Pedagogy of Sexuality Education

PEDAGOGY OF SEXUALITY EDU

Pedagogy of Sexuality Education will provide students with the background and skills they need to design, implement and evaluate effective sexuality education interventions. The course will emphasize teaching methodology for working with groups and students will learn both theories of behavior change and techniques for influencing the key determinants that are relevant in encouraging sexual health. Further, all students will learn strategies for facilitating group learning, responding to the needs of students of various ages and developmental stages, and ways to engage parents. The course will include designing and delivering lesson plans and receiving substantive feedback from the other course participants and the instructor. The course will analyze emerging digital approaches to sexuality education and ways to translate what has been learned about effective in person sex education into digital strategies. We will also cover techniques for working effectively within tight time constraints and preventing controversy. The context in which young people are learning about sexuality as well as current dominant cultural scripts about sexuality will be examined.

• Instructor: Lindsay Fram
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• 3 points

Health and Human Rights Advocacy

HEALTH & HUMAN RIGHTS ADV

The class explores how laws, policies, and rights function to shape public health, with particular emphasis on the implications of this interaction for rights-based approaches to health programs, policy and advocacy. The course includes an introduction to the principles, provisions and underlying assumptions of law, policy and rights related to public health. Students then have the opportunity to use human rights tools and principles in documentation of health-related human rights violations and formulation of programmatic and advocacy responses to violations. A wide range of issues – HIV, health problems of criminalized populations, autonomy of people living with mental disorders, racial discrimination in health services and related policy, and rights-unfriendly practices of for-profit companies – are used to illustrate the importance of human rights inquiry and analysis in public health.

• Instructor: Marta L Schaaf
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• 1.5 points

Current Issues in Sexual Health

CURRENT ISSUES IN SEXUAL

The goal of this course is for students to explore and gain a more in-depth understanding of current issues related to sexual and reproductive health. The course will examine how current trends in public health and public policy—and the historic policies, processes, and narratives from which those trends emerge—shape health access and outcomes and drive inequities among certain populations, particularly youth, LGBTQ  

communities, immigrant communities and communities of color. The course will use a systems approach, pushing students to identify and analyze the relationship between issues such as welfare policy, economic inequality, maternal mortality and toxic stress and sexual and reproductive health. The class will better equip students to understand, analyze and intervene in systems of oppression and inequality in order to advance equity for all people. Some sessions will feature guest speakers from the fields of policy, public health and advocacy who will share their own experiences and perspectives on current critical issues in sexual and reproductive health.  

This is a required course for all students in the Sexuality, Sexual and Reproductive Health (SSRH). The course is also open to non-Mailman students interested in exploring sexual and reproductive health issues (instructor permission required).

• Instructor: Andrea M Flynn
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• 3 points

Quantitative Data Analysis

QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSI

In this course you will learn to develop and implement a quantitative data analysis plan and to interpret the output of quantitative analyses using datasets from actual evaluation studies. The early phase of the course will focus on essential pre-analytic tasks often overlooked in the research training process. These include identifying and resolving dirty data including logical inconsistencies and conducting simple and complex data transformations. The second half of the course focuses on conducting bivariate and multivariable statistical tests. This is an applied course, emphasizing skill-building through hands-on work using R in each class session. Reflecting the focus on skill-building, this course includes weekly homework using R.

• Instructor: Judith F Austin
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• 3 points

Outbreak Preparedness and Response in Re

OUTBR PREP/RESP IN RES-LI

How do we prepare for and respond to communicable disease outbreaks in low-resource settings? How are diseases transmitted, and how do we prevent, detect, and control the major communicable diseases encountered by populations in low-resource health care settings? How are governments, the UN, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) responding to disease prevention, mitigation, and control? How do we study what has worked to control disease outbreaks and what has not during situations of war, civil strife, migration, and mass displacement of people and in under-resourced health settings globally? 

