Course Descriptions
UPH 500 Foundations for Leadership in Public Health (3)
This course introduces the student to the definition, philosophy, history, and principles of public health as well as the organization and structure of government public health agencies and NGOs. The course critically examines successes and failures of state and local public health systems, and establishes the foundation for a broad view of public health focused on the intelligent design of safe and healthy urban communities. The course covers the legal and regulatory environment surrounding public health and the role of public health professionals as advocates for proactive, future-oriented health policies. Concepts of community involvement and empowerment, and methods for building community capacity to influence health and access to health care services are emphasized. The course emphasizes the roles that all members of a community (employers, residents, educators, government agencies, health care providers, etc.) can play in promoting the health of urban populations.
UPH 505 Current Topics in Urban Population Health (2)
This seminar-style course is designed to ensure students are informed about current public health issues as they impact urban populations. Each week a topic will be presented by students/faculty/ and/or guest lecturers, followed by group discussion informed by required readings. Students may be asked to role play the positions of various stakeholders. Topics may include, for example, homelessness, disaster preparedness, urban violence, refugee resettlement, genetics & genomics, ethical issues, and others.
UPH 510 Health Management and Policy (3)
The course provides students with (1) an overview of the U.S. health care delivery system and the policies that have shaped it and (2) a foundation in organizational theory and design concepts to support improved system performance. Students learn to identify the dynamics of an organization in terms of its power and political structures, to apply creative problem-solving methods, and to implement change effectively. The course emphasizes the interpersonal and leadership skills required to be effective advocates for public health.
UPH 511 Health Economics and Applications for Public Policy (2)
This course introduces students to basic economic principles of resource allocation, social welfare, and competitive/non-competitive markets. Sources of market failure in health care are discussed as the basis for provision of public health services by government or non-profit organizations. Students learn how to conduct, analyze, and interpret economic evaluations of public health programs, policies, and interventions. The course places special emphasis on how health economics can inform public health policy, in the context of current issues in urban health such as the homeless population, the disability burden of mental illness and chronic disease, and the provision of health services to refugees and non-English-speaking populations. Significant time will be devoted to developing students' communication skills as advocates for policies to improve urban population health.
UPH 512 Managerial Finance for Public Health (2)
Managerial finance is the foundation course in which students gain an understanding of the basic concepts and tools related to the financial management of organizations. Students learn essentials of budgeting, contracting, firm valuation, risk assessment as well as financial statements and forecast cash flows within for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. The course develops a framework for evaluating investment decisions and basic risk-return trade-offs; as well as providing an understanding of the financial markets in which public health operates.
UPH 513 Marketing Public Health (2)
The course provides students with an understanding of basic marketing principles and how the principles can be applied strategically in planning and implementing public health initiatives. Current research in the techniques of social marketing and behavioral change is presented. The course emphasizes the use of marketing principles for more effective public health advocacy to policymakers and legislators, as well as for effecting changes in individual health behaviors. Students gain practice in effective persuasive communication skills.
UPH 515 Strategic Planning for Healthy Urban Communities (2)
This course considers how public health leaders determine strategic direction and manage the strategy process. The course encourages students to focus strategic thinking on creating healthy urban communities through sustainable public health initiatives. Recognizing that most strategic decisions have multiple impacts across many stakeholders, we review explicit frameworks for strategic action to explore and reconcile the tensions between cost, quality and access to public health services. Strategies for integrating mental health services into community health systems are discussed, with particular focus on identifying the most effective strategies for urban areas.
UPH 520 Epidemiology (3)
This course presents the concepts and methods of the science of epidemiology. The course introduces students to concepts important for design and interpretation of epidemiological studies. Students will learn to critically select, calculate and interpret measures of disease frequency and effect appropriate for different study designs. Important concepts including confounding, interaction, modeling, and methodological bias will also be introduced. This course will include hands-on exercises in evaluation of epidemiologic data and critical review of studies in the current medical and scientific literature germane to urban and mental health issues.
