Earn Your Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences Online

The course provides students with an understanding of basic statistical methods in public health research, as well as the skills to perform and interpret basic statistical procedures. Students learn how to use statistical analysis software to analyze real data from public health-related studies. They then learn how to interpret the analysis and present the results to public health professionals and educated lay audiences. The course will include a lab component which will enhance student awareness and informed usage of SAS for public health analysis. Students will learn how to input, read, store, export and modify data in SAS and be able to use common SAS procedures to analyze public health data and conduct independent SAS programming.

Human beings may be the predominant form of life on Earth today, but our health, well-being and, indeed, survival depend on the quality and integrity of the environment in which we live. The course provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the major environmental health issues facing the world today. This course focuses on the present population-resources-pollution crisis and explains why human health, well-being and welfare depend on successful resolution of current environmental health challenges. Students will be exposed to the information on how current environmental problems and issues affect human health and well-being and learn practical examples of how specific environmental health problems could be resolved through more active individual participation and community involvement, socio-behavioral and healthy lifestyle changes, and more effective decision-making policies at local and national levels. The course reviews the latest developments on such environmental health issues and concerns as population growth and poverty, toxic environmental pollutants, indoor and outdoor air pollution, water contamination and wastewater treatment, solid and hazardous waste management, global climate change and sustainable development.

This course introduces principles, methods and application of epidemiology. It covers the history of epidemiology, concepts of disease causation and prevention, measures of disease frequency and excessive risk, epidemiologic study designs, causal inference, outbreak investigation and screening. It also provides experience with calculation of rate standardization; measures of disease frequency, association and impact; and sensitivity and specificity of screening tests. Highlights applications of epidemiology to understanding of disease etiology, transmission, pathogenesis, prevention, evaluation and public policy development.

Public health administration comprises efforts to improve the health of communities. This course provides an overview for public health administration and practice, including organization, law, legislative relations, financing, workforce issues, leadership and surveillance.

One of the core functions of public health, community assessment, facilitates problem-solving and policy development. It covers concepts and methods relevant to community health needs assessment, such as systems thinking, the use of quantitative and qualitative methods, primary and secondary data and the role of community assessment in current national policy, including the Affordable Care Act, on community health improvement. Students will draw from multiple disciplines to assess health status and its determinants (social, behavioral and environmental), needs for health services and the capacity and resources of the local community. Students will also learn to facilitate and evaluate the use of data for decision-making by partnerships, organizations and policymakers.

This course provides overviews of the social determinants of health and the dynamic interplay between individual behaviors and community structures (systems orientation), including public policy, social and built environments, commercial messages, access to services, cultural norms, psychosocial hazards and poverty, both as causal effects that either provide opportunity or constraints to health. It also examines systems approaches to preventing public health threats from issues including substance abuse (alcohol, tobacco and other drugs), physical inactivity, poor dietary practices, unsafe sexual behaviors, violence and injury, and mental health.

This course introduces basic quantitative methods used in social and behavioral scientific research. First we focus on the measurement of socio-behavioral phenomena and the relationship between measurement and statistics. Students will examine the interrelated roles of scientific theory and the design of socio-behavioral research studies. The course concludes by focusing on building appropriate multiple linear regression and/or analysis of variance statistical models to provide valid analysis of data collected in socio-behavioral research.

This course explores case studies in the social and behavioral sciences on topics that address the leading health indicators, including substance abuse (alcohol, tobacco and other drugs), obesity (physical activity and nutrition), HIV and STIs, mental health, injury, immunization and access to health care, and social determinants of health.

Students learn the basics of grant writing for federal and non-federal funding agencies with a particular emphasis on the components of most proposals for funding. This includes rationale for seeking funds, collaborations with community organizations, and working with consultants and subcontractors. Participants also learn about the basic sections of grant writing such as specific aims and hypotheses, developing a literature review, background and significance, research design and methodology, developing a budget and conducting research with human subjects. Participants have an opportunity to write sample grant proposals, learn about the review and scoring process and post-award grant management.

This course provides an overview of developing, implementing and evaluating public health programs. It examines how public health programs can target different levels within a population, different determinants of health and strategies and interventions.

This course provides an overview of the science of prevention and intervention research for graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences in public health. It examines prevention and intervention science, ethics, and principles of community-based research and evaluation.

Students complete an integrative learning experience that demonstrates a synthesis of foundational and concentration competencies. Students in consultation with faculty select foundational and concentration-specific competencies appropriate to the student’s educational and professional goals.

Observation of and participation in public health activities of a public health agency, hospital or other approved organization. The student completes the field experience with joint supervision from the university and approved organization or agency.