Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health

Public Health

Community Public Health Course Descriptions & Syllabi

Courses offered outside the department, but required for all Community Public Health students:

E33.2000.003 NEW GRADUATE STUDENT SEMINAR: PUBLIC HEALTH

Syllabus

3 hours: 0 points.

Introduction to academic and professional resources at New York University and to career opportunities in food studies and food management (section .01), nutrition and dietetics (section .02), or public health (section .03). Class meets three of four times during the first semester of study.

Objectives:

  1. Describe academic and professional requirements of the program.
  2. Identify academic, professional, and personal resources available to support students in the department, school, university and city.
  3. Identify issues related to academic success in the program of study.
  4. Identify career opportunities in the program area.
  5. Meet faculty and students associated with the program of study.

E33.2042 MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITION

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Prerequisites: E33.0119 Nutrition and Health or E33.2213 Nutrition and Public Health; E33.2190 Research Methods (maj: HOND) or E81.2301 Research Methods in Public Health.

Principles and application of nutrition for healthy mothers, infants, children and adolescents with emphasis on current research related to normal growth and development.

Objectives:

  1. Define the nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation.
  2. Describe the principal benefits of breastfeeding, and methods for encouraging and establishing breastfeeding among women of diverse cultural groups.
  3. Describe infant feeding practices among diverse cultures and the cultural, social and economic factors that influence them.
  4. Define the nutritional needs of children and adolescents, and the social, cultural and economic factors that affect their food choices and dietary intake.
  5. Identify the principal methods for nutrition assessment during pregnancy and lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence.
  6. Identify and evaluate the costs and benefits of federal, state and local programs that provide food assistance to women and children.
  7. Evaluate the quality of nutrition education materials developed for low-income mothers and their children.

E33.2192 NUTRITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points.

Prerequisites: E33.0019 Nutrition and Health (or equivalent undergraduate nutrition class); E33.2190 Research Methods (or equivalent graduate level research methods class)

Fundamentals of nutritional epidemiology focused on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on dietary intake and nutritional status of diverse population groups. The course emphasizes critical evaluation of dietary assessment methods and the results of research studies associating intake of foods and nutrients or food consumption patterns with the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, and other chronic diseases.

Objectives:

  1. Identify dietary intake methods (e.g., 24-hour recalls, food frequency questionnaires), software for dietary data collection, and food and nutrient databases used in nutritional epidemiology research.
  2. Describe the range of measures of nutritional status (e.g., anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical markers) used in nutritional epidemiology research.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the sources and limitations of dietary survey, food supply, and food composition data, and the relevance of such data to nutritional epidemiology research.
  4. Compare and contrast methods for analyzing individual dietary components (e.g., nutrients, foods, other dietary constituents such as phytochemicals, dietary supplements) vs. "total diet" measures (e.g., dietary diversity/dietary quality scores) in nutritional epidemiology research.
  5. Identify common study designs used in nutritional epidemiology studies.
  6. Demonstrate knowledge of statistical methods used in nutritional epidemiology studies and statistical issues that affect the interpretation of dietary data (e.g., adjustment for total energy intake, measurement error, underreporting).
  7. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate current findings from nutritional epidemiology studies on the role of dietary factors (e.g., nutrients, foods, dietary supplements, dietary patterns) and chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis.

E33.2213 NUTRITION IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points.

Co-requisite: E33.2190 Research Methods or E33.2361 Research Methods in Public Health

Introduction to the concepts, principles, and scope of practice of public health nutrition. The course emphasizes the distinction between population-based and individual-based approaches to prevention and alleviation of diet-related conditions, and the societal, economic, environmental, and institutional barriers to improving the nutritional status and health of diverse population groups.

