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Graduate Courses

Schedule

Non-SPPH Students: If you are not an SPPH student and wish to register in one of our courses, refer to the information for Visiting Students for instructions.

Courses

NOTE: Syllabi for all courses are updated as we receive them from the instructors. Please refer to past syllabi for content reference and keep in mind that room location and times (for example), may be subject to change. If you do not see a course syllabus here, please contact the course instructor directly for more information.

Not all courses listed here are offered every year. Please visit our online schedules (links provided at the top of this page) to see which courses are currently being offered.

SPHA courses offered in the Master of Health Administration program are restricted to MHA students and are listed separately.

SPPH 400: Statistics for Health Research (3)

Planned collection, numeric and graphic summarization, and elementary statistical analysis of data. Examples primarily from health sciences illustrate standard techniques for parametric and non-parametric hypothesis testing; regression and correlation; contingency tables. Also randomization, “blindfolding” and other specifically biomedical topics in statistics. Class size may be limited.

Please note this is a Graduate level course.

Prerequisite
Ability to use high school Algebra and simple graphs.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

Term 1: Blended Learning
Syllabus

SPPH 401: Basic Epidemiology for Infection Control

Epidemiology, study, design and analysis, and outbreak investigation as it applies to institutional infection control.

Please note this is a Graduate level course.  This course is designed to explore fundamental concepts in epidemiology, biostatistics for epidemiology, study design and analysis and outbreak investigation as it applies to institutional infection control. The entire course will be delivered online in a problem-based learning format. For detailed course information, please visit the following webpage: https://pathology.ubc.ca/educational-programs/infection-prevention-and-control-certificate/courses/path477-spph401/  . Registration is restricted and only SPPH students may request permission to attend. Please contact the instructor, Dr. Monika Naus, directly for permission (monika.naus@bccdc.ca) and forward your permission to spph.graduate-programs@ubc.ca 

Prerequisite
Ability to use high school Algebra and simple graphs.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: online
Syllabus – visit https://pathology.ubc.ca/educational-programs/infection-prevention-and-control-certificate/courses/path477-spph401/

 

SPPH 500: Analytical Methods in Epidemiological Research (3)

Basic epidemiological designs as a framework for commonly used biostatistical techniques such as the Mantel-Haenszel, chi-squared, linear and logistic regression, and survival analysis. Computer packages will be available for computation of assignments.

Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502 or (c) all of SPPH 567, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional (Section 002 – generally intended for Master’s students)
Syllabus forthcoming

Term 2: Traditional (Section 007 – generally intended for PhD students)
Syllabus

Term 2: Blended Learning (Section BL2 – blended learning section)
Syllabus forthcoming

The following information is provided to help you choose the section that would
be most suitable for you.

How are the sections the same?:

1 – All sections assume only an introductory stats course (e.g.  SPPH 400) as
a pre-requisite.

2 – Completion of any section satisfies your program requirements.

3 – All sections cover the basic complement of regression models (linear, logistic,
Poisson, survival).

How are the sections different?:

1 – Sections 002 and BL2 spend more time on how to conduct analyses using
statistical software.  You will be instructed on how to use ‘R’ to fit different
regression models.

2 – Section 007 spends more time on concepts and principles.  While ‘R’ will be
used in class to illustrate analyses, students will not be expected to learn or
use ‘R’. Instead, more time will be spent on topics such as: How are variable
selection principles different for causal vs predictive models? How do you obtain
estimates for different risk measures (e.g., causal risk difference vs population
attributable risk vs exposure effect in the exposed) from a fitted regression model?
How do you account for non-simple random sampling?

Which section is better for me?:

1 – Students who want to learn how to fit regression models and have limited
experience using statistical software may find Sections 002 or BL2 more valuable.
2 – Students who have had some previous experience fitting regression models
using statistical software or who are more interested in how to critique
statistical methodology used in research papers may find Section 007 more valuable.

3 – The materials in the two sections are sufficiently different that some students
in the past have found value in attending both sections (in the same or different
years), though unfortunately the system restricts you to receiving credit for one
section only (you have register using ‘Audit’ status the second time).

Both instructors (Mike: mike.marin@ubc.ca, Hubert: hubert.wong@ubc.ca) are happy
to chat with you to provide additional info to help you decide, if needed.

SPPH 501: Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Epidemiological Studies (3)

This course will introduce students to concepts and methods in the analysis of correlated data, with special emphasis on longitudinal and hierarchical data, including time series data, multilevel data, and spatial and spatiotemporal data. While the course has a focus on the introduction to the  generalize linear mixed effects models,  linear models with correlated error terms and generalize linear  models with inference via general estimating equations (GEE) will also be taught.

Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 500, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 500, SPPH 502 or (c) all of SPPH 500, SPPH 502, SPPH 567

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 502: Epidemiological Methods 1 (3)

Sources and uses of epidemiologic data for health services planning and administration including methods of data collection and study design.

Prerequisite:
Enrolment in a Health Care and Epidemiology graduate program, or permission of instructor.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

Term 1: Blended Learning
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 503: Epidemiological Methods 2 (3)

Critical thinking in epidemiology; principles and methods of study design; context for epidemiological investigations of human health.

Prerequisite:
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus

 

SPPH 504: Application of Epidemiological Methods (3)

This second level course will teach research trainees to apply methods taught in prior courses towards the development of a fundable research protocol and the analysis and interpretation of real epidemiologic data.

Prerequisite: Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 500, HCEP 502, or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 500, SPPH 502, and one of the following: SPPH 503, SPPH 506, SPPH 519 or SPPH 530.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Blended
Syllabus (forthcoming)

 

SPPH 506: Quantitative Research Methods (3)

Major quantitative research designs, measurement reliability and validity, common data sources used, internal and external validity, research proposals, and peer review.
Credit will be granted for only one of SPPH 506 or SPPH 548.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Blended
Syllabus

SPPH 507: MSc Research Seminar (1.5)

SPPH 507 in conjunction with SPPH 607 is a required course for students in the MSc program. Students present and discuss their research and other topics of interest.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1 – Blended
Syllabus

 

SPPH 508: MPH Practicum (6)

Includes a significant component of applied epidemiology and biostatistics in a field setting.

Prerequisite
SPPH 400, SPPH 502, SPPH 524, SPPH 525.

 

SPPH 510: Survey Methods in Health Measurement (3)

Concepts and techniques of measurement in epidemiological research. Topics covered include validity, reliability and misclassification, scale design and the construction of questionnaires and indices for both health outcomes and exposures.

Prerequisite
Either (a) HCEP 400 or (b) SPPH 400.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 511: Cancer Control and Epidemiology (3)

Collection and analysis of epidemiological data on cancer; genetic, occupational and other risk factors; analytic techniques; cancer control, prevention, screening, early detection and policy issues.

Prerequisite
SPPH 502 or equivalent.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2:  in-person
Syllabus

SPPH 512: The Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials (3)

Ethical considerations, intention-to-treat versus efficacy trials, principles of sampling and exclusion, methods of allocation and techniques of randomization, parallel versus cross over design, monitoring treatment outcomes, adverse effects, stopping rules, analytic techniques and data interpretation, and logistical issues in the management of clinical trials.

Prerequisite
Either (a) one of HCEP 502, HCEP 513 or (b) one of SPPH 502, SPPH 513

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 513: Clinical Epidemiology (3)

Principles and methods of epidemiology are applied to clinical problems. Evaluation and design of laboratory and clinical tests and of therapeutic interventions.

Prerequisite
Either (a) one of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) one of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
SPPH 513 – Syllabus 2024 (2023W Term 2) 

SPPH 514: Decision Analysis in Health Care (3)

Methods and application of decision analysis to improve health from the perspective of the policy maker, health professional, and patient.

Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
SPPH 514 Syllabus 2023

 

SPPH 515: Surveillance and Monitoring in Public Health (3)

This course provides students with a strong foundation in the theory of public health surveillance, covering both infectious and chronic diseases. Students get practical experience through the analysis of surveillance data and planning of a surveillance program.

Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 516: Methods for Systematic Reviews in Health Research

The course focuses on systematic review methodology so that students will develop an understanding of the key components of a review and acquire the key skills needed to carry out their own reviews.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

 

SPPH 519: Qualitative Methods in Health Research Design (3)

Purposes, context, procedures, and relationships within qualitative health research and methodologies.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Term 2: Blended Learning

Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 520: Control of Communicable Disease (3)

Epidemiology of viral, bacterial and parasitic infections with emphasis on the control of these infections in human populations. Immunization programs will be stressed.

Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating Traditional and Distributed Learning formats)

Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus

 

SPPH 522: Topics in Environmental Health (3)

Role of air, water, food, and solid waste as sources of human health risks; global environmental health issues; sustainability.

