Semester:
Offered:
Sign up for this course by Monday Sept 25 using this link.
Sponsored by the Harvard Chan Postdoctoral Association and the Harvard Infectious Diseases Consortium
Course Description:
Public Health is an inherently multidisciplinary field, drawing on skills and knowledge across the biological, quantitative, and social sciences. The aim of this nancourse is to introduce students, researchers, and healthcare providers to public health as a field of research and as an approach to framing and addressing health challenges. Through lectures and small group discussion, students in this nanocourse will gain a fundamental understanding of the goals, scope, and tools of public health and a common language that we hope will enable further learning and collaboration.
Session 1 (virtual): September 29th, 1-4pm: Participants will be introduced to different definitions of health and public health. Building on these definitions, a conceptual framework will be presented for thinking about public health challenges and the resulting response. These concepts will be further explored through a case study on addressing trauma and mental health in a community using a social determinants of health approach. Participants will also be introduced to the various tools of public health and see examples of how they are used.
Session 2 (in person): October 3rd, 1-4pm: Participants will receive a small introduction to global health and epidemiologic research as disciplines of public health. Building on the first session, participants will then select one of two possible case studies based on their interests and work through it in groups. Participants are expected to read this case prior to the session, prepare responses to several short answer questions, and be prepared for an interactive case discussion. Participants will gain hands-on experience identifying, proposing, and evaluating responses to public health challenges.
Upon completing the course, participants will be able to define health and public health, identify different disciplines of public health, frame the conditions and responses of public health challenges, identify major components of the public health toolkit, and apply these skills to a case study. Participants will be provided with resources to further explore course content.
Participants are welcome to attend just Session 1 or both Sessions 1 and 2.
Target Audience:
This nanocourse is intended for scientists, clinicians, and others with an interest in learning more about public health. There are no prerequisites. Participants from outside of Harvard are welcome, but you must use your university/work email address to register.
Credit: Students in some Harvard Integrated Life Sciences PhD programs can take this course for credit – see Nanocourse overview page for details and talk to your program to confirm whether you can get credit. You must sign up for session 1 and 2 to get credit.
Location:
Session 1: Virtual: Zoom link will be sent to registered participants.
Session 2: In person: Harvard Medical School (room will be sent to participants
Dates and Times:
Session 1: September 29th, 1-4pm - Zoom
Session 2: October 3rd, 1-4pm - In Person at Harvard Medical School
Course Instructors:
Dr. Marilyn Ahun (mahun@hsph.harvard.edu)
Dr. Sarah Oh (sarahoh@hsph.harvard.edu)
Dr. Uttara Partap (upartap@hsph.harvard.edu)
Curriculum Advisor: Dr. Deepali Ravel
Course Director: Dr. Dyann Wirth