Whether caused by a natural disaster, conflict or famine, a humanitarian crisis often brings increased morbidity and mortality from direct and indirect causes, including communicable diseases. People moving into crowded communal settlements or shelters means that diseases like diarrhea and measles spread easily. Damage to sanitation facilities or a lack of clean water means rapidly transmitted water- and vectorborne diseases. Since the 1994 cholera epidemic in Goma, Zaire, the humanitarian community has improved its ability to perform operational research to detect and respond to communicable disease outbreaks where infrastructure and information are limited and come up with evidence-informed approaches to the response. Exploring the interplay of programmatic and scientific advances in humanitarian response is imperative to developing and capitalizing on the lessons learned from previous emergencies. 

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these lessons are more pertinent than ever as the global community struggles to control the spread of the virus and vaccinate populations in an efficient, equitable manner. This course focuses on familiarizing students with epidemiology, pathobiology, diagnostic methods, treatment, preventive interventions, and, especially, programmatic considerations regarding the leading infectious diseases encountered by communities, governments, and humanitarian actors in underresourced health settings. We will evaluate the effectiveness of different stakeholders, including ministries of health, international governments, and NGOs, in outbreak preparedness and response.

• Instructor: Rachel Moresky
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 1.5 points

Planning Child Survival Programs

PLANNING CHILD SURVIVAL P

Child mortality has steadily declined over the last century. This global progress is marred by tremendous disparities between and within countries, and the fact that many of the children who survive do so in circumstances that make it difficult for them to thrive. Students in the course will learn about the clinical aspects of child health, including the specific conditions that affect children, with a focus on high-mortality settings, and the technical interventions designed to help children survive. Secondly, students will learn about the managerial issues in child survival programs, including monitoring, evaluation, communication, cross-cultural understanding, leadership, and human resources. Thirdly, students will also be introduced to some of the political issues involved in planning child survival programs, including critiques of development aid. Students will also learn about relevant cross-cutting areas of knowledge, such as health systems, community health, and crisis settings.

• Instructor: Emmanuel D'Harcourt
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• 1.5 points

Pediatric Population Health in the Unite

PEDIATRIC POP HLTH IN THE

Public policy and the organization of health systems profoundly shape the health and well-being of children and youth in the United States. Building on an overview of key federal and state agencies, major pediatric programs (such as Medicaid and CHIP), and leading causes of pediatric morbidity and mortality, this course examines how policy, financing, and models of care contribute to both children's health and inequities. Through focused lectures and applied in-class activities, students analyze contemporary policies and programs, critique government strategy documents, and practice translating evidence for policymakers, professionals, parents, and youth audiences. By the end of the course, students will be able to evaluate federal and state roles in pediatric population health, assess the impact of pediatric policies and care models, and communicate clear, persuasive evidence-based recommendations to diverse interest holders.

• Instructor: Kyle R MacDonald
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• 1.5 points

Qualitative Data Analysis

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

The collection of qualitative data is widespread and growing in public health research, however the credibility and quality of qualitative research rests upon utilizing systematic rigor in collecting, recording, organizing, categorizing, and interpreting qualitative findings. Focusing on focus group data and individual in-depth interview data, this course introduces several approaches to the process of qualitative data analysis. Through a mixture of hands-on group work and independent work, students will apply thematic analysis or framework analysis on real qualitative data starting with developing a research question to writing a scientific manuscript of peer-review quality.  Students will use qualitative data analysis software Dedoose to analyze data.

• Instructor: Stephanie A Grilo
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• 3 points

Digital Technology & Health Across The L

DIG TECH & HLTH ACRSS LIF

Digital technology is permeating nearly every sphere of public health, from the way that hospitals store and share records, to the way that parents interact with and ultimately raise their children. Understanding how new technologies present potential opportunities for intervention across the life course is a critical area of study for future health practitioners and researchers. This course will also cover how digital technologies can increase health risks.

Course topics will span the lifecourse (children, adolescents, adulthood and end-of-life) and the globe. Specific topics of study will include: immunization registries, text-based interventions and teen pregnancy; media and youth development; HIV, sexual behaviors, and cell phones; mobile dating and sexual health; mobile technology in displaced and refugee populations; diversity, technology and life transitions.

