely used in health services research. Practical econometric techniques will be presented for analyzing cross-sectional, time series and pooled cross-sectional and time series data sets. Topics to be covered are: regression models, linear and non-linear regression, problems with multiple regression models, time series analysis, dummy variables in regression models, dummy dependent variables, structural models and problems associated with defining structural models. The course will use health interview surveys and macro level health expenditure data to illustrate the use of econometric methods in health services research.
ESCD 8900 RESEARCH STRATEGIES (3)
Instructor: M. Diana
NEW: Course description under construction…
