Programs by Campus
Indianapolis
Health Policy Management
Courses
- PBHL-H 501 U.S. Health Care: Systems, Policies, and Ethical Challenges (3 cr.)
This course addresses the study of health, illness and disease trajectories and the systemic components that mold the healthcare system. Ideological paradigms predicting utilization and health behaviors are addressed as are guidelines for ethical decision making/problem analysis. Formulation and implementation of organizational and governmental policies and their associate theoretical assumptions are addressed.
- PBHL-S 510 Introduction to Research Methods (3 cr.) This course examines fundamental research methods used in the field of public health. The focus is on understanding how community and clinical data are collected in scientifically valid methods and how study results are fairly interpreted. Students will learn how to critique published research to identify the strengths and limitations of the designs and approaches used, along with possible confounding factors and biases. Topics include components of research studies, including: justification for a research project, developments of research questions, selections of cases and controls, sampling methods, quantitative and qualitative data gathering techniques, project management, and preparing data for analysis. Methods used to complete and interpret community-based needs assessments and program evaluations will be included.
- PBHL-H 619 Health Economics (3 cr.) P: 3 cr. of undergraduate economics or permission of the instructor. This course examines the principles and application of economic analysis in the health field and the economist’s approach to health care issues. It provides insights offered by economic analysis of specific health issues and problems.
- PBHL-E 635 Foundations of Public Health Informatics (3 cr.) This course will introduce the application of Informatics in the Public Health field. The course will include a brief review of core public health functions, describe the current policies defining the use of informatics in public health, and outline the history of the application of informatics principles in both public health and clinical health systems.</
- PBHL-P 612 Patient-Reported Health Outcomes (3 cr.) P: E517 and B551. This web-based course is evidence-based and focused on health outcomes research in contemporary health care. The different types of health outcomes assessment tools and their application in determining patient health status, changes in health status, and the effectiveness of health care interventions will be addressed. The course will focus on generic and specific health related outcomes assessment tools, looking at such issues as disease specific outcomes and patient satisfaction.
- PBHL-H 644 Health Impact Assessment (3 cr.) The goal of this course is to introduce students to the theoretical and practical aspects of health impact assessment (HIA) as a methodological tool in public health. HIA utilizes a variety of qualitative methods and tools, designed to assess the potential health effects of a public policy, program, project, or initiative. While HIA is still an emerging practice in the United States, in Europe, Canada, and other areas of the world, the assessment of the public health impact of public decisions have been performed regularly to support policy decisions and promote conditions required for optimal health. During the first part of the semester, students will earn the necessary steps to conduct HIA, review national and international case studies, and discuss how findings may or may not impact policy making. During the second half of the course, students will work in teams with a local or state health department to examine the potential health impact of policy proposals in Indiana.
- PBHL-H 658 Methods in Health Services and Policy Research (3 cr.) P: S510. This course provides an introduction to research design and the most common research methods applied in health policy and health services research. The course will begin with an overview of the fundamentals of research design that guide all social science research. Students will then focus in more depth on survey research and the analysis of existing data derived from national health surveys and from public and private administrative sources. The special methodological challenges associated with designing research studies that will be relevant for the policymaking process will be emphasized.
- PBHL-P 650 Readings in Public Health (1-4 cr.) This 3 hour variable topics course is used to offer students the opportunity to examine in-depth emergent topics in health policy and management. The topics will be approved by the health policy and management faculty and offered on as needed-basis.
- PBHL-P 652 Biostatistics for Public Health II (3 cr.) P: B551. This course introduces the advanced principles and methods of data analysis in public health biostatistics. Emphasis is placed on public health examples as they relate to concepts such as: multiple regression, analysis of variance and covariance, logistic regression, nonparametric statistics, survival analysis, statistics used in epidemiology, and repeated measures analysis.
- PBHL-P 657 Application of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Public Health (3 cr.) P: P651 and P652. Cost-effectiveness analysis is widely used in evaluating the performance of public health programs and policies. In this course, students will learn to frame the conceptual model, to collect and synthesize data regarding “cost” and “effectiveness”, to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis, and to form recommendations based on the analysis.