After completing this course, students will be well positioned to understand the current digital technologies, and to create and critique the technologies of the future. Students will be able to effectively analyze research studies and identify developmental and technological characteristics that contribute to risk and opportunities for protection. Students will formulate initiatives that reduce the potential risks and maximize potential protective characteristics using current health technology.

• Instructor: Philip J Kreniske
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• 3 points

Gender-Based Violence in Complex Emergen

GENDR-BASED VIOL-COMPLEX

This course, taught over seven weeks, explores the structural, social and political factors that contribute to the existence of gender-based violence and which lead to an increased occurrence of acts of gender-based violence in complex emergencies, including conflict zones and natural disasters. Students will learn about a range of practical resources and guidelines for effective programming and discuss contemporary research on considerations for designing interventions, all within a survivor-centered framework. Students will develop a practical understanding of effective interventions for preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in different phases of complex emergencies. Specifically, students will learn a conceptual and practical framework for preventing and responding to GBV. This will include looking at the International Rescue Committee’s field-tested GBV Emergency Response & Preparedness Model; Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines, and other resources. Discussions will focus on the role of States, the United Nations, national/international non-governmental organizations and civil society actors—especially women’s rights organizations and activists—in addressing GBV in emergencies; the role of effective coordination among humanitarian agencies; and how the voices of women and girls drive programming.  

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to design an intervention to address gender-based violence in different phases of a complex emergency, in addition to adapting data collection and research methods as appropriate to GBV programming needs.

• Instructor: Alina Potts
  h-index: 8 Info
• 1.5 points

Methods in Program Evaluation

METHODS IN PROGRAM EVALUA

Increasing demand for transparency and accountability, particularly with respect to donor-funded humanitarian programs, has heightened the need for skilled evaluators. To this end, students in this course will become familiar with various forms of evaluation and acquire the technical skills necessary for their development, design and execution through lectures and discussion, group exercises, guest presentations and real-world examples. Specifically, students will discover evidence-based methods for identifying stakeholders, crafting evaluation questions, designing instruments, sampling and data gathering to achieve good response rates, analysis and synthesis of information for report-writing and case studies.

• Instructor: Marlene O Riquelme
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• 3 points

Environmental Justice Advocacy

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

In this course, students will learn about the disproportionate burdens of environmental contamination and resultant health disparities affecting marginalized communities across the United States and globally. The curriculum will explore the ways in which the environmental justice movement in the US has succeeded in implementing just forms of health research, progressive environmental health policies, and protections from racial/cultural injustice, as well as obstacles, policy impediments and potential paths forward. We will examine environmental health/justice theories and perspectives in the contexts of health impacts on various populations, including American communities of color and the socioeconomically disadvantaged, indigenous peoples, women, and children.  We will study climate change, natural disasters, urban pollution and segregation, extractive industries, and environmental sustainability. Students will be asked to critically examine these topics and explore unresolved, chronic problems relating to environmental injustices and their health impacts.

• Instructor: Yolande A Cadore
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• 1.5 points

Planning, Managing & Communicating For E

PLN MNG & COMMS

Evidence-based public health (M Plescia, AJPH 2019) includes making decisions based on peer-reviewed evidence, using data systematically, and disseminating what is learned. Conducting evidence-based public health that reflects the mission and values of the Department of Population & Family Health (PopFam) requires skills to: clarify gaps in knowledge and evidence to explicate how such gaps can be filled; solicit funding and community support for research and evaluation projects that can inform public health practice; ensure applied public health research and evaluation is feasible, and carried out efficiently and according to plan; and that the results and “lessons learned” are disseminated to guide next action steps. This course focuses on practical skills that can be applied in post-Mailman work, with an emphasis on generating key work products such as Specific Aims, letters of support, and data briefs. This course will provide students with skills to center health equity in our public health work from the get-go – recognizing how to be attentive to inclusion and equity in generating research and evaluation questions, project management, and communication and dissemination. This course is designed as a complement to students’ experiences with research or program-based APEx and their subsequent capstone/integrated learning experience (ILE); therefore, priority will be given to second-year PopFam and PHRM students.

