Public Health - M.P.H.

Public Health - M.P.H.

The Master of Public Health degree in Public Health is designed to help students develop real-world knowledge and skills needed to pursue success in the public health industry.

The Public Health major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Biostatistics concentration prepares students in the quantitative science of health data collection, storage, retrieval, analysis and interpretation. Graduates are equipped to use statistical methods to design and analyze health-related surveys and experiments for improving health. The college’s faculty research interests include applying biostatistical analysis to understand critical health problems. Graduates in biostatistics are in demand at hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, state and local health departments, federal health agencies and biotechnology companies to analyze the effectiveness of new drugs and interventions, identify risk factors for disease and develop effective prevention strategies.
• The Epidemiology concentration prepares students to analyze the distribution and determinants of disease, disabilities and death in populations. Graduates are able to apply quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate disease outbreaks, determine causal relationships between environmental and biological factors, and conduct studies to project health trends in populations. Students benefit from public health faculty research agendas in bio-preparedness, public health surveillance systems, chronic disease, cancer and infectious disease epidemiology. Career opportunities for graduates include research positions in universities, medical schools and pharmaceutical companies; disease prevention specialists in hospitals; and surveillance managers in state and local health departments.
• The Health Policy and Management concentration prepares students to address public health risks and develop effective health services delivery models. This concentration incorporates health services research, health policy analysis and health care planning and management. Given the active research of the college’s faculty in identifying service gaps and in developing evidence-based practices and policy analysis, students emerge with strong skills in health services management, alternative models of service financing and strategies for improving services. Career opportunities for graduates include administrative and management positions in hospitals, clinics, state and local health departments, nursing homes and mental health facilities; policy analyst positions in health planning organizations and governmental agencies; and planning and management positions in health maintenance organizations and health insurance companies.
• The Social and Behavioral Sciences concentration provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to improve health in populations across the life course. Students learn to apply theoretical principles to design, implement and evaluate effective programs that include behavioral and environmental approaches. Graduates are able to design and evaluate public health interventions intended to improve health for families, workplaces, communities and other settings. The active research of the college’s faculty—particularly in the areas of childhood obesity, violence and injury prevention, substance abuse prevention and chronic disease prevention—provides students the opportunity to work on large-scale externally funded prevention research. Students are prepared for careers in health promotion; program design and evaluation; and prevention program development for state and local health departments, workplace health promotion programs, hospitals, international health agencies, mental health centers and non-profit organizations.

Major Requirement

• Biostatistics in Public Health
• Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health
• Fundamentals of Public Health Epidemiology
• Public Health Administration
• Community Health Needs Assessment
• Social Determinants of Health Behaviors

Major Electives, choose from the following;

• Biostatistics Courses (BST 50000 or 60000 level)
• Environmental Health Sciences Courses (EHS 50000 or 60000 level)
• Epidemiology Courses (EPI 50000 or 60000 level)
• Health Policy and Management Courses (HPM 50000 or 60000 level)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences Courses (SBS 50000 or 60000 level)

Biostatistics Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

• Applied Practice Experience in Biostatistics
• Survival Analysis in Public Health
• Experimental Designs in Public Health Research
• Applied Regression Analysis of Public Health Data
• Principles of Epidemiologic Research
• Longitudinal Data Analysis

Epidemiology Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

• Applied Regression Analysis of Public Health Data
• Applied Practice Experience in Epidemiology
• Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases
• Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
• Principles of Epidemiologic Research

Health Policy and Management Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

• Health Care Systems
• Public Health Policy, Law and Ethics
• Financial Management for Public Health Organizations
• Cost Benefit Analysis in Public Health Programs
• Public Health Programs: Planning, Implementation and Evaluation
• Applied Practice Experience in Health Policy and Management

Social and Behavioral Sciences Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements

• Public Health Programs: Planning, Implementation and Evaluation
• Quantitative Methods in Social and Behavioral Science
• Social and Behavioral Science Theories
• Seminar in Social and Behavior Sciences
• Grant Writing in Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Applied Practice Experience in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Accreditation

The M.P.H. degree in Public Health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Explain public health history, philosophy and values
2. Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services
3. Explain the role of quantitative and qualitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health
4. List major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the US or other community relevant to the school or program
5. Discuss the science of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention in population health, including health promotion, screening, etc.
6. Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge
7. Explain effects of environmental factors on a population’s health
8. Explain biological and genetic factors that affect a population’s health
9. Explain behavioral and psychological factors that affect a population’s health
10. Explain the social, political and economic determinants of health and how they contribute to population health and health inequities
11. Explain how globalization affects global burdens of disease
12. Explain an ecological perspective on the connections among human health, animal health and ecosystem health (eg, One Health)
13. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice
14. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
15. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate
16. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice
17. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings
18. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels
19. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health
20. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs
21. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention
22. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management
23. Select methods to evaluate public health programs
24. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence
25. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
26. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations
27. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity
28. Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making
29. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges
30. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
31. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
32. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content
33. Perform effectively on interprofessional teams
34. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue

Fully offered on the following campuses:

• Online
• Kent Campus
• Twinsburg Academic Center (Health Policy and Management concentration only)