Public Health (MPH)

GPH 702  |  3 credit hours

In this course, graduate students in public health, education, social work, nutrition, and health informatics work collaboratively to learn the fundamentals of policymaking. Students will examine a proposed policy and work in interprofessional groups to identify potential issues, describe the policy context, map potential policy solutions, and make final recommendations in an individually written policy analysis. In addition to learning from their interprofessional peers, students will explore the structure and function of government systems as they relate to values-driven policymaking.

GPH 706  |  3 credit hours

This course provides an overview of the history, content, scope, and processes of public health administration. Emphasis is placed on administration, public health structure and framework, organizational culture, management functions and roles, leadership, motivation, and performance management. Basic principles and tools of budget and resource management are addressed.

GPH 712  |  3 credit hours

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic principles of epidemiology as they apply to public health practice among various human populations. Students will learn about the biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental factors impacting the distribution of health and disease. Content includes a historical perspective on epidemiology, descriptive epidemiology, analytic epidemiology, effect measures, study designs, bias, surveillance, and screening for disease. Emphasis will be placed on investigative techniques, epidemiological methodology, and critical thinking about epidemiological studies.

GPH 714  |  3 credit hours

This course examines public health principles and concepts. It provides a broad framework for understanding the role of public health in community health, disease prevention, and medicine. Using the five core public health knowledge areas and the ten essential public health services as a foundation, students will explore public health infrastructure, surveillance, social determinants of health, policy, and emerging issues.

GPH 716  |  3 credit hours

This course introduces the summarization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of research data. Topics include sampling, experimentation, numerical and graphical descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, and hypotheses testing. Inferential hypothesis tests introduced include correlation, analysis of 2-way tables, z-tests, t-tests, ANOVA, and simple linear regression. At the end of the course, students should be able to use and evaluate the more commonly used statistical tests in relevant research publications and interact knowledgeably with statisticians in planning, conducting, analyzing, and reporting research projects.

GPH 719  |  3 credit hours

This course introduces core topics necessary to understand and conduct ethically sound and scientifically valid public health research. It builds on the skills gained in other foundational public health courses such as principles of epidemiology and biostatistics. Students will learn and apply proper study and experimental design, using quantitative, qualitative, and community-based participatory research approaches. The selection, execution, and interpretation of appropriate data analysis methods are emphasized. Students will also gain skills in the development and critique of research proposals.

GPH 722  |  3 credit hours

This course introduces students to the field of environmental health in a public health context. The effects of infectious agents, toxic chemicals, air pollutants, and ionizing radiation on human health are examined. Identifying upstream sources and downstream solutions – with a particular focus on health equity – is emphasized. Emerging topics such as the impact of climate change on environmental health globally, and the interconnectedness among human health, animal health, and environmental health are included. Public health applications are incorporated through case studies and a comprehensive key assessment project.

GPH 723  |  3 credit hours

In this course, students will prepare for their Applied Practice Experience (APE) and broaden interprofessional education (IPE) skills that are pivotal to effective public health practice. During the planning process, students will submit a current resume for review, secure an approved site for their practicum experience, identify and confirm a public health topic and a preceptor to oversee the experience, develop a Learning Contract, and submit a fully executed Affiliation Agreement with the practicum site. To gain IPE experience and develop valuable, interdisciplinary skills for effective public health practice, students will complete assignments focused on integrating perspectives from diverse sectors and professions outside the field of public health and combining their public health training with the knowledge and expertise of other disciplines to address a real-world public health issue.

GPH 726  |  3 credit hours

Based upon the teachings of the socio-ecological model and social and behavioral health theories, the determinants of health of a selected health topic will be identified. Students will critically analyze peer-reviewed literature and apply the findings to the development of a theory-based intervention. The intervention will highlight an understanding of the health theories and their influences on health behaviors, the social determinants of health, and health equity, and show culturally competent professional writing.

GPH 738  |  3 credit hours

This course provides an overview of the development and evaluation of public health programs. The course will teach students skills required to assess community needs and assets, identify and adapt evidence-based programs, create realistic program goals and objectives, develop a program budget, create and implement a program evaluation plan, and seek funding for these programs.

