Public Health Program Planning

PUBLIC HLTH PROGRAM PLAN

Students learn to design a viable and culturally appropriate sexual and reproductive health program, in both a U.S. and developing-country context. Students develop skills in analyzing local needs and resources; articulating program goals and objectives; designing relevant program components; planning program monitoring and evaluation; and raising funds. Readings, case examples and class discussions will focus largely on sexual and reproductive health, though students are welcome to use other areas of relevant public health practice for class discussion and assignments. Students are required to complete short periodic assignments and develop a final program proposal. Students must register for a section of seminar P8602.

• F 8:30 a.m.-9:50 a.m.
• 3 points

Seminar: Public Health Program Planning

SEMINAR: PUBLIC HEALTH PR

REVIEW

• F 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• 0 points

Seminar: Public Health Program Planning

SEMINAR: PUBLIC HEALTH PR

REVIEW

• F 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• 0 points

Seminar: Public Health Program Planning

SEMINAR: PUBLIC HEALTH PR

REVIEW

• F 10 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• 0 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 and policy. After introducing the principles, practices, and underlying assumptions of law, policy, and rights, the class offers students the opportunity to use human rights tools in documentation of health-related human rights violations and formulating programs, policy responses, and advocacy strategies to violations. A wide range of issues - sexual and reproductive rights, HIV/AIDS, health problems of criminalized populations, the intersection of the environment and health, and others - are explored to illustrate the importance of sustained human rights inquiry and analysis in public health.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Abdul K Ahmed
  Info
• 1.5 points

The Public Health Impact of Sexually Tra

You’ve probably heard the good news of a public health success: rates of new HIV infections are declining. And you may have deduced, quite logically, that the same may be true of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In fact, in an alarming trend, the converse is true. Rates of STIs in the US have steadily increased over the past four years, with over 20 million cases of STIs diagnosed annually, at a cost to the American taxpayer of over $19 billion. And yet, many public health professionals lack expertise in effective practices to control STIs, and the cultural competency necessary to translate critical content to vulnerable populations.

 

This course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to address current and emerging issues within the field of sexually transmitted Infections. You will explore the social determinants that contribute to STI outcomes; learn what approaches are most effective in different contexts, from schools and colleges to correctional facilities to family units; develop social marketing methods to reach a variety of vulnerable communications; and more. You can play a crucial role in helping to curb this epidemic. This course will teach you how.

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Alwyn T Cohall
  Info
• 3 points

Human Rights Issues in Infectious Diseas

Hum Rghts Issue Infec Dis

In public health emergencies involving infectious disease, there is often a legitimate necessity to curtail individual rights in the name of protecting the public. COVID-19 illustrates this reality graphically and tragically. Quarantining and mandated isolation throughout history have been associated with a range of human rights abuses.  In the COVID-19 crisis, they led in some places to inappropriate use of criminal law and elevated risk of interpersonal violence.  COVID-19 has led to the undermining of access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion.  In many parts of the world, the basic rights of persons who lost their livelihoods due to the disease, including women and low-paid workers, have not been protected.  In infectious disease crises, the right to confidentiality of medical records may be readily violated. The health rights of prisoners, pretrial detainees, detained immigrants, and persons in refugee camps or settlements, where physical distancing is not possible, are likely to be denied on a massive scale. Marginalized persons who have struggled for essential health services in the past – including racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, people who use drugs, LGBT persons, migrants, sex workers and disabled people – face new stigma and other challenges in health emergencies. Price-gouging and other practices of pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies may undermine the public’s right to health.  The right to scientifically sound health information, crucial in infectious disease emergencies, is often denied. 

The course will draw on the UN Siracusa Principles for rights-based management of emergencies to analyze the kinds of violations noted here and to identify policies and practices that would protect, respect and fulfill health-related human rights in these challenging circumstances. While COVID-19 provides vivid examples, literature from SAFS, MERS, H1N1, Ebola and other epidemics will also be consulted. 

