UPH 501, Principles of Epidemiology

Foundational principles in the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control of health problems. The course emphasizes uses of morbidity, mortality, and other vital statistics data in the scientific appraisal of community health and health services.

This course provides lectures, discussion, and exercises designed to prepare students to present, collect, interpret, explain, and evaluate data about community health issues and interventions. Topics include descriptive statistics, graphics, probability distributions, sampling issues, tests of significance, measures of association, linear and logistic regression, and survival analysis.

UPH 503, Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health

An overview of the concepts and foundations of social and behavioral theories influencing health related behaviors and considerations in developing theory-based health education and health communications programs for specific target populations. Topics include the transtheoretical stages of change model, cognitive-behavioral theories, health belief model, social networks and support, social ecology, and social marketing.

Survey of chemical, physical, and biological factors influencing quality of ambient, workplace, and home environments. Topics include air and water pollution; hazardous wastes; radiation and noise hazards; food safety; recreational environments; regulatory standards; environmental justice controversies; and the interplay of science and policy. Emphasizes issues in risk assessment, perception, and communication.

UPH 505, Health Services Administration

Overview of methods of organizational development, human resource management, strategic planning, marketing, and financial analysis for health organizations. Emphasis on legal and ethical responsibilities of managers, and application of organizational behavior theories to effective motivation, leadership, communication, and team building with a multicultural workforce.

UPH 509, Geographic Information Systems

Applications of geographic information systems (GIS) to study urban health concerns such as access to healthcare, disease clusters, and health status disparities. Skills in GIS operations such as buffering, layering, and spatial queries are developed through homework and case studies. Fundamentals of cartography and statistical aspects of spatial analysis are introduced.

UPH 511, Consumer Health Advocacy

An overview of health-related products, services, providers, facilities, financing, and consumer protection with an emphasis on issues such as access, quality, equity, purity, safety, effectiveness, and value. The course examines rights, responsibilities, and vulnerabilities of consumers, and opportunities and pitfalls for them in making purchasing decisions in the urban health marketplace.

UPH 513, Urban Health Problems and Issues

UPH 550, Health Disparities

Analysis of the sources, extent, and strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health status and health care in urban communities. Focus areas for study include infant mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, immunizations, mental health, hepatitis, syphilis, tuberculosis, and culturally sophisticated approaches to urban health promotion.

UPH 552, Community Organization for Urban Health

Theory of community organization and application to enhancing community capacity for collaborative efforts to produce positive change. Case histories of communities organizing to solve health problems are reviewed. Topics include coalition building, the consultation process, transcultural communication, organizing for disaster preparedness, and community-based participatory research.

UPH 553, Program Design and Evaluation

Examines issues in applying established models (e.g., PRECEDE/PROCEED) for planning, implementing, and evaluating small and large-scale health programs. Focuses on step-by-step development of an evaluation study plan to address specific, unanswered questions about a local urban health promotion program’s implementation and its impact on its target population.

UPH 555, Urban Health Policy and Politics

Explores the influence of local, state, and federal government actions on urban community health and related socioeconomic conditions. Topics include the policy making process including the workings of government bureaucracy, influence of various stakeholders, ethical and scientific considerations in formulating policy, and practical strategies for effective lobbying.

UPH 597, Urban Public Health Capstone

Includes seminar sessions and a project to synthesize and integrate knowledge from other courses. Project options include a grant or research proposal, a plan to implement an urban health program, an in-depth analysis of an urban health problem, or an applied research project. The project may be linked to a practicum experience.