Objectives:

  1. Define the scope of practice of public health nutrition.
  2. Distinguish population-based public health approaches to nutrition intervention from methods that focus on changing the behavior of individuals.
  3. Identify the principle biological, behavioral, cultural, socioeconomic, and nutritional determinants of diet-related disease risks among diverse population groups.
  4. Describe how poverty and its consequences affect food intake, nutritional status, and the effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs.
  5. Describe how race, class, and gender affect food security, nutritional status, and the effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs.
  6. Identify the principle food safety problems in industrialized and developing countries and public health approaches to ensuring the safety of the food supply.
  7. Describe the principal policies and programs that address food insecurity, hunger, and nutritional deficiencies among diverse population groups.
  8. Identify the causes of the "nutrition transition" in developing countries where health problems of overnutrition increasingly coexist with problems of undernutrition.
  9. Define public health policy, needs, goals, and approaches to nutritional intervention in diverse populations, barriers to implementation of such policies, and methods of evaluation for their effectiveness.

E33.2306 EPIDEMIOLOGY

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Prerequisite: E10.2995 Biostatistics I

Introduces students to the field of public health epidemiology, emphasizing the sociocultural factors associated with the distribution and etiology of health and disease. Methodological skills including the calculation of rates, analysis of vital statistics, and programming data using a basic statistical package are covered.

Objectives:

  1. Define the content, uses, and significance of epidemiology as a means of public health investigation.
  2. Describe epidemiological approaches to defining and measuring health problems in defined populations.
  3. Describe the strengths and limitations of epidemiological study designs.
  4. Explain the contributions of epidemiological approaches to disease prevention, health promotion, and health policy.
  5. Describe the role of epidemiological approaches in evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of health care and preventive health services.
  6. Identify methods for describing disease rates and other vital statistics.
  7. Describe methods for critical analysis of the results of epidemiological research.
  8. Identify and evaluate methods for performing epidemiological research.

E33.2314 INTERNATIONAL HEALTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

An introduction to the issues of health and health care on a global basis. The course focuses on the nature and scope of major worldwide health problems and the study of different national and international approaches to their solution.

Objectives:

  1. Describe the relationship of economic development to disease causation and public health.
  2. Identify general and specific policies and programs developed by various countries to prevent disease and promote health.
  3. Describe the principal international organizations involved in health policy and the delivery of health services.
  4. Explain how culture and religion influence health policies and programs.
  5. Acquire the necessary knowledge to articulate global health concerns and policies that can address these concerns.

E33.2315 PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGH FILM & FICTION

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

This course will examine an array of public health issues through the lens of film and fiction in the belief that narrative works provide dramatic insight into the multifaceted nature of public health problems, the complex circumstances giving rise to them, and the factors influencing responses. We will focus on several areas having significant impact on the health of international populations in the 21st century. These include militarism, gender inequality, economic conditions, drug trafficking, occupation, and pandemic disease. We will examine the interrelatedness of these problems, the diverse geographic regions affected by them, their local and global manifestations, and the manner in which they are affected by broader economic and political circumstances.

Objectives:

  1. Identify key factors influencing the definition of various public health problems, their causes and societal responses.
  2. Appreciate the personal as well as the social dimension of contemporary public health issues.
  3. Understand and elucidate the complex dynamic between local conditions, broader economic and political circumstances and public health.

E33.2316.099 COMMUNITY HEALTH: A SOCIETY IN TRANSITION
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Syllabus

To enable participants:

The objectives will be achieved by focusing on the following content areas:

E33.2318 ASSESSING COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Prerequisites: E10.2996, E33.2306 and E33.2361

Definition and description of health problems of specific immigrant communities in New York City using census data and other sources of objective information. Through field observations, students determine the ways in which health providers, community leaders, and community residents view health problems, and compare these views with more objective data as a means to develop health intervention strategies.

Objectives:

  1. Identify standard methods for assessing the health needs of specific target communities.
  2. Identify standard methods and application skills necessary for describing a geographically defined community in socioeconomic and demographic terms, using a variety of data sources.
  3. Describe the use of computer programs such as INFOSHARE, census data, and other resources for describing the health status of specific communities.
  4. Describe methods for conducting qualitative research on community health needs such as questionnaires, interviews, observations, and focus groups.
  5. Identify methods for describing a community's health resources, most pressing health-related problems, and recommendations for programs to address health needs, and effective ways to present that information.