Terms Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating Traditional and Distributed Learning formats)

Winter Session, Term 2; & Summer Session, Term 1:  Blended Learning
SPPH 522_2023_Syllabus

 

SPPH 523: Global Health and Human Security (3)

The COVID-19 pandemic has thoroughly disrupted settled ideas about what security means for a country and its population! Human security, a framework put forward in the 1990s as an alternative to traditional framings of national security argues that security should more appropriately focus on the status of people and not borders – and sees health as being both essential and instrumental. Human security in fact holds that a people-centered view of security is necessary for national, regional and global stability. This multi-dimensional social perspective also provides an alternative to narrowly constructed technical global health narratives, by not only considering access

Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is jointly taught with INDS 502S
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus SPPH 523

SPPH 526: Leadership in Public Health (3)

Leadership skills; use of information technologies in leadership; evidence-informed decision-making; policy development; and knowledge exchange and translation.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Term 2: Traditional (two sections:  002 and 004)
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 527: Social Determinants of Health (3)

Foundational thinking giving rise to the concept of population health. Overview of the current state of research.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Blended Learning
Syllabus

Winter Term 2: Blended Learning
Syllabus

Summer Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

 

SPPH 529: Major Essay (0)

Required for all MHSc students.

SPPH 531: Health Care Systems Analysis (3

This course provides an introduction to theoretical and practical issues in relation to population data science and learning health systems. The theory will cover how we think about the performance of health systems, what learning health systems are, the data and other infrastructure we need to support learning and improvement, and the ethical legal and social considerations that underline all of this work. The practical part of the course is focused on real-world application of these theories, for example through projects related to population data science and artificial intelligence. The overarching project will be to use all of these ideas to design a data collection, research and engagement approach to address a real-world policy challenge.

This course uses a problem-based learning approach to introduce students to the material. Each week of the course will build on the last. The material covered here will be complementary to other SPPH courses, building health services research competencies such as knowledge of health care system frameworks and critical and analytic thinking.

This course is intended for second year students, as it will assume knowledge of many of the concepts taught in foundational required courses. Students completing a one-year Master’s program will be considered and are encouraged to contact the instructor to discuss their interest. This course will be relevance to students with a wide variety of interests, from health policy to data analysis including data science to ethical, legal and social considerations to public and community engagement.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional weekly format, but also held on Zoom for students who are unable to make it to campus.

SPPH 531 Jan 2022 – Week by week outline

Updated Syllabus to be posted here soon!

SPPH 532: Environmental Health Risk Assessment and Communication (3)

SPPH 532, is an interactive, fun, and hands-on course with classroom exercises. Students will be assessed by gradually developing a RISK ASSESSMENT project on an environmental chemical exposure scenario of their choice throughout the course. Basic epidemiology, risk communication, and management are part of this course. Students will acquire the skills needed to conduct a risk assessment project by taking this course.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 533: Toxicology and Public Health (3)

Mechanism of action of commonly encountered occupational toxic agents; relevance of laboratory and epidemiological evidence.

Prerequisite
Permission of instructor.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional.
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 535: Principles of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (3)

Scientific basis for the recognition, evaluation, and control of chemical, physical, and biological exposures; standard setting; exposure monitoring methods.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 536: Aboriginal People and Public Health: Ethics, Policy, and Practice (3)

Experience of colonization; Indian Act; the histories and intergenerational impact of the residential school; child-welfare systems; communicable disease prevention; the challenge of ethical public health practice; and traditional healing.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Winter Session, Term 2: Blended Learning
SPPH 536_Syllabus_FINAL2024

Summer Session, Term 2: Blended Learning
SPPH 536 _ 2023 Summer, Term 2 Syllabus

 

SPPH 537: Perinatal Epidemiology (3)

Indicators of maternal/newborn well-being across population subgroups, changing trends in obstetrical intervention, perinatal morbidity, and the analysis of perinatal data.

Prerequisites: SPPH 400, SPPH 502 Corequisite: SPPH 500.

Term Offered and Syllabus

This course is jointly taught with WACH 503 .
Term 1
Syllabus

SPPH 538: Application of Ethical Theories in the Practice of Public Health (3)

This course will review ethical discussions, principles and frameworks in relation to ethical issues that arise in population and public health. Ethical theory can help articulate the complexities of ethical issues and structure reasoning around the best responses. But there is no agreement about what ethical theory is the correct one, and different ethical theories emphasize different approaches to ethical concerns.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Winter Term 2: Traditional

Syllabus – SPPH 538-2024-W2

Summer Term: traditional

Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 540: Program Planning and Evaluation (3)

Examines the concept of evaluation in health services and how various methodological approaches can be used in evaluative studies.

Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 541: Economic Evaluation (3)

Economic evaluation of health service interventions and programs, with emphasis on methods and components of program costing.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

SPPH 542: Canadian Health Policy (3)

This course is about the Canadian health care system and the political and economic forces that shape it. It is for anyone – regardless of academic or professional background – interested in the intersection of health care, economics, and public policy in Canada. The course involves a purposeful mix of independent learning, in-person lectures, and Zoom seminars involving groupwork.

SPPH 542 occurs on Monday mornings. If your schedule cannot accommodate that, consider the 300-level equivalent SPPH 381D which occurs on Tuesday mornings.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 546: Introduction to Health Economics (3)

This course will help students gain a broad understanding of the health system and health system change from an economics perspective. It will focus on why and how the healthcare system is structured and the ensuing contractual relationships between payers and providers.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 547: Health Care Priority Setting (3)

Resource allocation, economics and ethics based approaches for decision-making, uptake of evidence to inform resource use in health care.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Term 2: Blended Learning
Syllabus

SPPH 548: Knowledge to Action in Population Health (3)

Term Offered and Syllabus

Term 1: Traditional
Course Content (previously was SPPH 581N)

SPPH 549: Advanced Economic Evaluation in Health Care (3)

This course provides students with the opportunity to gain in-depth and practical skills in conducting economic evaluation of health technologies. In addition, the course considers, in detail, the policy context for the use of economic evaluation, drawing on experiences and evidence from both Canadian and international settings. Finally, current methodological and theoretical debates are presented.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2 (every other year): Traditional
SPPH 549-PHAR560 syllabus

Prerequisite: SPPH 541. Or equivalent training – with permission from the instructor.

Equivalency: PHAR 560

SPPH 550: Public Health Approaches to Substance Use and Addictions (3)

Critical examination of strategies regarding addictive behaviours, substance use and related problems, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Blended
Syllabus

SPPH 552: Science and Risk Communication for Public Health (3)

SPPH 552 is an introductory course for students who would like to develop a basic ‘palette’ of science and risk communication principles, theories, and tools. If scientific voices are to be heard and used for personal, public, and political decision-making, then efficient and effective communication is essential. However, science communication, and particularly the communication of risk in the scientific context, is difficult to do well. This course will provide you with the knowledge, practice, and mentorship that you can use to communicate effectively in your career.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Term 1: Blended-Learning (Combines asynchronous in-person classes, as well as asynchronous online learning)**

Syllabus (forthcoming)

 

 

SPPH 553: Foundations of Public Health Computing (3)

The work of public health professionals in British Columbia is increasingly dependent on large and complex datasets from sources such as Vital Statistics, Medical Services Plan (MSP) billings, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) hospital Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), and PharmaNet. The overarching objective of this course is to provide students with practical, hands-on experience cleaning, preparing, linking, and managing the types of health data likely to be encountered in workplaces as a public health professional. It will use the principles of computer science to ensure correctness, efficiency, security, and reproducibility in all stages of data management and subsequent analyses.

This course is using the ‘SAS’ statistical analysis software, which is is the traditional standard for working with large datasets in the healthcare industry.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Blended
Syllabus

SPPH 555: Principles and Practices of Injury Prevention (3)

Injury epidemiology; surveillance; development, implementation, and evaluation techniques of preventive strategies; determinants of health; social marketing; injury policy; evidence-based prevention strategies; utilization of injury datasets.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Summer Term 1:  Blended Learning
Syllabus

SPPH 562: Chemical and Biological Hazard Measurement (3)

Industrial hygiene and environmental exposure monitoring, methods, and instrumentation, and theory. Laboratories demonstrate workplace sampling and analysis techniques.

Prerequisite
SPPH 535

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
No syllabus available

 

SPPH 563: Technical Aspects of Occupational Hygiene Hazard Controls (3)

Industrial ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems, respiratory protection, chemical protective clothing.

Prerequisite
SPPH 535

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus – Fall 2023

SPPH 564: Advanced Topics in Occupational and Environmental Health

This is the MSc OEH Capstone course, and is restricted to MSc OEH students only.

Term Offered and Syllabus

Winter Term 2: traditional format

Syllabus (forthcoming)

SPPH 565: Ergonomics (3)

Human factors in workplace design, anthropometry, work physiology. This course applies knowledge about human capabilities to the design of work, including workspace design, work methods, work organization. Topics include systems design and task analysis, anthropometry and workspace design, upper-limb musculoskeletal injuries and back injuries, shift-work, skilled work and mental activity, psychosocial and organizational aspects of work and ergonomics regulations and standards.

Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating with SPPH 568: Occupational Safety Programs and Systems)

Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming
[/accordion]
[accordion title=”SPPH 566: Occupational Hygiene Practice (3)”]
Application of occupational hygiene principles using field investigations, critical appraisal of results, and communication with labour and management.

Prerequisite
SPPH 562

Corequisite
SPPH 563.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus forthcoming

 

SPPH 566: Occupational Hygiene Practice

Application of occupational hygiene principles using field investigations, critical appraisal of results, and communication with labour and management.

 

Term Offered and Syllabus

Winter Term 1:  Traditional Format

Syllabus (forthcoming)

 

SPPH 567: Quantitative Methods for the Assessment and Analysis of Exposure Data (3)

Determinants of exposure, sampling strategies.

Prerequisite
Introductory statistics.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Traditional: Term 2
SPPH 567 Syllabus 2024

SPPH 568: Occupational Safety Programs and Systems (3)

Safety management; systems analysis; accident investigation; collection of accident data; fault trees; total loss control.

Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating with SPPH 565 Ergonomics)
Term 1: Traditional
No syllabus available

 

SPPH 569: Industrial and Environmental Acoustics and Vibration (3)

The objective of this course is to give occupational hygiene students the basic knowledge required to measure, assess, analyze and solve noise and vibration problems in (mostly) industrial situations, and to discuss such problems and their solutions with specialists in the field.

Students will acquire a knowledge of acoustical and vibration concepts, quantities and terminology and measurement techniques. They should achieve a basic understanding, and some hands-on experience, of the characteristics of sound waves and of how sound propagates, of the effects of sound and vibration on humans and how to mediate these effects.

They should acquire a general understanding of measures available to control noise and vibration problems and of their cost- effectiveness. They should be capable of doing basic calculations to predict noise and vibration levels and reductions.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional

Syllabus

580A, 580B, 580C - Directed Studies Courses

SPPH 580 (3/6) Directed Studies – pass/fail or percentage graded

SPPH 581C: Methods for Analyzing Routinely Collected Data (3

This is a data-driven course that focuses on applying supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods and non-standard analytic problems with healthcare data. The data that will serve as the motivation will be large clinical and administrative databases commonly used in health services research in Canada, such as hospital discharge data. Students in this course will be exposed to, and apply, advanced statistical methods for analyzing sophisticated healthcare-based data problems.

Permission of the instructor is required to register for the course.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 581H: Qualitative Research in Public Health Practice (3)

This introductory course is designed for Masters in Public Health (MPH) students relatively new to the field of qualitative research. The overall aim is to provide students with the understanding and skills necessary to conduct an objective appraisal of published qualitative literature and assess its relevance and application to their field of practice. The course will provide students with an overview of what constitutes qualitative research, the common philosophical assumptions and paradigms underpinning this research, the essential elements of a study design, the common methods of data collection, ethical consideration during qualitative research, and what makes a good piece of qualitative research. This course is restricted to SPPH MPH students.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Winter Term 1
Syllabus not available

Summer Term 1
Syllabus

 

SPPH 581J: Overview of Global Health (3)

This is a foundational course for those entering the global health stream. Within the context of least developed countries or resource constrained populations this course will address burden of disease estimates, key indicators and principal determinants of health, global intervention strategies, public, NGO and private sector players in global health and their performance.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 581O: Selected Topics: Intervening in Global Public Health, Sustainability, and Preventive Medicine

This course will provide a skills/practice-oriented experience, like many courses for health professionals, a case-/problem-based learning approach using real cases/problems on which you choose to intervene.  It provides opportuntiy to safely practice solving real problems, in a time-constrained environment, collaboratively intervening in small teams of your construction to improve global public health, sustainability, and preventive medicine outcomes, framed didactically through the problem-solving lens of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and of the Social Determinants of Health

Tuesdays, 4:00pm to 8:00pm

Instructor: Dr. Erica Frank

Syllabus

SPPH 580P Bayesian Biostatistics

Introductory course on Bayesian statistics and methods, specific focus on Bayesian hierarchical models for correlated health data in general and for small area spatiotemporal diease mapping in particular.  Examples of health science case studies will be illusatrated using freeware R and WinBUGs.  The Bayesian principles, theorem, and key ideas will be introduced with minimum use of mathematics.

