Methods for Public Health Practice

Catalog description

This course provides students with a foundation in public health practice methods with a focus on program planning. The course leads the student through the key phases of program planning from the identification of the public health problem, to assessing community needs, designing an intervention, and planning for implementation and evaluation. Public health practice methods employed throughout the course include: locating evidence through a variety of search mechanisms; collecting and assessing community data via qualitative research methods, surveys, and geo-spatial mapping; and planning and pitching intervention ideas via logic models, project narratives, and elevator speeches. This course is intended to provide an overview of the methods employed in public health and does not go into detail about one method verse the other. Students will have the opportunity to explore methods of their own through the design and presentation of a unique intervention targeting a health problem of their choice. Group work and case studies are used to compliment material. Course assignments are designed to add practical examples to the student’s public health career portfolio.