GPH 739  |  3 credit hours

The goal of the applied practice experience (APE) is for students to demonstrate the application of public health concepts and to enhance skills such as leadership, communication, and collaboration. Students will work with experienced public health practitioners in a community-based setting to create products of use to the host organization and demonstrate mastery of public health competencies.

GPH 748  |  0 credit hours

This course is designed to guide students through the process of developing an ILE project proposal in line with the specific ILE track and topic chosen by the students. With guidance from assigned Faculty Mentors, students conduct preliminary background and topical research to inform their official ILE project proposal. Upon the approval of the proposal and successful completion of this course, students enroll in their ILE project course selected from GPH 751-Advanced Policy Analysis, GPH 752-Advanced Research Methods, or GPH 753-Advanced Program Evaluation.

GPH 751  |  3 credit hours

As partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MPH degree, Advanced Policy Analysis offers the opportunity for students to develop and complete their own analysis of a public health issue that intersects with government actions. All students must create a high-quality written product, synthesizing public health competencies. Based on their selected topic, students will use practical and theoretical tools to analyze data related to a real-world problem and present their findings in an ILE project report. This is an iterative course, designed to facilitate successful progress towards completion of a high-quality written policy analysis, which may be considered for publishing with UNE’s public-facing repository of outstanding student work.

GPH 752  |  3 credit hours

As partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MPH degree, Advanced Research Methods offers the opportunity for students to develop and conduct unique high-level statistical analyses of public health research studies. All MPH students must create a high-quality written product, synthesizing public health competencies. Based on their selected topic, students will analyze data related to a real-world problem and present their findings in a formal written report. This is an iterative course, designed to facilitate successful progress towards completion of a formal written project, which may be considered for publishing with UNE’s public-facing repository of outstanding student work.

GPH 753  |  3 credit hours

As partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MPH degree, students will collaborate with a public health site that they have identified to evaluate an aspect of a health promotion program. All MPH students must create a high-quality written product, synthesizing public health competencies. Based on their selected program, students will develop and conduct an evaluation plan and present their findings in a high-quality written document. This is an iterative course, designed to facilitate successful progress towards completion of a formal written project, which may be considered for publishing with UNE’s public-facing repository of outstanding student work.

GPH 704  |  3 credit hours

The cases decided by our US Supreme Court are considered “the law of the land” and influence the health of the public in important and impactful ways. This course focuses on the intersection of public health with our legal system, including the U.S. Constitution, federal and state laws and regulations, and influential Supreme Court opinions. While a goal of government is to protect and support the public’s health, implementing public health policies can infringe upon the rights and liberties of individuals and entities. This course explores the inherent tension between promoting public health and protecting the legal and ethical rights and interests of individuals. Students will explore how legal liability and accountability support the health of the public and learn fundamental principles of public health ethics by applying ethical concepts to specific scenarios. Class activities and assignments will provide students with opportunities to read, discuss, and analyze court opinions, statutes and regulations, and probe legal and ethical principles relating to public health.

GPH 707  |  3 credit hours

Why do some public health issues receive so much political attention and others do not? How can advocates create political interest in a public health issue to generate legislative or regulatory change? Under what circumstances do public health issues tend to precipitate public funding? Government action is a frequent driver of the practice of public health on the ground. From executive decisions to funding decisions to laws and regulations, our public health system, both its structure and its function, is built on public policy. In this course, you will gain a firm understanding of public health policy from the perspective of the public health policy theories and frameworks we use to understand better the motivations, implementation, and impact of government action at the federal, state, and local levels.

GPH 713  |  3 credit hours

This course is designed for students who would like to build on the basic principles of epidemiology to study infectious diseases in populations. By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1) describe the general principles of infectious disease epidemiology,

2) analyze epidemiologic study designs and measures in the context of infectious diseases,

3) apply outbreak investigation steps to an infectious disease outbreak,

4) describe infectious disease dynamics,

5) apply principles of disease transmission to develop disease prevention and control practices,

6) design data collection tools to investigate an infectious disease outbreak using computer-based software,

7) analyze quantitative data about infectious diseases using biostatistics,

8) interpret results of data analysis of an infectious disease investigation,

9) communicate audience-appropriate content reporting on an infectious disease outbreak both in writing and through oral presentation, and

10) describe the use of system thinking tools in infectious disease epidemiology.

