Courses

Public Health

  • SPEA-H 120 Contemporary Health Issues (1-3 cr.) An examination of current public health, environmental health, and health service delivery issues in the United States. Topics include the organization and costs of health systems, access to care, the interrelationships between risk factors and health, and environmental challenges facing our society and their impact on health.
  • SPEA-H 124 Health Care Management and Policy (3 cr.)  Bloomington only. An overview of the U.S. health care delivery system. It examines the organization, function, and role of the system; current system problems; and alternative systems or solutions.
  • SPEA-S 124 Honors—Health Care Management and Policy (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA-­H 124; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 126 Introduction to Careers in Health Administration (1 cr.) Introduces students to different careers and opportunities in the field of health care administration.
  • SPEA-H 267 Career Development and Planning (1-3 cr.) (BSPH Bloomington students only.) Course highlights include: identification of work values and personality preference, career research assignments, networking assignments designed to prepare students for contact with employers, in-depth tutorial and feedback concerning how to craft a marketable resume and cover letter, and development of an overall career development plan.
  • SPEA-H 316 Environmental Health Science (3 cr.) A study of human interaction with the environ­ment and potential impacts of environmental agents on health and safety. Hazards from natural sources and human activities that contaminate our air, land, water, food, homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces are examined. Environmental control activities, including pollution control technology and policy, are also examined.
  • SPEA-S 316 Honors—Environmental Health Science (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA­-H 316; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 321 Health Policy Seminar (3 cr.) An Introduction to health policy in the United States for IU in DC students, including how health policy is made, implemented, and reformed. Students will engage in discussion, analysis and critique of various health policies and are expected to bring insights from their internships into the classroom discussions.
  • SPEA-H 322 Principles of Epidemiology (3 cr.) A basic overview of epidemiologic methodology and techniques. Both communicable and chronic disease risk factors will be discussed, along with data acquisition, analysis techniques, and current published epidemiological studies.
  • SPEA-H 324 Health Policy (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 320. This course will focus on current health policy issues within the context of the U.S. health care system. The course will familiarize students with the political environment of public policy, introduce major health care policy perspectives, and apply those analytical models to a series of health policy issues.
  • SPEA-H 341 Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration (3 cr.) Bloomington only. An overview of the liability and legal responsibility, as well as legal recourse, that health care facilities may exercise. This course will discuss policies and standards relating to health facility administration. Also included is a discussion of financial aspects unique to the hospital/ health care facility environment, such as third-party payments and federal assistance.
  • SPEA-S 341 Honors—Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA-H 441; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 342 Community Health Education (3 cr.) A study of theory and practice in the field of professional health education. The process of behavioral change is examined. Procedures for the planning, delivery, and evaluation of health education practices are considered.
  • SPEA-H 352 Health Care Finance I (3 cr.) Bloomington only. First of a two-course sequence on the financial management of health care organizations; introduces financial environment of providers and concepts of financial accounting critical to decision-making. Topics include financial statement analysis (specific emphasis on unique features of health care financial statements), accounting and managerial control of cash, accounts recievable, inventory, and budgeting.
  • SPEA-H 353 Health Care Finance II (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 352. Bloomington only. Course focus is financial management of health care organizations; assessing critical decision-making concepts in managerial accounting and finance. Topics include evaluation of capital investments, financing sources, managerial accounting including cost behavior, profit analysis, and incremental analysis, reimbursement under various third-party payer environments, cost allocation and government reporting.
  • SPEA-S 353 Honors—Advanced Health Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA-H 353; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 354 Health Economics (3 cr.) This course applies economics to the study of administrative and policy issues in the health care sector. Economic concepts are used to explain the system of health care financing and the organization of health care delivery in the U.S. The economic evaluation of health care programs is also discussed.
  • SPEA-H 365 Health Services Practicum (1-3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 320. The Health Services Practicum will consist of a personal career- planning component coupled with weekly field visits to health care agencies in central Indiana. Students must perform satisfactorily in both parts of the practicum to receive a passing grade.
  • SPEA-H 367 Environmental Science and Health Practicum (2 cr.) P: SPEA-H 316. The Environmental Science and Health Practicum will consist of a personal career-planning component coupled with weekly field visits to environmental science and health-related organizations in central Indiana. Students must perform satisfactorily in both parts of the practicum to receive a passing grade.
