Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• SPH GH 765: Global Mental Health
  Mental health is relatively new to the global health agenda. At the 54th World Health Assembly in 2001, the WHO and health ministers from around the world made an impassioned argument that mental health disorders be systematically measured and addressed in all countries. Since then critical progress has been made in understanding the global burden of mental illness and the challenges faced by those in need of care in low and middle-income countries or in contexts marked by armed conflict or natural disasters. Likewise, the role of culture in defining ways in which mental illness manifests itself has been incorporated into international diagnostic manuals. Nevertheless, change has been slow and many who need mental health services continue to go without diagnosis or treatment and confront ongoing stigma and discrimination. Class sessions and assignments provide students with a chance to explore the critical role played by the social, cultural, and economic context in shaping mental health and illness.
• SPH GH 766: Sexual and Reproductive Health in Disaster Settings
  Disasters (natural and armed conflicts) pose various negative health outcomes to affected populations. In the wake of a disaster women, children and men are especially vulnerable to exploitation, rape, forced marriages, forced pregnancies and other types of human rights abuses. War time male-directed sexual violence has also been increasingly noted among those recruited into militia, detained by armed groups and those going about their daily tasks. This course will expose participants to sexual and reproductive health of populations in disaster settings. The contextual factors affecting populations’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in complex emergencies will be explored. Participants will learn how to plan for and implement a set of priority activities known as Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP), and transition from the MISP to comprehensive SRH services which is implemented when the situation is relatively stable. Reproductive health coordination which is an integral part of SRH in emergencies will be analyzed. Disaster risk reduction, advocacy and funding for reproductive health in crises situations will be discussed. Other topics will include: common reproductive health morbidities in conflict situations, reproductive health assessments, programming, monitoring and evaluations, gender-based violence, and rape as a weapon of war.
• SPH GH 770: Poverty, Health, and Development
  Graduate Prerequisites: Successful completion of graduate or undergraduate courses in economi cs and statistics and a working knowledge of Excel software - Poverty, development, and health status remain enduring issues of our time, both in low income and high income countries alike. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic concepts and interrelated nature of poverty and development (including the dynamics and measures of poverty, inequality, and global burden of disease). We will then focus on a number of important cross-cutting health challenges that relate closely to levels of poverty and development, such as child health, maternal health, HIV and AIDS, women's empowerment, and climate change. The course draws on a variety of teaching methods, including large and small discussions, student-led workshops, guest lectures, and interactive exercises, as well as a set of team-based activities concentrated on one of the cross-cutting health challenges. Students will gain a deep knowledge of the interwoven nature of changes in poverty, inequities, and health status, and by the end of the class will be experts in at least one of the major topic areas, as they advance their skills in teamwork, engaging their peers on a specific health-related topic, conducting research and in- depth analysis, and disseminating their findings.
• SPH GH 773: Financial Management for Health Programs
  Health care managers must be prepared to talk about financial issues, analyze and interpret data, and make decisions using financial information. This course develops competencies in cost analysis, pricing, budgeting, and reading financial reports in international health settings where financial systems are weak and data not easily available. In addition to using principles of differential and full cost analysis, students gain skills in breakeven analysis and calculating mark-ups. Examples are drawn from hospitals, clinics, and revolving drug funds from developing countries.
• SPH GH 795: Global AIDS Epidemic: Social & Economic Determinants, Impact, & Responses
  Graduate Prerequisites: The MPH core course in social and behavioral science, completed or con current. - AIDS is one of the most important pandemics and human development challenges of our time. This course explores the determinants and impacts of the AIDS pandemic and examines best practices in prevention, care and treatment and impact mitigation. Students will explore the relationship between human rights, gender and vulnerability to HIV; examine effective multi-sectoral responses; and evaluate the benefits and limitations of major multi- and bi-lateral AIDS initiatives. Students will also examine the major debates in the AIDS field and explore different, at times contradictory, perspectives.
• SPH GH 801: How to License a New Vaccine
  Vaccines are one public health's most powerful tools. Vaccines have controlled many of the worst childhood infectious diseases, including bacterial meningitis, measles, diphtheria, and pertussis. Smallpox has been completely eradicated - and polio may soon follow. But where do vaccines come from? The goal of this course is to open the black box and give students a hands-on introduction to the challenging but fascinating process of clinical development, using the development of a new vaccine as the case study. The class is designed as an extended and competitive simulation -- essentially a game with pedagogic purpose. The students assume the role of clinical development teams at a hypothetical pharmaceutical company working to advance the development of a new vaccine. Each year, the class will select a vaccine candidate to enter development. Over the subsequent sessions, the students will advance their vaccine with the ultimate goal of securing licensure by FDA. In this course, students will acquire a deep understanding of clinical development and the regulatory process, will learn about contemporary and historical aspects of vaccine development, clinical epidemiology, and infectious diseases. By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of what it takes to bring a vaccine to market, while honing their skills at working in teams, giving professional presentations, and providing and responding to constructive feedback.