 

• W 4 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Safura Abdool Karim
  Info
• 1.5 points

Public Health Aspects of Adolescent Heal

ADOLESCENT HLTH:PUB HLTH

Adolescent Health: A Public Health Perspective provides an overview of adolescent and young adult health, including global and U.S. perspectives.?? “Health”, as defined by the World Health Organization,?is viewed?as a positive construct that goes beyond physical health indicators and the prevention of?disease.? Throughout this course we will focus on a holistic conception of health that includes emotional, cognitive, and social well-being (e.g. feeling happy, hopeful, competent, useful, and socially connected), having adequate interpersonal skills, and achieving academic and vocational success.?Health"?will be?examined ecologically, i.e. recognizing the importance of the physical and social contexts in which young people are embedded.?

• M 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: John Santelli
  h-index: 72 Info
• 3 points

Research Design and Data Collection

RESEARCH DESIGN & DATA CO

This course provides students the requisite skills for conducting successful survey research, particularly in a service-based, health promotion context. The course includes introduction to the fundamental concepts and components of survey design, the development of research questions and hypotheses, and guidelines for decision-making regarding various phases of a study. Students will become familiar with the pre-field and data collection activities inherent in survey research; and master the art and science of writing knowledge, attitude, and behavior questions. By the conclusion of the course students will have a full-length, self-designed and pretested questionnaire, and be able to plan and execute a sound research study that involves quantitative data collection.

• R 1 p.m.-2:50 p.m.
• 3 points

Protecting Children in Humanitarian Sett

PROTECTING CHILD IN HUMAN

This course explores operational ways of addressing child protection concerns in natural disaster and war. It examines child protection from both a reduction of physical risk and a promotion of developmental well-being perspectives. Students will develop a practical understanding of effective interventions for preventing and responding to specific child protection concerns, including child-family separations; child recruitment and use as armed combatants; and sexual violence, abuse and psychosocial survival. Students will explore systemic approaches to promoting a protective environment" for children in emergencies and post conflict-reintegration transitions. Students will review strategies for incorporating critical elements of child protection into broader humanitarian response operations; coordination among humanitarian agencies; evidence-based programming; community participation in child protection; and advocacy and policy change."

• M 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Sabrina C Hermosilla
  Info
• 1.5 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 results of quantitative analyses using datasets from actual evaluation studies. The early phase of the course will focus on necessary but essential pre-analysis tasks often overlooked in the research training process. These include: Data entry, data cleaning, and data transformation. 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 SPSS in each class session. Reflecting the focus on skill building, this course includes weekly homeworks using SPSS.

• T 4 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Sabrina C Hermosilla
  Info
• 3 points

Lab: Survey Design & Data Collection

LAB:SURVEY DSGN & DATA CO

Applies concepts learned in Survey Design and Data Collection through small group interactions

• R 3 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• 0 points

Lab: Survey Design & Data Collection

LAB:SURVEY DSGN & DATA CO

Applies concepts learned in Survey Design and Data Collection through small group interactions

• R 3 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• 0 points

Lab: Survey Design & Data Collection

LAB:SURVEY DSGN & DATA CO

Applies concepts learned in Survey Design and Data Collection through small group interactions

• R 3 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• 0 points

Lab: Survey Design & Data Collection

LAB:SURVEY DSGN & DATA CO

Applies concepts learned in Survey Design and Data Collection through small group interactions

• R 3 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• 0 points

Outbreak Preparedness and Response in Re

OUTBR PREP/RESP IN RES-LI

This course explores the technical and programmatic characteristics of the communicable diseases most frequently encountered in international emergencies. Discussions will focus more on the epidemiological aspects of prevention and control and how these measures can be implemented in the exceptional circumstances that surround emergencies, rather than on etiological, diagnostic, and treatment considerations, although these will be mentioned as well. Particular emphasis will be put on community-based control and evaluation activities. Political, cultural, and economic characteristics of disease control will also be discussed. Classes will mix lecture, video presentations, group discussion, and case studies.

• R 5:30 p.m.-7:50 p.m.
• 1.5 points

Evidence to Action in Child Health

EVIDENCE TO ACTION IN CHI

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of key child health status indicators, and major causes of child health and disease at the individual and population levels. By studying examples of significant child health problems and solutions in a range of populations in the United States and internationally, students will learn how to define and assess a child health problem, and become familiar with public health intervention strategies and their potential impact. In addition, students will gain an understanding of how social and environmental conditions contribute to patterns of morbidity and mortality, as well as individual risk within a population and health disparities across populations.

