Sara van Leusden

SPH 200 - Introduction to Public Health

This course will introduce you to fundamental knowledge and concepts related to public health. Starting with the history and evolution of the discipline of public health, onto how the health of populations is protected and measured, you will gain a better appreciation of the importance of the social determinants of health and how health inequities, chronic and communicable diseases, injuries and the environment can impact health are explored. Additional topics include how promotion of healthy communities can be achieved through knowledge translation and advocacy. If you are interested in health then this course will serve as an excellent primer to your future studies in any health field. Topics are covered using a mix of lecture, discussion and interactive case study evaluation.

SPH 302 - Fighting Misinformation for Public Health

This course confronts the growing challenge of misinformation and disinformation about interventions aimed at improving health, at the individual and population level. Through illustrative examples involving vaccinations, supplements, exercise and diet, you will learn to recognize common patterns and strategies through which misinformation is spread. We will also cover strategies to fight misinformation, including debunking, crafting counter messages and regulatory responses at the systemic level. Prerequisite: SPH 200 or consent of instructor.

SPH 546 - Public Health Practice & Professional Skills II

Building on SPH 541- Public Health Practice and Professional Skills I, students continue to practice and strengthen professional competencies through working in teams to address complex public health scenarios. This course highlights the action implementation and evaluation phases of the assessment-planning-action-evaluation cycle, and emphasizes the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed in inter/intra-organizational teamwork and collaboration, including: assessment of the implementation context - such as the political climate and political will - ethics and values in decision-making, financing of health initiatives in the Canadian context, budget cycles and accountability, economic evaluation and resource allocation considerations, and governance. Teams continue to build stakeholder assessment skills - who needs to be at the table and their roles and responsibilities and accountabilities; and project management skills - scoping the work, developing a resource plan, including budget, work plan, and evaluation plan, and developing an advocacy briefing note in support of their proposed initiative. Particular attention is given to the implications for, and impacts of, policy making on, Indigenous people and other equity seeking groups. SPH 546 is a required course for the degree of Master of Public Health in General Public Health. Prerequisites: SPH 530, SPH 535, SPH 536, SPH 541, SPH 562. Corequisite: SPH 537, SPH 563, or consent of instructor.

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