Public Health

The course will examine major global public health problems and the range of responses from international organizations, transnational networks, and domestic and community-based institutions. Despite improvements in the health status of low- and middle-income countries over the last half-century, the challenges to advance global public health remain daunting. What are the sorts of strategies these actors have used in addressing such health issues as HIV/AIDS, malaria, unsafe food and water, tobacco use, and others? Can a dedication to addressing inequity improve our response to ill health? The course will present basic concepts for understanding global public health, including indicators of population health and the political, social and economic determinants of health. We will utilize a case study method to examine successful and less successful efforts to improve global health and to debate enduring political, economic, social and cultural controversies in the arenas of global health. Students can expect to gain knowledge of the major issues and actors in global public health and an introduction to the analytic and quantitative skills needed to be effective.