• 3 points

Child Development & Health Programs

CHILD DEVELOPMENT & HLTH

Childhood and adolescence are critical windows of opportunity in human development to influence health, learning, and productivity throughout life. In the earliest years of childhood, survival, growth and development are interlinked; growth affects both the chances of survival and the child's development, and family care practices, resources and access to services influence all three. Adolescence is the second period of rapid growth when foundational learning associates with distinct neuro-maturational changes. Contributing to increased investment in the early years and adolescence are new demands related to changing economic, social, demographic, political and educational conditions. The course will focus on populations throughout their lifespan, thinking through child development and explaining why and how programs positively affect health outcomes. Students will understand the role of early child development programs (ECD) in the achievement of improved educational success and improved long-term health. The course will also explore adolescence through a developmental lens and the complex life events and social constructs that can influence adolescent behaviors. Through interactive lectures, small-group discussions and debates, and presentations by established guest speakers, students will learn to analyze programs and services, including how we can work with parents, support young children and adolescents in times of emergencies, and work within the healthcare system through a variety of hospital, community, school and family-based approaches to promote health and positive development.

• 3 points

Training of Trainers of Public Health Pr

TRAINING OF TRAINERS OF P

The purpose of the course is to teach participants the key principles and skills needed to design, deliver, and evaluate participatory training activities for public health programs across a range of geographies, settings, and content areas. Students will experience and experiment with a range of adult learning theories, tools, strategies, and methodologies, and use this learning to collaboratively develop a real-world training program. Instruction will include self-paced pre-work to devote more in-class time to application, problem-solving, and in-depth discussion. As a workshop-style course, students do not need to be expert educators to succeed, but must be willing to get creative, take risks, and critically examine our values and beliefs around the practice of teaching and learning.

• Instructor: Ryan M Mateo Sharnbroich
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• 1.5 points

Epidemiological Methods for Measuring Hu

EPID MTHDS-MEAS HUM RTS A

People across the world turn to the language and legal structures of human rights to advance justice and accountability. This course explores the intersections between epidemiology and human rights, examining how epidemiologic concepts and methods can help document violations, assess inequities, monitor progress, and support accountability. With its focus on the distribution and determinants of disease, disability, death, and injury, epidemiology offers powerful tools for substantiating claims related to the rights to health, a healthy environment, equitable resources, and freedom from violence and trauma. 

 

The course has three central goals: to help students critically examine the connections between human rights, justice, epidemiology, and quantitative measurement; to introduce epidemiologic methods relevant to human rights research, including vital statistics, population-based surveys, capture-recapture analyses, latent variable modeling, policy mapping, and causal inference; and to guide students in designing and communicating rigorous research that can inform human rights advocacy. Through this course, students will learn to select and design indicators of civil, cultural, economic, political, social, and collective rights; to evaluate and interpret quantitative evidence used in human rights contexts; to identify and articulate theories of change underlying human rights research; and to translate epidemiologic findings for diverse audiences in ways that maintain scientific integrity while advancing advocacy goals. The course culminates in a final paper in which students apply these skills to a set of human rights concerns in a particular context.

• Instructor: Justin Feldman
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• 1.5 points

Public Health and Humanitarian Action

PUB HLTH & HUMANITARIAN A

Humanitarian action has come to occupy a central place in world politics. Increasingly grounded in rights rather than charity, international assistance and protection are expected to reach people affected by disasters, organized violence, climate change, and other emergencies in a timely, informed, and impartial manner. Global wealth suggests that such a response is possible; global morality suggests that it is necessary. 