UPH 530 Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (3)
In this course we analyze the major social variables that influence population health (e.g., poverty, social class, gender, race, family, community, work, behavioral risks, and coping resources) as well as the major theories of health behavior. The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to diagnose/understand community, individual, and organizational health behaviors and change processes, especially in cross-cultural settings. It provides students with a theoretical foundation for planning culturally appropriate public health interventions/programs in the context of the social and ecological models of health behavior.
UPH 535 Program Management: Development, Implementation and Evaluation (3)
This course covers all aspects of program planning, implementation and evaluation (including formative, process and outcome evaluation). The course emphasizes effective management tools for operationalizing a public health initiative and gaining stakeholder buy-in. Issues related to the collection and analysis of data for quality assurance are discussed. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and real-world experiences in urban settings, students will learn to utilize a flexible set of process models and analytical tools for effective program management.
UPH 536 Mental Health Policy and Practice (2)
This course provides an overview of the mental health sector with a focus on the costs and consequences of mental illness for individuals, families, and communities. The course provides a summary of the biological bases, symptoms and treatments for serious mental illness, such as major depression and schizophrenia. The implications of DSM-IV criteria and other mental health assessments for access to mental health services will be presented. Current mental health policy in the US and Arizona will be discussed in the context of its historical roots. The course addresses the delivery and financing of mental health services, as well as the pervasive stigma against mental illness and how it affects access to services, education, and jobs. Attention will be paid to the public health aspects of mental illness including homelessness and the impact on the criminal justice system.
UPH 539 Cross-Cultural Communication (2)
This course introduces basic concepts and principles of communication across racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries. The complex nature of cultural influences on public health practice will be discussed with a focus on cultural relevancy when working with urban communities. Students gain practical skills for effective oral and written communications with diverse populations.
UPH 540 Environmental and Occupational Health (3)
This is a core public health course designed to introduce students to environmental and occupational determinants of health. The course emphasizes: sources of health hazards; methods used to identify and evaluate hazards, and the regulatory framework used to effect hazard control, with particular emphasis on urban settings. Additionally, the course will cover potential mental and physical effects of disasters in major urban areas. Students will have the opportunity to develop competency in evaluating and illuminating public health issues, understanding research designs, identifying and evaluating factors important to the development of monitoring programs, communicating effectively through written and oral means, negotiating with others and interacting in teams.
UPH 550 Biostatistics I (2)
Through the course, students are acquainted with common descriptive and inferential techniques employed in public health, including graphical and numerical descriptive statistics; elementary probability calculation; point and confidence interval estimation and hypothesis testing for population means, proportions, differences between means and differences between proportions; association and linear regression.. The emphasis will be on interpretation and concepts. The statistical software, SAS, will be introduced as a programming tool to accomplish many of these tasks.
UPH 551 Biostatistics II (2)
The course is a continuation of Biostatistics I covering more advanced statistical concepts including multiple linear regression, elementary non-parametric techniques, simple contingency table analyses, binary dependent variable models, and survival analysis. More emphasis will be placed on students' ability to synthesize information and draw conclusions from results. A basic knowledge of SAS programming is required.
UPH 552 Research Methods for Public Health Practice (3)
Public health practice needs to be grounded in an evidence base that has been developed through research. This course describes methods and measures for population based research, including focus groups, survey research, community-based participatory research, and utilization of large public health data bases. An emphasis will be placed on developing students' critical thinking skills, including the ability to identify policy-relevant research questions. Rigor in research methodology is essential and will be a focus of the course. Students will evaluate methods and measures for the contributions that can be made to the current evidence base on urban and mental health issues.
UPH 584 Practicum Project (3)
The practicum project is the capstone experience of the MPH program. Students engage in individual mentored projects designed to improve the health and well-being of urban populations. Students work on-site in an inner-city setting a minimum of 160 hours, with a minimum 80 hours on site. Students make a presentation on their project at the annual mph practicum conference and create a poster presentation summarizing their work.
