GPH 380MProgram Implementation & Eval

Catalog

Course Description: Every year, millions of people die from preventable causes—not because solutions are unknown, but because the path from knowledge to action is blocked by invisible barriers and ineffective public health programs. This course equips students with the knowledge and the skills to effectively plan, implement and evaluate programs and policies for a healthier future. Through case studies that range from the largest outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis the United States has ever seen to the global fight against hypertension, students will learn to diagnose why health threats persist, build coalitions that overcome political and institutional resistance, and plan programs that work at scale. The course draws on the perspectives of public health researchers, policymakers, private-sector actors, and communities to show that saving lives demands not just technical knowledge but strategic skill and political competence to develop and implement successful populations. This course is for you if you want to understand why preventable suffering persists and what it takes to stop it through public health action. You do not need a background in science. You need curiosity about how the world works, a willingness to grapple with hard tradeoffs, and an interest in what it actually takes to turn good ideas into saved lives.