Chronic and Non-Communicable Diseases.
As part of Boston University’s on-campus Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, you have the option to add a Context Certificate to your functional area of concentration, deepening your knowledge in an area or population of greatest interest to you.
Chronic and Non-Communicable Diseases Context Certificate
Chronic diseases—such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, asthma, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease—are responsible for a large majority of the deaths in the United States and a rapidly rising share of deaths in developing countries. In addition to their effect on mortality, these conditions have an enormous impact on disability, quality of life, healthcare costs, and lost productivity, and are also a major contributor to health disparities. The 12-credit certificate is designed to provide graduates with the knowledge and skills needed to address a broad range of challenges posed by these conditions, including identification of their causes; design, implementation and evaluation of programs to prevent their occurrence, and also to extend life and improve quality of life once they occur; and organization of the medical care system so that it focuses first on prevention, and also provides access to high-quality and efficient treatment and management.
Upon graduation, students will be able to:
- Identify the major known determinants of chronic disease and their distribution by country, community, and key demographic characteristics.
- Assess how the organization, delivery, and financing of health services in the US and globally influence the provision of healthcare aimed at the prevention, management, and treatment of chronic disease.
- Analyze the factors that influence public health’s approach to addressing chronic disease, including health impact; availability of health data; political, economic, and cultural influences; and feasibility.
- Apply systematic approaches to develop, implement, and evaluate programs to prevent the occurrence of chronic disease and to improve quality of life for persons with these conditions.
- Demonstrate professional knowledge and skills in chronic disease for effective practice in the selected functional certificate.
Sample Course Titles
- Principles of Cancer Epidemiology
- Confronting Non-Communicable Diseases in the Developing World
- Obesity Epidemic
- Operations Management in Health Care
View the BU Bulletin for Course Requirements
Sample Practicum
- Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Boston Public Health Commission
- South End Community Health Center
- Mass in Motion Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
- Global Health Initiative, Dana Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