E33.2319 WRITING GRANTS AND FUNDING PROPOSALS FOR HEALTH-RELATED PROGRAMS

Syllabus 

30 hours: 3 points

A "hands-on" approach to grant writing including development of skills in locating potential funding sources and the use of appropriate grant-writing style and technique. Students are guided through the development of a grant proposal, from locating sources of funds; through development of program objectives, background, and methods; to the peer review process.

Objectives:

  1. To familiarize students with different opportunities for grant funding.
  2. To familiarize students with the different components of a grant proposal.
  3. Experience the process of writing a proposal.
  4. To familiarize students with the criteria upon which grants submitted for funding are evaluated.

E33.2322 HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Examination of the mission of public health from a historical perspective. Past and current public health issues, policies, and practices are critically analyzed.

Objectives:

  1. Describe basic landmarks in the history of public health in the United States and selected countries.
  2. Describe historical trends in demographic patterns and other factors that influence public health.
  3. Describe the influence of economic, social and cultural factors on disease incidence, definition of public health problems, and societal responses to those problems.
  4. Describe the interaction between biology and social values in formulation of ideas about disease causation, prevention and treatment, as well as views of social responsibility in matters of public health.
  5. Identify the impact of new models of disease (example: germ theory) on public health activities.
  6. Explain the historical basis of current inequalities in health with regard to race and income and of the factors that contributed to those inequalities.

E33.2335 ADVOCATING FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Examines models and principles of community development, social planning, social action, and public advocacy for health, and concepts and theories related to planned change.

Objectives:

  1. Understand the legal context for health care policy, analysis and decision-making.
  2. Realize the historical, complex and often discriminatory relationship between individual behavior and public health initiatives, and the relation to sociological and economic agendas.
  3. Gain a basic knowledge of community health care, the health care safety net, health insurance and access.
  4. Understand concepts, theories and models of health empowerment, behavioral change and the relation to community and health organization development.
  5. Distinguish models of policy development and their implications for effective health advocacy.
  6. Provide basic understanding of legislative processes, political agendas and imperatives, and how policy can be created through other than legislative means.
  7. Develop advocacy skills, including collaboration, consensus building, using media, and writing effective policy and advocacy communications.

E33.2349 PROGRAM PLANNING AND EVALUATION

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Prerequisites: E33.2318 and E33.2355

Research methods for identification of population-based needs for public health intervention, development of programs to meet those needs, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention. Application of research methods to proposal writing, budget planning, project management, and program evaluation.

Objectives:

Describe the basic elements of program planning in public health: needs assessment, goals, objectives, activities, timeline, budget, evaluation.

  1. Identify the principal barriers to successful implementation of program plans.
  2. Identify the principal methods for overcoming barriers to program implementation.
  3. Describe the principal methods for evaluation of public health program plans.
  4. Describe methods for demonstrating the ability to develop, implement, and constructively evaluate public health program plans.

E33.2355 SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

A study of the social, psychological, and cultural determinants of health behavior and consideration of their meaning for public health professionals in domestic and international community settings. The course addresses conditions and phenomena that affect people's understanding, acceptance, and use of health information and, therefore, the design, implementation, and evaluation of community health interventions.

Objectives:

  1. Explain the role of social, behavioral and cultural theories and models in health promotion program planning.
  2. Describe the key components of "core" models and theories of behavior change and describe their applications. Examples of such models and theories include the Health Belief Model, Theory of Reasoned Action, Social Cognitive Theory, Organizational Change, and Diffusion of Innovation.
  3. Describe the theoretical foundation necessary for designing needs assessment activities and instruments necessary for planning effective health interventions.

E33.2356 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

This course is an introduction to environmental health issues. The course will help
students gain a better understanding of the environmental factors and issues that affect
human health. Topics covered include population growth and urbanization, human
ecology, pesticide use, noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution, waste generation
and management, global climate change, and others.

Objectives:

  1. Describe the relationship of environmental factors to health status.
  2. Identify the role and effectiveness of environmental regulations.
  3. Describe policy and programmatic methods to reduce risks posed by environmental hazards.