GPH 717  |  3 credit hours

Applied Epidemiology is for individuals who want to practice and refine their epidemiological skills and ultimately participate in investigating health and disease in communities. This course focuses on the identification and evaluation of health data, using health data to determine effective public health programming, using computer-based software to manage and analyze health data, and creating questionnaires and using survey data to predict the impact of public health programming on the population. This course allows students who have completed the required prerequisite courses to delve deeper into the application of epidemiological tools and skills and obtain a more in-depth understanding of epidemiology.

Pre-Requisites

GPH 712 Principles of Epidemiology

GPH 716 Biostatistics

GPH 719 Research Methods

GPH 718  |  3 credit hours

This course builds on GPH 716 (Biostatistics). Familiarity with the basic principles of data collection, one-and-two-sample confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing, as well as one-way ANOVA and the fundamentals of simple linear regression, is assumed. The course takes a more in-depth look at simple linear regression extending to multiple linear regression. Additionally, it will cover topics in probability, diagnostic and screening tests, categorical data analysis, non-parametrics, and logistic regression.

GPH 721  |  3 credit hours

Good maternal and child health provides a solid foundation for the development and sustainability of healthy, successful communities and societies. In this course, students gain an understanding of the historical events that inform the field today, learn about current issues affecting these populations, and how to apply public health frameworks to maternal and child health concepts and issues. Students will gain a broad understanding of the field of maternal and child health from local and global standpoints. By the end of this course, students will be able to use data for action, apply evidence-based information, examine systems-based approaches to addressing issues, and understand the effects of culture on maternal and child health.

Pre-Requisites

GPH 738 Program Planning & Evaluation

GPH 724  |  3 credit hours

Work occupies approximately one-third of our lives, making the prevention of occupational-related diseases a critical component of public health. This course highlights the vital role of occupational health in promoting overall health and well-being, emphasizing its connection to broader public health goals. Students will learn to recognize, evaluate, and address workplace hazards through evidence-based interventions and control strategies. By linking general principles and global processes to local issues and regulatory frameworks, the course uses case studies to illustrate practical applications. Additionally, it examines the challenges faced by specific groups of employees at disproportionate risk and explores innovative solutions to advance health equity in the workplace.

Pre-Requisites

No pre-requisites.

Course Format:
This course will be delivered through a web-based format and is designed for completion online. The eight modules include reading assignments, quizzes in some weeks, written assignments, and discussion activities. A chosen case study will be used to practice the workplace inspection and reporting process. The weekly modules will be made available by 12:01 AM on Wednesdays.

GPH 725  |  3 credit hours

Whether you are the director of a public health department, the manager of a clinic, or running an NGO or your non-profit, having a solid understanding of financial jargon and principles is critical to your success. This course provides students with an understanding of the importance of financial planning in public health and healthcare, the difference between financial, managerial, and operational perspectives, and the use of financial data to aid in business decisions. It builds on students’ understanding of basic concepts to enable them to plan, budget, control, and evaluate financial performance. The course covers fixed and variable expenses, direct and indirect costs, capital management, budget variance analysis, and corrective action plans.Whether you are the director of a public health department, the manager of a clinic, or running an NGO or your non-profit, having a solid understanding of financial jargon and principles is critical to your success. This course provides students with an understanding of the importance of financial planning in public health and healthcare, the difference between financial, managerial, and operational perspectives, and the use of financial data to aid in business decisions. It builds on students’ understanding of basic concepts to enable them to plan, budget, control, and evaluate financial performance. The course covers fixed and variable expenses, direct and indirect costs, capital management, budget variance analysis, and corrective action plans.

GPH 727  |  3 credit hours

Most public health programs and initiatives are funded by grants. How do you ensure that your grant proposal stands out from the competition? In this course, students have the opportunity to focus on the grant writing process as designed and directed by a federal or state public health funding agency. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying and applying the requisite skills to have a potential public health program funded. Students learn about Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and how to write a grant proposal that adheres to the guidelines provided. This course will feature hands-on assignments based on actual grant components including a statement of need, goals and objectives, scope of services, partnerships and collaborations, and a program budget.

GPH 729  |  3 credit hours

The interconnectivity of one’s environment and the choices individuals make are undeniable. As we work on addressing socio-ecological factors that hinder health, we must also address personal choices and behaviors. Health education is an essential tool used to address behaviors that are directed by knowledge and attitudes held by the individual. Building on the skills learned in GPH 726 and GPH 738, students learn how to design and deliver a health education intervention using a human-centered approach.