The course content is organized into three modules: (1) Poverty and Social Adversity; (2) Physical Environment and Safety; and (3) Lifestyle and Behaviors. Within each module, key child health problems and programmatic solutions are studied, followed by an in-class exercise at the completion of the module. The format combines lectures and discussion with team-based learning. In addition, some class sessions take place at program sites, where students participate in field-based learning. Assignments include readings (available on Courseworks) to provide background for each session. Students are divided into learning groups (6-8 members), which meet at the start of each class to integrate the out-of-class readings into each session.

• T 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Sumeet Banker
  Info
• 3 points

W lam ls wak n [Good Health]: Reimag

Indigenous Knowledge and

Public health discourses have historically advanced an anthropocentric world view that reinforces the right to health of human beings, disconnected from the health of non-human nature and what the Lenape people refer to as Kahèsëna Hàki Mother Earth. For the Lenape and other American Indian nations, as well as among many Indigenous communities globally, the border between the body and the earth, between human and non-human, is more fluid than in Western knowledge systems. Since public health models are primarily shaped by Western ideologies that support narratives and methodologies in which humans dominate nature, the right to health invariably reflects this perspective. Consequently, what would the right to health look like if we delinked from Euro-American conceptualizations of human/non-human and instead drew on Lenape knowledge systems such as Lankuntawakan (the Lenape way of life) and wëlamàlsëwakàn (good Health)? This course will explore these complex questions by examining Indigenous theory, particularly the notion of Lankuntawakan, which comprises relationship, kinship, peace and a deeper understanding of well-being. Furthermore, we will examine various Indigenous research methods including community based participatory research, narrative storytelling, and oral history. This course will apply these investigative methods drawing on Indigenous theory and research methodologies to explore emergent public health questions.The primary goal for this course is for students to emerge as better informed to respond to the public health concerns of both Indigenous and nonindigenous peoples by leveraging Indigenous knowledge systems. Furthermore, we seek to ensure that students are well equipped in terms of theoretical and methodological knowledge to work alongside Indigenous communities on public health challenges. Students in this course will engage in weekly reflections that include artistic expression.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Abdul K Ahmed
  Info
• 1.5 points

Realizing Global LGBTI Health and Human

LGBTI Health & Hum Rights

The global movement to realize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights has both gained traction and faced significant pushback in recent years: although global normative and legal frameworks have evolved in some ways to recognize the rights of sexual and gender minorities, LGBTI people around the world are experiencing progress, setbacks, and scapegoating.  The course will apply concepts of equity, access, inclusion, and human rights to interrogate how and why sexual and gender minorities are often excluded from humanitarian and development interventions despite the compounding oppressions that they face. Drawing upon the practice of public health and human rights work from humanitarian crises and low- and middle-income countries around the world, this course will explore how practitioners and advocates can best understand the evolution of LGBTI human rights in a variety of contexts; students will also probe how to become effective and supportive partners and allies to grassroots movements and organizations. Through a series of case studies, students will examine how LGBTI people are challenging the gender binary in societies around the world, including biases inherent in the structures of humanitarian and development work, and how such activists, advocates, and artists are mobilizing to ensure their inclusion in decision-making fora and their access to health and other services.  Students will also consider and develop strategies to support local activists in these movements; these activists embody the intrinsic vulnerability of being sexual and gender minorities in countries where those identities are criminalized, the courage of those determined to change their societies, and the cunning to seize upon the societal jolts that humanitarian and development work can, sometimes, provide. 

• R 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Mark Canavera
  h-index: 6 Info
• 1.5 points

Qualitative Data Analysis

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

While the collection of qualitative data is widespread and growing in public health research, the credibility and quality of data analysis suffers from an absence of system and rigor in recording, organizing, categorizing and interpreting qualitative findings. Focusing in particular on interview data, this course introduces a variety of approaches to qualitative data analysis, and encourages their application through hands-on group work and homework assignments.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Stephanie A Grilo
  Info
• 3 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, 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.

• M 4 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Julia Kohn
  Info
• 3 points

Food and Nutrition in Complex Emergencie

FOOD,NUTRITION IN COMPLX

The goal of this course is that those having completed it will have the skills and tools needed to make a useful contribution to nutrition programs and/or nutritional assessment in emergency situations. Each session has a specific learning objective, as noted below. Every attempt will be made to ground course materials in real-life situations and examples. Also, since food and nutrition emergencies do not happen in a vacuum, the course also deals to some degree with the larger context of the politics of under-nutrition in non-emergency situations and how the continued neglect of under-nutrition globally and in many countries poses challenges for addressing food and nutrition emergencies.