• SPH GH 805: Controversies in Global Control and Eradication of Infectious Diseases
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717) - Control of infectious diseases and especially pandemics has become urgent public policy. This course focuses active controversies regarding past and current eradication/control campaigns for infectious diseases. We consider the biological, epidemiological, sociological, political, ethical, and programmatic features that allowed the smallpox eradication campaign to succeed, as a template for understanding control of other infectious diseases. Current candidates for global eradication/elimination campaigns that will be covered include SARS CoV-2, smallpox, polio, measles, malaria, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and dracunculiasis, and any new outbreaks that may be occur during the semester. We will explore and discuss how basic and clinical scientific findings from the primary scientific literature drives our understanding of disease transmission and mitigation strategies. Source material will consist of focused readings of the primary scientific literature, podcast interviews of global program leaders (e.g. GAVI, BMGF), policy memos and group presentations with class discussions. The goal is to inform students of the elements of infectious disease control involving different pathogens, in varied populations, and to achieve an understanding of the rationale behind different control program designs. This will prepare the student to more meaningfully participate in the important policy debate around infectious disease control. This is an advanced level seminar course.
• SPH GH 806: Using Mobile Technologies to Improve Health Outcomes
  Located at the nexus of technology, informatics and public health, mHealth (defined as medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other wireless devices) is rapidly emerging from its pilot stage to become an important component of public health programs. In this course, you will learn how to design, develop, implement and evaluate a mHealth program. You will learn the basic terminology of mHealth programs, how to develop, design and evaluate a mHealth intervention as well as learn the current state of the field and major international mHealth implementers. Using a theoretical base, you will also learn the technical skills of developing an application based on a case study that can be deployed and used on a mobile phone. This course is suited for students who are at least in their second semester and who are familiar or interested in learning more about how mobile technology intersects with the health sector.
• SPH GH 811: Applied Research Methods in Global Health
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPHPH717 or consent of instructor. - The objective of this course is to teach student teams how to collect and analyze data to answer research questions and evaluate health interventions. Student teams will conduct a research study with multiple research methods including a cross-sectional survey and their choice from a variety of qualitative methods. The scope of the research questions addressed will be limited to minimal risk research conducted with students on the Boston University Medical Campus in the space of a semester. Each team will design a questionnaire, administer it, and enter and analyze the data using R. In conjunction with the cross-sectional survey, each team will also use some form of qualitative method, such as in-depth interviews or focus group discussions. The student teams will integrate the results of the cross-sectional survey and the qualitative research and present a report with findings and recommendations to their peers and faculty members. Students completing the course will have the skills to be able to collect and analyze data in a wide variety of settings.
• SPH GH 815: Methods for Impact Evaluation
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH717 and GH745 and a statistical computing course, either BS723 o r BS730 - This four-credit course provides students with a set of theoretical and methodological skills to evaluate the causal impacts of public health programs and policies. Students learn to use a broad range of evaluation methodologies, including experimental and quasi-experimental designs. They strengthen their skills through critical analysis of published evaluation research. They also apply their skills to design an ideal impact evaluation for an intervention or program of their own choosing. Students taking this course should already be competent in understanding and applying basic quantitative methods for public health research. This is a Third Level course intended for MPH students enrolled in the Monitoring and Evaluation Certificate, and these students are given priority for enrollment. Other interested students may enroll, space permitting.
• SPH GH 854: From Data to Dashboards: Building Excel Skills to Support Health Program Decisions
  Graduate Prerequisites: For upper level MPH students who have basic proficiency with Excel - In these uncertain times, managers need, more than ever, to make sound decisions based on data. Good spreadsheet models are important tools in this process. Build your Excel "toolbox" by learning and applying robust formulas, graphing and dashboarding techniques, and data analysis in a wide range of real-world case study examples, such as cost and utilization analysis, estimation of revenues and expenses, and performance dashboards to monitor and evaluate performance of health interventions. Students will have the opportunity to build their own models to apply to a health service challenge of their choosing. This course is appropriate for upper level MPH students who have basic excel skills.
• SPH GH 881: Global Reproductive and Perinatal Health
  This course addresses the major reproductive and perinatal health problems facing communities around the world. We will focus on current strategies to address sexual and reproductive health, maternal and newborns health. For each problem, we will consider the fundamental causes and possible solutions--what works/doesn’t work and what is being tried. Topics will include determinants of maternal mortality, perinatal mortality, respectful maternity care, gender-based violence, conditions that impact pregnancy outcomes, major causes of global maternal and newborn mortality, initiatives in global maternal and newborn health including research, programming, policy and advocacy.