GPH 732  |  3 credit hours

How might your ability to prioritize health needs change if you could visualize a community’s assets, inequities, and spatial patterns on an integrated map? Effective interventions begin with a comprehensive understanding of the community’s health status. This course leverages cutting-edge technologies to delve into the concepts and methodologies for assessing community health through qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Students will learn to analyze and integrate data into the assessment process, with a focus on prioritizing health needs and adopting systems-thinking approaches. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will be employed to analyze and visualize spatial patterns in health data, facilitating the integration of population, health, and environmental datasets with state and county shapefiles to generate informative GIS maps. Furthermore, students will utilize data visualization techniques to overlay socioeconomic and health factors, enabling the analysis of spatial correlations within public health data. These skills enhance proficiency in health assessment and are applicable across various sectors.

GPH 736  |  3 credit hours

Chronic or non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and account for about 7 of the 10 leading causes of death globally, with over 41 million deaths per year. In addition to these deaths, several millions more people in the U.S. and across the world live with chronic diseases and experience reduced quality of life. This course introduces students to the burden of several major chronic diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, and cancer on individuals, populations, and society. Students will gain an understanding of the etiology, prevalence, risk factors, and health consequences, and learn strategies for the prevention and control of these diseases within the framework of epidemiology. To further highlight the importance and consequences of these diseases, students will learn about the clinical perspectives of lifestyle medicine practitioners who work with these populations on an individual level. A fundamental understanding of the epidemiologic principles gained from the required prerequisites is assumed.

GPH 737  |  3 credit hours

The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases continue to threaten global health. Throughout history, public health professionals have faced hurdles in developing strategies to effectively combat these pandemics, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations. Communities usually have preparedness protocols for emergencies like hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes, but what do communities, states, or even the federal government have for pandemics? This course will look at the history of pandemics, populations most affected by them, effective response systems, evidence-based strategies to detect and prevent outbreaks, and communications mechanisms that ensure timely information sharing.

GPH 740  |  3 credit hours

This course focuses on the health of populations and public health responses from a global perspective. Students will be introduced to global health goals, principles, and concepts. Students will explore global health challenges and opportunities with an emphasis on understanding the burden of disease, advancing health equity, and implementing strength-based approaches. Selected critical global topics in such areas as maternal and child health, environmental health, chronic disease, infectious disease, and humanitarian response will be covered.

Pre-requisite:

GPH 722 Introduction to Environmental Health

GPH 738 Program Planning & Evaluation

GPH 765  |  3 credit hours

Social marketing practice supports social and behavioral changes that increase the well-being and quality of life for individuals, families, and societies. This course will equip students with the public health skills needed to tackle complex health problems by applying marketing principles and social change tools to inform, design, and implement societal-level behavioral changes that are efficient, inclusive, just, equitable, and sustainable.

GPH 795  |  3 credit hours

Students enrolled in the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program may propose independent or directed studies to further special scholarship or research interests. Students should complete all core MPH courses prior to the independent/directed study course. The proposed course requires the approval of the faculty sponsor, the Program Director, and the Dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies.

GPH 717  |  3 credit hours

Applied Epidemiology is for individuals who want to practice and refine their epidemiological skills and ultimately participate in investigating health and disease in communities. This course focuses on the identification and evaluation of health data, using health data to determine effective public health programming, using computer-based software to manage and analyze health data, and creating questionnaires and using survey data to predict the impact of public health programming on the population. This course allows students who have completed the required prerequisite courses to delve deeper into the application of epidemiological tools and skills and obtain a more in-depth understanding of epidemiology.

Pre-Requisites

GPH 712 Principles of Epidemiology

GPH 716 Biostatistics

GPH 719 Research Methods

GPH 718  |  3 credit hours

This course builds on GPH 716 (Biostatistics). Familiarity with the basic principles of data collection, one-and-two-sample confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing, as well as one-way ANOVA and the fundamentals of simple linear regression, is assumed. The course takes a more in-depth look at simple linear regression extending to multiple linear regression. Additionally, it will cover topics in probability, diagnostic and screening tests, categorical data analysis, non-parametrics, and logistic regression.