• WR 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• 1.5 points

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXP & T

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Informed Care: An Inter-professional Service Learning Experience Children who experience safe, stable, and nurturing childhoods that foster resilience undoubtedly experience better lifelong health and well-being. The 1998 landmark study, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), demonstrated that when adults recall negative experiences, they had significantly higher rates of poor lifelong physical and emotional health. It is through the exposure of the developing brain to this constant toxic stress that results in changes to brain infrastructure, ultimately reducing executive function and increasing the risk of poor lifelong health and well-being outcomes.
Despite adversity and presence of ACEs, research has shown that positive childhood experiences can have long-lasting protective effects on adult well-being and health. Designed for second-year students, this service learning course will explore (1) the scientific evidence underlying the impact of childhood adversity on health and social functioning across the lifespan, and (2) strategies to address both the causes and consequences of ACEs. Students will integrate the knowledge gained in the classroom by participating in a field service experience by collecting information and/or data from health, human services and social science providers about organizational needs and training related to trauma. Students will receive in-class training and support and will work in teams. This course will be open to students from other CU professional schools, including but not limited to The School of Nursing and the School of Social Work.

• F 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• 3 points

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health an

GLOBL SEX & REPRO HLTH &

The objective of this course is to examine key issues in global reproductive health (RH) in order to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in this field. Topics of study will include global architecture and power structures affecting global reproductive health and public health responses, the reproductive health of adolescents, fertility and infertility, abortion, maternal health, STIs, HIV, violence, men and gender, and the intersection of reproductive health with economic empowerment, and climate change. The course will examine the global framing of reproductive issues, explore programmatic responses, critique the measurement of key indicators and factors that influence RH outcomes, identify accountability mechanisms with the potential to shape global RH, and engage in current debates within the field and movement.

There are no pre-requisites, and students from across Mailman, and from other graduate schools at Columbia, are encouraged to register.

• M 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Lynn E Collins
  Info
• 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 in the United States and in developing countries.

• W 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Bill L Bower
  Info
• 1.5 points

Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humani

SEX & REPRO HLTH IN HUMAN

In this 7 week course, students analyze the policy and program factors influencing the provision of reproductive health services (or lack thereof) for people affected by armed conflict and natural disasters. Specifically students will study the history of reproductive health service delivery in conflict-affected settings, review internationally-established guidelines for meeting the RH needs of refugees and war-affected populations, assess enabling and impeding factors in selected global trouble- spots, describe a reasoned programmatic approach to a particular situation, discuss the current situation of the field and future directions for RH services in complex emergency settings.

• R 4 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Sara E Casey
  h-index: 16 Info
• 1.5 points

Investigative Methods in Complex Emergen

INVEST METHODS IN COMPLX

The design, implementation and evaluation of health interventions in complex emergencies requires a particular professional orientation and skill set. Students gain a greater understanding of the use of qualitative and quantitative methods tailored for this purpose. The course particularly emphasizes the complementary roles of qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigation. By the end of the class, students should be competent in a range of skills including sampling strategy, designing surveys, running focus groups and participative activities, calculating morbidity and mortality rates, and analyzing narrative text. Through group work, lectures, case studies and participatory assignments, students will develop a diverse skill set relevant to their future work in a range of field settings.

• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Martha C Greene
  Info
• 3 points

ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES

Abortion in US Politics&P

This course examines a range of historical and current issues relating to the politics, policies and provision of abortion in the United States. Students will engage with a wide range of texts and resources and will hear from experts in the field. In the seven sessions, students will analyze real-time policy debates and developments in the courts, review recent social science research and messaging research from reproductive health, rights, and justice experts and discuss the role that research plays in public policy with experts themselves. This course will examine the history of abortion in the United States to better understand how provision has changed over time as laws have evolved and how abortion has become so politically fraught. It will delve into recent research studies on abortion access and examine how various laws have impacted abortion access, how immigration status impacts access to care, and how abortion access impacts economic outcomes across the lifecycle. We will examine polling on abortion attitudes to discern the current state of public opinion, how it is measured and what we can glean from it. Students will learn more about the range of abortion methods currently offered, and will hear from abortion providers about how those procedures have evolved, how those procedures are (or could be) impacted by public policy, and how medical advances are and will continue to change abortion. Lastly, it will review how states are experimenting with policies that expand access to sexual and reproductive health care and allow students to imagine what inclusive, effective policies could look like at the state, federal and international level.