E33.2360 INTERNSHIP AND SEMINAR IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Syllabus

180 hours: 3 points

Prerequisite: students must complete 23 of the 46 required credits before enrolling.

Supervised field experience providing an opportunity to apply health skills in community health settings. Locations may include government agencies, hospitals, professional associations, voluntary health agencies, businesses, industries, and international agencies. Placement selection may focus on special topics such as infectious or chronic disease prevention, substance abuse, family planning, and food, environment, and health systems. Should be taken in the last year of graduate work. Registration requires permission from instructor.

Objectives:

  1. Identify methods for describing and analyzing the structure and governance of public health organizations.
  2. Identify and apply methods used by organizations to improve the health of their target populations.
  3. Describe factors that lead to the effectiveness and stability of national and international public health organizations.
  4. Determine requirements of information, personnel, time, and equipment needed to implement programs that address public health needs.

E33.2361 RESEARCH METHODS IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Prerequisites: E10.2995

Review of research and original writings related to public health. Application of research methodology to problems in public health.

Objectives:

  1. Identify the types of research questions and designs appropriate for studies in public health.
  2. Describe the various types of qualitative and quantitative methods used in social research.
  3. Describe the design of standard tools for applying qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as structured questionnaires, unstructured interviews, focus groups, and open-ended interviews.
  4. Identify alternative methods of analysis for various types of data.
  5. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of methods used in specific research projects.
  6. Describe methods for designing research projects related to specific public health problems.

E33.2365 PROFESSIONAL WRITING IN PUBLIC HEALTH

30 hours: 3 points

Develops writing to audiences, including the general public, legislators, government officials, academics and healthcare providers. Students will explore a variety of writing forms commonly used in the practice of public health. They will develop and enhance their writing skills in order to communicate written public health messages effectively with a given audience.

Objectives:

  1. Obtain practical skills in writing, editing, and proofreading public health documents.
  2. Understand basic elements of good writing in the field of public health.
  3. Understand the principal types of writing used in public health.
  4. Learn how-to tailor ones' writing in public health for different targeted audiences.
  5. Learn how-to analyze material written in the field of public health.
  6. Identify sources for improving writing for public health.

E33.2374 PERSPECTIVES ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

In this course, students will develop an understanding of the impact of policies and the provision of services on the health disparities in reproductive health care. Within a framework of reproductive justice, students will examine the background and development of family planning, prenatal care, HIV/AIDS and abortion services in the United States as they relate to gender roles, attitudes about sexuality, institutional racism and health care service delivery. Students will develop analytical skills as well as the latest techniques for health education as they examine the most challenging issues and current research in the field of reproductive health.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Define healthy sexuality and describe its relationship to reproductive health care.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the critical issues related to reproductive health care in the United States.
  3. Exhibit health education skills associated with reproductive health care.
  4. Describe the impact of U.S. public policies on the provision of reproductive health care.

E33.2383 INTERNATIONAL POPULATION AND FAMILY HEALTH

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

A cross-cultural framework is used to compare the health status of populations and families and factors that affect their health in societal subgroups (for example, urban, rural, poor, women and children, and the elderly). The course emphasizes the effects of secular changes in women's roles and status and other societal, economic, and environmental trends on population and family health.

Objectives:

  1. Identify general and specific ways in which gender affects health status in international settings.
  2. Describe the effects of factors such as age, urbanization, education, income, culture, and religion affect family health.
  3. Identify secular changes in women's roles and status that affect family health.
  4. Describe societal, economic, and environmental trends in international family health.

E33.2405 HEALTH COMMUNICATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

The course provides an introduction about the theory, design, implementation, and evaluation of health communication programs.  Several resources are used to allow students to acquire practical knowledge and skills in health communications planning and implementation. Case studies, resources, research tools and examples of different media channels are reviewed and analyzed to explore how to reach different target audiences with the most effective health communication interventions.