GPH 713  |  3 credit hours

This course is designed for students who would like to build on the basic principles of epidemiology to study infectious diseases in populations. By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1) describe the general principles of infectious disease epidemiology,

2) analyze epidemiologic study designs and measures in the context of infectious diseases,

3) apply outbreak investigation steps to an infectious disease outbreak,

4) describe infectious disease dynamics,

5) apply principles of disease transmission to develop disease prevention and control practices,

6) design data collection tools to investigate an infectious disease outbreak using computer-based software,

7) analyze quantitative data about infectious diseases using biostatistics,

8) interpret results of data analysis of an infectious disease investigation,

9) communicate audience-appropriate content reporting on an infectious disease outbreak both in writing and through oral presentation, and

10) describe the use of system thinking tools in infectious disease epidemiology.

GPH 736  |  3 credit hours

Chronic or non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and account for about 7 of the 10 leading causes of death globally, with over 41 million deaths per year. In addition to these deaths, several millions more people in the U.S. and across the world live with chronic diseases and experience reduced quality of life. This course introduces students to the burden of several major chronic diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, and cancer on individuals, populations, and society. Students will gain an understanding of the etiology, prevalence, risk factors, and health consequences, and learn strategies for the prevention and control of these diseases within the framework of epidemiology. To further highlight the importance and consequences of these diseases, students will learn about the clinical perspectives of lifestyle medicine practitioners who work with these populations on an individual level. A fundamental understanding of the epidemiologic principles gained from the required prerequisites is assumed.

GPH 727  |  3 credit hours

Most public health programs and initiatives are funded by grants. How do you ensure that your grant proposal stands out from the competition? In this course, students have the opportunity to focus on the grant writing process as designed and directed by a federal or state public health funding agency. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying and applying the requisite skills to have a potential public health program funded. Students learn about Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and how to write a grant proposal that adheres to the guidelines provided. This course will feature hands-on assignments based on actual grant components including a statement of need, goals and objectives, scope of services, partnerships and collaborations, and a program budget.

GPH 729  |  3 credit hours

The interconnectivity of one’s environment and the choices individuals make are undeniable. As we work on addressing socio-ecological factors that hinder health, we must also address personal choices and behaviors. Health education is an essential tool used to address behaviors that are directed by knowledge and attitudes held by the individual. Building on the skills learned in GPH 726 and GPH 738, students learn how to design and deliver a health education intervention using a human-centered approach.

GPH 765  |  3 credit hours

Social marketing practice supports social and behavioral changes that increase the well-being and quality of life for individuals, families, and societies. This course will equip students with the public health skills needed to tackle complex health problems by applying marketing principles and social change tools to inform, design, and implement societal-level behavioral changes that are efficient, inclusive, just, equitable, and sustainable.

GPH 721  |  3 credit hours

Good maternal and child health provides a solid foundation for the development and sustainability of healthy, successful communities and societies. In this course, students gain an understanding of the historical events that inform the field today, learn about current issues affecting these populations, and how to apply public health frameworks to maternal and child health concepts and issues. Students will gain a broad understanding of the field of maternal and child health from local and global standpoints. By the end of this course, students will be able to use data for action, apply evidence-based information, examine systems-based approaches to addressing issues, and understand the effects of culture on maternal and child health.

Pre-Requisites

GPH 738 Program Planning & Evaluation

GPH 740  |  3 credit hours

This course focuses on the health of populations and public health responses from a global perspective. Students will be introduced to global health goals, principles, and concepts. Students will explore global health challenges and opportunities with an emphasis on understanding the burden of disease, advancing health equity, and implementing strength-based approaches. Selected critical global topics in such areas as maternal and child health, environmental health, chronic disease, infectious disease, and humanitarian response will be covered.

Pre-requisite:

GPH 722 Introduction to Environmental Health

GPH 738 Program Planning & Evaluation

GPH 766  |  3 credit hours

In this course, students explore the many and varied interrelationships among human, animal, and environmental health from a public health framework. Readings, lectures, and course activities are designed to guide students through a transdisciplinary exploration of national and global One Health initiatives. Students will apply One Health principles through case studies and the application of systems thinking tools to visually represent public health issues.

Pre-Requisites

GPH 722 Introduction to Environmental Health