• W 4 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrea M Flynn
  Info
• 1.5 points

Psychosocial and Mental Health Issues in

PSYCHOSOC IMPCT-FORCED MI

Contemporary armed conflicts and complex humanitarian emergencies create significant mental health burdens and psychosocial suffering that damages health and well-being, limits development, and enables cycles of violence. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this course examines the sources of psychosocial vulnerability and resilience in situations of forced migration and analyzes what kinds of emergency psychosocial and mental health interventions are most effective, appropriate, and scalable. It reviews broadly the current state of knowledge and practice, surveys practical tools of holistic psychosocial and mental health support in emergency settings, and analyzes the current limitations of the field. The course probes how issues of culture and power shape understandings and measures of mental health and psychosocial well-being, and it invites critical thinking about the implications of the “Do No Harm” imperative in regard to psychosocial and mental health supports. It also encourages thinking about how psychosocial support relates to wider tasks of humanitarian relief, economic and political reconstruction, protection, and peace building.

• M 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Martha C Greene
  Info
• 1.5 points

Human Rights Law, Accountability & Gover

Protection of Human Right

The objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the sources and content of international human rights law including who the law protects (rights-holders), who it obligates (duty-bearers), and how human rights are enforced in law and practice. The course will situate the human rights regime within the broader corpus of international law to protect rights in different contexts, including international humanitarian law, international criminal law and international refugee law. Key challenges and contemporary debates in international human rights law will be explored, including the relationship and relative importance of civil and political rights versus economic, social and cultural rights, and the role of the law in holding non state actors accountable for human rights abuses, including corporations, armed groups and religious fundamentalists. The course will profile and discuss how the law has evolved and adapted over time to serve as a dynamic tool to protect individuals. In so doing, we will explore the historical role of civil society in shaping and influencing the development of the law.
The course will begin with an overview of the origins and sources of international human rights law and the political factors that shaped its content and that continue to feature in contemporary debates around human rights. Session two will introduce students to the key global and regional mechanisms that seek to enforce human rights in law and practice. Subsequent sessions will explore a limited number of rights in more detail including the right to life, looking at both its civil and political rights dimensions, as well as economic and social rights to food, health and adequate housing that are critical to living a life of dignity. The right to be free from torture and cruel and inhuman treatment will also be explored and situated in the context of contemporary debates around its application to the private sphere including healthcare settings. The final two sessions will focus on the challenge of human rights protection in the context of conflict and displacement. Students will examine the international refugee regime as well as efforts that have been made to develop a framework to protect those who are internally displaced as a result of conflict. The final session will review basic concepts of international humanitarian law – who it protects and who it obligates – and also examine the increasingly important relationship between IHL and the evolving system of international criminal

• T 1 p.m.-3:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Monette Zard
  Info
• 1.5 points

Abortion: Provision, Practice & Advocacy

Abortion Provision & Advo

Abortion is healthcare and it is crucial for public health students to learn about abortion access in the United States and its significant impact on health outcomes. Abortion has become a complex topic, fraught with political interference and intersects with numerous aspects of healthcare, including reproductive rights, maternal health and social justice. Students will explore the real-word implications of abortion policy through readings, data analysis, vigorous class discussion and guest speakers. Understanding the medical, legal and ethical dimensions of abortions will allow students to develop a comprehensive understanding of reproductive health and the factors that influence it on the ground. By studying abortion, starting from the basics, students will explore the boarder implications of healthcare systems, policy development and overall well-being of individuals and communities. With this knowledge, students will be able to contribute to the development of evidence-based strategies, interventions and advocacy that address reproductive needs and promote equitable access to safe and comprehensive care. This course includes a combination of lectures, workshops, conversations with guest speakers, and small group discussions. Students will engage with a range of materials: articles, reports, podcasts, books and film. Assignments include a communications project developing a media piece such as a podcast or radio interview and a storytelling project.