• SPH GH 887: Planning and Managing MCH Programs in Developing Countries
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH720) Students may not take both GH744 and GH887 for MPH degree credit. - This course provides a practical framework to enable students to design, manage, and evaluate services for children and women, with an emphasis on child health. The course covers the major health challenges with a focus on children and explores specific interventions to address these challenges. Topics covered include diarrheal disease, acute respiratory infection, immunization, malaria, micronutrient deficiencies, HIV/AIDS, safe motherhood and neonatal health. The final six weeks of the course will give students the opportunity to identify the technical, political, organizational, and environmental factors necessary for a successful program. Students will work in teams to respond to an RFP for improving the health of women, children, or newborns in a developing country. Teams will attend a bidder's conference and then prepare and present a written and oral proposal to an outside grants committee. Students cannot take both IH744 and IH887 for MPH degree credit.
• SPH GH 888: Seminar on Global Health Policy Issues
  Graduate Prerequisites: MPH integrated core courses or SPH doctoral students. - Foundational knowledge on the development, implementation and evaluation of global health policy is critical to improve population health that is relevant to all students regardless of whether they are planning to work domestically or internally. How is policy formulated in different settings and what can we learn from the process? Who sets the policy agenda? Why do some issues get the attention of policy-makers, while other equally important issues fail to gain traction? And what approaches can be used to improve the chances of a particular policy being adopted and successfully implemented in different settings? Students will carry out a policy analysis on a policy issue of their choice, using the policy analysis approaches and tools presented in class. They will develop a political strategy for the implementation of the policy of their choice and propose a plan for the effective implementation and evaluation of the policy. They will present the work to a policy maker and receive feedback and guidance from experts in the field.
• SPH GH 891: Global Pharmaceutical Policy: At the Intersection of Process and Politics
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH GH888 or permission of instructor - Health care organizations need to provide viable and sustainable solutions to the many problems confronting them while balancing the often inconsistent and opposing agendas and interests of stakeholders. GH891 introduces the student to the real world of pharmaceutical policy making in global health. Students will analyze medicines issues at the intersection of policy, process and politics. Students will develop skills in pharmaceutical policy analysis through case studies, lectures, and discussion.
• SPH GH 941: Directed Studies in Global Health
  Directed Studies provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study by submitting an add/drop form and a signed directed study proposal form. Students who are completing the culminating experience project must register for GH943. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students are placed in a section by the Registrars Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education.
• SPH GH 942: Directed Research in Global Health
  This course provides the opportunity for advanced students to become involved in global health research of a public health nature or to undertake research independently. Arrangements are made with the appropriate full time GH faculty member. Students must submit an add/drop form and a directed research proposal form signed by the supervising faculty. Directed research is a graded, variable credit course (1, 2, 3, or 4 credits). Students may complete a maximum of 8 directed study, directed research or practicum credits during their MPH program.
• SPH LW 740: Health and Human Rights
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH719) or consent of instructor. - This course focuses on health and it is closely linked to the realization of human rights. Preventable illness, infant mortality, and premature death, for example, are closely tied to societal discrimination and violation of human rights. This course explores the relationship between human rights and health by examining relevant international declarations in historical context, exploring the meaning of "human rights" and "health," and analyzing specific case studies that illuminate the problems, prospects, and potential methods of promoting health by promoting human rights on the national and international levels.
• SPH LW 830: Health Insurance and the Affordable Care Act
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH719 OR SPHLW719) or instructor permission. - This seminar offers an in-depth examination of the pivotal role of public and private insurance in US health policy. Health insurance pays for almost all health care in the US, strongly influencing (often dictating) who gets what care and on what terms. The class explores how the Affordable Care Act affects the design, operation, and regulation of health benefit plans, including Medicare, Medicaid, employer-sponsored group plans, and commercial insurance. Investigating contemporary regulations, students learn fundamentals of insurance, where reforms do and do not alter such fundamentals, and whether reforms affect larger principles of law. Topics include state and federal regulation; ERISA plan requirements; ERISA preemption of certain state laws; accepting, managing and shifting financial risk; designing health insurance exchanges; contracting with providers, Accountable Care Organizations, employers, and individuals; designing and administering plans; defining benefits, including Essential Health Benefits; appeals and remedies; and state adaptations of health insurance exchanges, subsidy wrap-arounds, risk corridors, and Medicaid expansions.
• SPH LW 840: Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH719 or consent of instructor. - Health law, bioethics, and human rights converge within the field of public health at the national and international levels. This seminar explores the theoretical meaning of this convergence, engages the sources of authority for human rights, and uses case studies to examine how public health advocates can be effective in the realms of social justice and equity. Examples include the U.S. legal and various international standards creating a "right to health;" economic rights and the importance of money in health care; reproductive rights and technologies; standards for medical research and informed consent; and framing the end of life as a public health or a human rights issue.