Objectives:
  1. Define communication theories and methods for behavior change (behavior and social science theories, marketing/social marketing models, mass communication theories and other models)
  2. Define key communication areas as well as methods for conducting outreach campaigns designed to improve the health of specific intended populations
  3. Describe standard techniques used in health communication planning for  specific intended audiences: research, planning, pre-testing,  production/ implementation, launch and evaluation
  4. Describe the strengths, limitations and criteria for use of a range of health communication channels and areas: radio, print, television, Internet, interactive computer programming, drama, interpersonal communications vehicles, community-based events, digital media, and others
  5. Define methods used to develop and evaluate health communication materials and activities as well as to measure program outcomes

E33.2410 COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH INTERVENTIONS

Syllabus

30 hours: 3 points

Identification and evaluation of programs designed to reduce health risks among individuals and communities, with a focus on factors influencing the design of interventions, choice of methods, ways to assess the magnitude of change effected by the intervention, and ethical issues raised by the interventions.

Objectives:

  1. Describe examples of local, national, and international interventions designed to address current public health problems.
  2. Identify basic principles that underlie the choice of health interventions, and evaluate their strengths and limitations.
  3. Analyze and evaluate the choice of program design and target population, and the effectiveness of specific health interventions.
  4. Describe the principal organizational and political barriers to the design and evaluation of health-related interventions.
  5. Identify the principal ethical issues involved in health-related interventions.

E10.2995 BIOSTATISTICS I

Syllabus

3 credits

This course sequence is intended for graduate students in the nursing, epidemiology, public health and clinical research fields. This course provides both the foundations necessary for Biostatistics II and serves as a stand alone introductory statistics course. It will concentrate on the interpretation and comprehension of graphical and statistical techniques that are important components of scientific literature. Mathematical ability at the level of high school algebra is required. We will also be using the statistical program SPSS to perform statistical processing and there will be assignments that require the use of this program. We will go over the necessary parts of SPSS in class sessions as needed, but you will be expected to work on these assignments on your own.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:

  1. Apply critical evaluation skills to the reading of scientific research presentations as they relate to: sample statistics, simple hypothesis tests, correlation and regression.
  2. Understand the principle of the use of probability theory as a basis for making statistical decisions.
  3. Perform statistical analyses covered in class using the SPSS statistics program.
  4. Combine their knowledge of statistical analysis and use of SPSS to perform an analysis of real data to answer scientific hypotheses.
  5. Undertake further study of statistics based on the Biostatistics II course (E10.2996).

E10.2996 BIOSTATISTICS II

Syllabus

3 credits

This course sequence is intended for graduate students in the epidemiology, public health and clinical research fields and is the second in the Biostatistics sequence. It will concentrate on more advanced methods of statistical analysis and research design that are typical of biological and medical applications of statistics. It is assumed that the student will be familiar with statistical techniques as presented in E10.2995 - U10.2996 - D60.7040. We will again be using SPSS to perform statistical processing. It is assumed that the student has basic skills in the use of SPSS for entering data sets and performing basic analyses and graphics.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:

  1. Apply critical evaluation skills to the reading of scientific research presentations as they relate to: Regression, ANOVA, logistic regression, survival analysis and non-parametric analysis.
  2. Combine their knowledge of statistical analysis and use of SPSS to perform an analysis of real data to answer scientific hypotheses.
  3. Understand basic issues of experimental design and sample size determination.
  4. Undertake further study of statistics based on the Advanced Quantitative Methods sequence.

P11.1830.002 COMMUNITY HEALTH & MEDICAL CARE

Syllabus

4 credits

This introductory course in the Health Policy and Management Program of the Wagner School is designed to familiarize students with some basic concepts and ideas concerning the distribution of health and illness in society, the organization of the U.S. health care system, and the relationship of one to the other. We will discuss and debate definitions of health and illness, tools for their assessment, and the historical context for developments in public health and medicine. We will also examine the characteristics of the health care system at the local, state and federal levels in the United States as well as in other wealthy nations with systems of universal coverage. Further, students will be encouraged to become familiar with the health care needs and system in one other country of their choosing; this country will serve as a point of comparative analysis throughout the semester.