Environmental Epidemiology, Pandemics and Globalization

Catalog description

This course is intended to provide basic knowledge of principles and methods of environmental epidemiology for students whose career interests in a health-related field may include using epidemiologic information. The course presents a holistic view of global health by crossing several disciplines, including medical anthropology and disease history, focusing upon the social processes by which groups are stigmatized during disease outbreaks, and public health policies for confronting outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics. The course emphasizes the conceptual aspects of epidemiologic investigation and application of these concepts in global health policy and related professions. Topics include: disease surveillance; population screening; interpreting epidemiologic associations, and the health risks and benefits of globalization. Salient foci will be: the evaluation of the role of health diplomacy in addressing shared global health problems among countries, and the evaluation of cultural, ethical, social, systemic, and anthropological determinants of global health problems.