Term 2 – Traditional, face-to-face format

Dr. Ying MacNab

Syllabus

SPPH 581S: Selected Topics: Pharmacoepidemiology

Principles and applications of pharmacoepidemiology. Practical skills in designing, conducting, and appraising studies of medications in large populations.

Co-listed with PHAR 561-001.

Section 002 (in-person)
Wednesday 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Instructor: Jacquelyn Cragg, Mary De Vera
Room: Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, Room #3210

SPPH 581X: Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) - Understanding the challenges and identifying approaches to prevent, manage and reduce their impact (3)

In the midst of a lingering pandemic where public health’s primary focus has been on addressing infectious diseases, it is easy to overlook the incredible toll that chronic diseases take in our own families, our communities, province, country and globally. NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer account for the highest causes of preventable death in Canada and the world; they also constitute the largest avoidable burden on our publicly funded medical care system.

This course will focus on understanding the range of NCDs and their impacts in terms of morbidity and mortality. It will also provide opportunities to become familiar with ways to access data and resources to delve into deeper understanding of these issues. However, while previous versions of the course have focused primarily on epidemiologic concepts and tools, this updated course will build on this foundation to focus on: Which population and public health approaches work to prevent, manage and even reverse the tsunami of chronic diseases that we face? The course will explore some general principles of responding to NCDs, as well as a range of approaches that can be deployed to curtail this ‘other’ epidemic. It will consider issues such as: How preventable are these conditions? Which strategies are most effective for different levels of intervention (e.g., individual, clinical, community, provincial, national and global)? The course will be of interest to students in both thesis-based and applied (MPH) programs, as well as to those with clinical backgrounds, and appeal to those who want to make a difference.

Term Offered and Course Syllabus
Term 2: Blended Learning (requires weekly in-person attendance)
SPPH 581X NCD 2023 syllabus (004)

SPPH 581Y: Developing Policy for Improving Population Health

This course will provide graduate students in public health and related disciplines an introduction to policy development and analysis with a focus on policies that address population health outcomes and their equity and distribution including both Canadian and global content.

Prerequisite:

The initial offering of this course in Term 1 Fall 2022 is open to Masters students and Doctoral students in SPPH. Previous learning in SPPH 527 Social Determinants of Health will be an asset although this could be taken concurrently or after.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Blended Learning
Syllabus

SPPH 598: Occupational and Environmental Hygiene Project (6

Applied project on approved topic based on practicum: requires a written and oral report.

 

 

SPPH 599: MSc Thesis (12)

MSc Thesis

SPPH 604: Application of Advanced Epidemiological Methods (3)

The purpose of this course is to provide students with learning opportunities to understand fundamental epidemiological concepts through the application of methods using population and public health datasets. The purpose is also to introduce students to emerging epidemiological methodologies that are frequently being applied to population and public health-related research questions in prestigious epidemiology journal publications.

Prerequisite: Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 500, HCEP 502, or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 500, SPPH 502, and one of the following: SPPH 503, SPPH 506, SPPH 519 or SPPH 530.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
SPPH 604 Course-Outline_2023

SPPH 607: PhD Research Seminar (1.5)

Required course in PhD program. Topics of current interest will be presented and discussed by students and various faculty.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1 – Blended
Syllabus

 

SPPH 621: Approaches to Enquiry in Population and Public Health (3)

Research approaches in the area of population and public health; focus on developing research questions and the centrality of research questions in conducting research.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 681A: Causal Inference in Public Health Sciences (3)

Drawing causal conclusions from observational data is a common task in the public health sciences. The goal of this 3-credit course is to develop knowledge, skills, and competency in causal inference methodology. The course offers in-depth coverage of methods developed over the past three decades. We will look at probabilistic causality, causal diagrams, counterfactuals, mediation analysis, and methods for evaluating treatment effects.

This course is divided into 12 modules. In each module you will find reading material, tutorials, and videos. By the design, they complement each other. The readings introduce the topic, the videos discuss ideas, and the tutorials help you put them into practice. I will also share a wealth of material that you can use both during the course and long after you’ve completed it. The tutorials will use Stata; alternatively, you can apply your R programming knowledge from previous courses. Additional tutorials will teach you how to create and analyze cause and effect diagrams.

Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus

SPPH 699: Doctoral Dissertation (0)

SPPH 699: Doctoral Dissertation (0)

 

700 Level Courses - SPPH Residents Only

SPPH 570 (3) / SPPH 710 (0): Current Issues in Public Health Practice