• W 4 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Meera J Shah
  Info
• 1.5 points

Applications of Implementation Science i

IMPLEMENTATION SCI-LOW-IN

The objective of the course is to provide students with a practical framework to address the implementation bottleneck" that exists in global health. Despite increasing resources invested into health care delivery in low- and middle-income settings, and despite significant knowledge and evidence around effective interventions, successful implementation and scaling of these programs often remains elusive. As a result, many known solutions to health care and health systems problems are not applied, leading to a persistent gap between what is known and what is done in practice, referred to as the “know-do gap” by the World Health Organization. Implementation research, implementation science, or delivery science – all relatively equivalent terms – has potential to redress this gap through the identification of problems or inefficiencies in program implementation, improvement, and scale-up, and the rigorous and systematic application of research methods and practice-based evaluation to these identified problems.

• T 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Stephen P Kachur
  Info
• 1.5 points

Systems Thinking for Maternal Health

SYSTMS THINK FOR MATERNAL

It is widely acknowledged that reducing maternal mortality is one of the major challenges to health systems globally. The increased diversity in the magnitude and causes of maternal mortality and morbidity between and within populations, as well as the highly inequitable distribution of poor maternal health between and within populations globally and locally, result in “wicked” problems and present a major challenge as we seek to address these varying needs.
The complex web of factors that interact to drive high levels of maternal mortality makes a systems approach particularly useful for gaining insight into, and addressing these issues. Increasingly, health planners and researchers are using systems thinking to make sense of health system functioning to reveal the dynamic relationships and synergies that drive maternal health and affect the delivery of priority health services
This course aims to provide you with the competencies to work in this complex post- MDG/ SDG implementation environment. It is designed to focus on reducing maternal mortality, and employs a systems approach to explore maternal health issues and analyze programs focused on maternal mortality reduction.
Through this course you will:
-Gain substantive knowledge of issues related to:
o Maternal health - in particular the reduction of maternal morbidity
and mortality - including epidemiological and programmatic
aspects as well as current discussions of related policies and
politics.
o Aspects of health systems strengthening– particular focus on
issues of implementation, human resources for health, governance
and accountability, quality of care, and health care financing as it
relates to delivery of maternal health care.
-Develop skills in:
o Analyzing complex health systems, including the application of
systems thinking tools
o Developing an integrated health systems plan to address maternal
mortality.
The assignments are structured to allow you to pursue an area of maternal mortality of morbidity that is of direct interest to you, be it locally or globally, as well as apply the skills and content covered in the course to develop an integrated approach to addressing maternal mortality in a given country.
While this course is intended for MPH students, students from other schools are encoura

• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Helen de Pinho
  Info
• 3 points

Lessons Unlearned in Humanitarian Asst

Despite record funding and organizations dedicated to humanitarian assistance, the prevailing narrative in our field is of a ‘humanitarianism in crisis’ - we are responding to an overwhelming number of acute crises with complex social, political and ideological challenges unprecedented in the history of humanitarian action. An examination of the true history of humanitarian action however reveals that many struggles confronting us today are neither entirely novel nor unique.
This course is premised on the belief that humanitarians rarely understand the full nature of the previous crises that have challenged our field and argues that only by better understanding these historical events can we can improve our response to future crises. This class is a critical examination of these events and an exploration of the oft-repeated themes that continue to challenge humanitarian assistance to this day. Through thoughtful reflection and interactive discussion we will explore the progress we’ve made as a field and why lessons identified so often fail to become lessons learned.
We will start by exploring the humanitarian system’s origins in the Enlightenment principles of Western Europe and the transition from ‘humanitarianism’ as an abstraction to the concrete operational imperative that exists today. Each subsequent class will focus on a separate seminal event in public health and humanitarian assistance, namely - the Nigerian Civil War; the Ethiopian Famine; the West Africa Ebola epidemic; the Haiti earthquake; and the ongoing conflict in Syria. We will examine the history of the event itself as well as the role played by the humanitarian community – in their response, challenges, and lessons learned. Throughout the course, we will identify the recurring themes across crises and critically debate what impact these historical precedents have on the current and future humanitarian sector.
It is my hope that students will recognize that the lack of historical, operational, and institutional memory is a significant problem that challenges our field, and that by better understanding the underlying pillars and the historical events that have shaped the current humanitarian sector will we be better prepared to respond to future humanitarian crises.
This course is being offered as an elective with a target audience of graduate students in Forced Migration and Health in the Department of Population and Family Health.

• T 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Carrie L Teicher
  Info
• 1.5 points