220.601.01
Foundations of International Health
Location
East Baltimore
Term
1st Term
Department
International Health
Credit(s)
4
Academic Year
2024 - 2025
Instruction Method
In-person
Tu, Th, 1:30 - 3:20pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
Helps students to identify topical interests in international public health to pursue in further courses, the MPH Capstone Project, the MSPH internship, MHS final paper, or a doctoral dissertation. Assignments help students consider broad international health issues within the context of a specific country.
Provides an overview of foundational approaches and issues in International Health, preparing students to gain the skills and attributes needed to work in global public health. Examines conditions faced by disadvantaged populations, primarily in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), and pathways to achieving better health outcomes. Applies principles of health equity and social justice in analyzing global health policies and programs, and develops skills to apply different frameworks for diverse types of public health intervention. Develops and articulates evidence-informed arguments concerning public health strategies in different contexts, and practices communication skills that demonstrate respect for other cultures and perspectives. Uses a range of tools to prepare for work in global public health, including how to conduct situational analyses across a range of settings, how to analyze scale-up, sustainability, and equity, and how to move research into practice.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Characterize major domains of global public health, including the associated social determinants and burdens of disease, and the key interventions and approaches to improve outcomes within those domains
- Apply principles of social justice and human rights to assess global health policies and programs, and their impact on health equity
- Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills that demonstrate respect for other perspectives and cultures
- Use scientific evidence for health program planning, implementation, and evaluation in low and middle-income country settings
- Develop and articulate arguments for global health strategies using evidence from reliable sources
- Describe the roles and relationships of the entities influencing global health
- Identify different dimensions of capacity building in global health, and apply capacity building concepts to health policies and program interventions in low and middle income country settings
- Conduct a situation analysis across a range of cultural, economic, and health contexts, identifying the relationships among patterns of morbidity, mortality, and disability with demographic and other factors in shaping the circumstances of the population of a specified community, country, or region
- Identify major global health problems of underserved populations in lower resource contexts, and understand important issues in the international community’s response, including the historical tensions of whether to approach them vertically or horizontally, the challenges of programmatic and environmental sustainability, the complex evolution of major global health initiatives, and to examine examples of past and ongoing interventions
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 20% Participation
- 80% Assignments
Enrollment Restriction
Only students in the MSPH GDEC, Health Systems, SBI, and MHS in Global Health Economics can take this course. All other students must take the 4th term course.
In person attendance is required.