 

This course examines efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and protection in crisis-affected settings. It considers the political, technical, organizational, moral, and ethical forces that shape humanitarian action, as well as the distortions and performance challenges that continue to compromise effective and impartial response. While public health practice often focuses on technical and organizational capacity, this course emphasizes that political and ethical dimensions are equally central to alleviating human suffering. Combining theory with practice, the course explores the constraints and possibilities of humanitarian action from the perspectives of humanitarian agencies, field professionals, and people affected by crisis. Students will examine the principles guiding humanitarian response and their influence on evidence-based decision-making across key public health priorities. The course also addresses the need for sustainable approaches in protracted crises and emerging challenges, including climate change and efforts to decolonize the aid sector. Students will engage current trends and debates, take and defend positions, and contribute actively to a participatory learning environment.

• Instructor: Sabrina C Hermosilla
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• 3 points

Forced Migration Practicum Seminar

FORCED MIGRATION PRACTICU

This weekly seminar, held during the Fall semester, is required for all second-year students enrolled in the Public Health and Humanitarian Action (PHHA) certificate. Each certificate student is required to conduct a presentation synthesizing applied practice experience, aligning field experience with skills and perspectives gained through coursework.  Students present to their peers and PHHA faculty. The seminar is limited to students enrolled in the PHHA certificate, and to first-year students considering or intending to enroll in the PHHA certificate. Two student presentations will be scheduled per week. A sign-up sheet will be distributed prior to the first seminar session.

• Instructor: Sara E Casey
  h-index: 16 Info
• 0-1 points

Tutorial in Population and Family Health

TUTORIAL POPULATION AND F

• Instructor: Stephen P Kachur
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• 0-6 points

Capstone Paper-Heilbrunn Department of P

CAPSTONE

No syllabus.

• 0 points

Key Issues in Adolescent Sexual and Repr

ISS IN ADOLESC SXL/REPRO

This graduate seminar examines key issues in adolescent sexual and reproductive health research. The course emphasizes how research shapes policy, clinical practice, advocacy, and public health programming for adolescents. Using a journal club format, students will critically read, discuss, and debate both classic and emerging research through a combination of student-led presentations, guided deconstruction of scientific papers, and collaborative discussion. Students will learn how to evaluate the quality and relevance of diverse research designs, compare findings across studies, and identify gaps in the evidence. This 7-week course will also introduce students to the thoughtful and responsible use of artificial intelligence tools to support scholarly work, including literature discovery, question development, synthesis, and scientific communication, while emphasizing critical judgment, transparency, and verification of sources. Topics include adolescent sexuality, sexual health communication, abstinence-only programs, STI prevention and testing, sexual violence, abortion, LGBTQ+ health, and other emerging issues in adolescent sexual and reproductive health. By the end of the course, students will be better prepared to interpret evidence, lead informed discussions, and apply research to their future work in public health, clinical care, education, and policy.

• Instructor: Lauren S Chernick
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• 1.5 points

Interdisciplinary Seminar in Population

INTERDISP SEMINAR IN POPF

This course offers a forum for students to reflect upon specific public health topics within their field of study. Through discussion and presentation, students will have the opportunity to integrate their chosen topics into the public health curriculum, as well as to incorporate input and perspectives from other students' experiences. Through presentation and analysis, students hone their analytic skills, develop leadership capacity, and apply strategic communication techniques. This course forms a fundamental building block in the master's degree curriculum as students synthesize field-based learning with their classroom instruction and gain training for future leadership in public health.
The initial sessions will be led by faculty, who model seminar leadership and participatory discussion. Subsequent sessions will be co-led by students, who will rotate in this responsibility. In advance of each session, the lead students will work with faculty to refine the suggested reading list of documents or presentations for critical analysis and reflection. All participating students will prepare annotations and commentary, which will be available to other students, and will be a foundation for discussion in each session. An overall grade for such analysis will be awarded.
Students will present a brief list of key readings for a specific topic and a two-page outline of the proposed review for discussion before session 3. Students will start leading the discussion of those topics beginning in session 4 of the class. Where possible, the student(s) leading each session will have real-world work experience in that area. Students will be graded on their specific summary outline and the leadership of their class discussion. Students will then choose one topic to focus on, and will submit a final version of their review paper (to length and format required by the targeted journal) within seven days of the final session of the class (session 14).

• Instructor: Stephen P Kachur
  Info
• 1.5 points