- PBHL-H 521 Management Science for Health Administration (3 cr.) This course is an introductory survey of management science. Emphasis is placed on the formulating of managerial problems using models from management science. Readings, lectures, and structured exercises are used to present the models and demonstrate their application.
- PBHL-B 551 Biostatistics for Public Health I (3 cr.)
This seminar course will prepare advanced graduate students for the roles and responsibilities they may assume as faculty members. Course content will include an overview of the higher education culture and faculty expectations for teaching, research and service.
- PBHL-H 751 Doctoral Readings in Health Policy and Management (1-3 cr.) This course is designed to expose a Ph.D. student to published material on a specific topic or technique related to their field of study in Health Policy and Management. The material to be studied will be determined primarily by the student under the direction of a faculty member with input from the student's concentrtion advisor.
- PBHL-H 752 Doctoral Research in Health Policy and Management (3 cr.) This course is designed to allow Ph.D. students the opportunity to explore research questions by collecting data or using existing data related to their field of study in Health Policy and Management. The study topic will be determined primarily by the student under the direction of a faculty member with input from the student's concentration advisor.
- PBHL-H 775 Doctoral Research Seminar in Health Policy and Management (3 cr.) This course is designed to expose Ph.D. students to a wide range of specific research topics and issues in Public Health. The seminar topics will be chosen by the Director of the Ph.D. program with input from other faculty members.
- PBHL-S 615 Culture and Qualitative Methods (3 cr.) This course provides learning opportunities for graduate students in public health to develop methods for increasing understanding of cultural practices sensitivities and competencies related to public health practice among multicultural populations with varying health beliefs, values, behaviors and need. Such cultural sensitivities and competencies are basic to effective program planning, implementation, service delivery, program evaluation, and successful health outcomes through public health education and health promotion. The student will be able to understand and distinguish the concepts of culture and traditions, acculturation and enculturation, and traditionalism and modernism.
- PBHL-H 632 History of Public Health (3 cr.) This course surveys the history of public health (PH) from antiquity to the twenty-first century with the aim of providing students an understanding of how history may inform today's PH challenges, such as access to affordable health care; emerging infectious diseases; health consequences of climate change; dislocation of populations from conflicts and natural disasters; malnutrition; acute and chronic diseases among vulnerable populations; and the tobacco pandemic.
- PBHL-B 653 Applied Multivariate Statistical Methods (3 cr.) P: 551 and 652. This applied course is designed specifically for graduate and professional studies with major in epidemiology. Course will focus on applications to real data which will be analyzed by the professor and the students using the SAS software. The course will cover the following classic multivariate techniques; canonical correlations, MANOVA, MANCOVA, discriminant analysis, principal components analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling.
- PBHL-E 517 Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 cr.) This course will introduce students to basic epidemiologic concepts including determinants of health and patterns of disease in populations, population health descriptive techniques, use of health indicators and secondary data sources. Students will gain an understanding of the role of epidemiology in developing prevention strategies and policy. Among the topics to be covered are measures of mortality and morbidity, design and analysis of observational studies, community health assessment and program evaluation.
- PBHL-S 725 Preparing for Academia in Public Health (1 cr.)
This course will prepare advanced graduate students for the roles and responsibilities they may assume as faculty members. Course content will include an overview of the higher education culture and faculty expectations for teaching, research and service.
- PBHL-H 740 Workshop in Health Policy and Management (3 cr.) P: Completion of all 500- and 600-level core courses or permission of instructor.
This course is designed to prepare students for the H742: Practicum in Health Policy and Management. Students will be assigned to work in small groups of two or three students with health policy makers in local or state government or in private or non-profit health care organizations on a policy issue chosen by the agency. Over the course of the semester, students will conduct background research on the topic and examine prior relevant policies. This background work will be shared and discussed with the sponsoring agency.
- PBHL-H 624 Developing Strategic Capability (3 cr.)
This course is an introduction to tools for strategic management and the complexities involved in determining long-term strategies in a health care environment. It will examine the dynamics of the competitive environment, how both the pace and direction of industry change is influenced by the resources, capabilities, and interactions of rival organizations.