  • SPEA-H 371 Human Resources Management in Health Care Facilities (3 cr.) This course covers the function of management, which is concerned with the acquisition, development, and use of human resources in the field of health care delivery. Labor relations relating to health care delivery are also included.
  • SPEA-H 374 Health Management Ethics (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 124 and senior standing. This course examines health care ethical decision making challenges from the managerial perspective and explores broader policy issues associated with ethical problems in health care institutions. It provides an overview of general theories of ethical challenges in everyday managerial activities.
  • SPEA-S 374 Honors—Health Management Ethics (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA-H 374; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 401 Strategic Planning for Health Care Organizations (3 cr.) This course examines strategic planning techniques as they apply to health care organizations. Students will develop and defend a comprehensive strategic plan for a case facility. One half of the course will be conducted in a workshop format.
  • SPEA-H 402 Hospital Administration (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 320. The study of organization, structure, function, and fiscal operations within hospitals. The role of the hospital in the community, relationship to official and voluntary health agencies, coordination of hospital departments, and managerial involvement will be examined.
  • SPEA-H 411 Chronic and Long-Term Care Administration (3 cr.) Administering programs across the continuum of care including nursing homes, hospice, home health, and assisted living; Medicare and Medicaid financing; quality improvement; care management; and needs of special populations, particularly vulnerable elders.
  • SPEA-H 416 Environmental Health Policy (3 cr.) Study of professional requirements and duties of the environmental health functions within health agencies; consideration of applicable laws and standards in each environmental health function; environmental health program planning, evaluation, implementation, and personnel responsibilities.
  • SPEA-H 422 The Social Epidemics: AIDS, Violence, and Substance Abuse (3 cr.) (Fort Wayne only.) This course examines HIV/AIDS, violence, and substance abuse in the context of racial, gender, sexual orientation, and class dynamics that may underlie the way these pathologies affect certain populations. Emphasized is the recognition that how we define disease and causation can influence how we attempt to find a cure.
  • SPEA-H 423 Disease Vector Control (3 cr.) Survey of animal and insect disease vectors and economic pests of public health significance; vector and pest identification and control procedures; survey of the classification, application, and restriction of pesticides in controlling disease vectors and economic pests commonly found in the United States.
  • SPEA-H 428 Food Science and Sanitation (3 cr.) Basic concepts of food technology, with emphasis on methods and procedures in food processing to minimize contamination and to prevent food-related illness. Federal, state, and local food laws and inspection procedures will be examined.
  • SPEA-H 432 Health Care Marketing (3 cr.) A practical study of marketing in health care institutions, health service organizations, and health insurers. A basic foundation in marketing principles, new methods in marketing products and services, and inexpensive marketing techniques will be examined.
  • SPEA-S 432 Honors—Health Care Marketing (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA-H 432; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 433 Industrial Hygiene (3 cr.) Survey of the technical and regulatory aspects of protecting the health and safety of workers. Topics include basic toxicology; skin, eye, and respiratory hazards; measuring hazardous atmospheres; ventilation systems; fire and explosion hazards; emergency response; occupational hearing loss; radiation; prevention of accidents; cumulative trauma; and personal protective equipment.
  • SPEA-H 448 Public Health Education Methods (3 cr.) Usual techniques of group work with investi­gations of social and psychological factors that determine effectiveness in promoting public health. Laboratory time provides opportunity for competence in group work and in design and use of promotional materials.
  • SPEA-H 455 Topics in Public Health (1-3 cr.) Extensive discussion of selected topics in public health. The topic may change from semester to semester, based on resource availability and student demand. May be repeated for credit.
  • SPEA-H 456 Health Care Reimbursement (3 cr.) Course examines the organizational structures of managed care as used in the health industry. The strengths and weaknesses of managed care organizations are examined, as well as the performance of both public and private managed care organi­zations. Course also examines and discusses current issues surrounding managed care.
  • SPEA-S 456 Honors—Health Care Reimbursment (3 cr.) Requires consent of SPEA Honors advisor. Course covers same content as SPEA-H 456; however, honors students will complete advanced coursework.
  • SPEA-H 459 Environmental Science and Health Data Analysis (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 316; SPEA-K 300; 1 semester of chemistry. Provides students with an understanding of the basic principles needed to perform sampling and analysis of field and laboratory environmental data. Topics include properties of chemical and biological constituents, detection limits, calibration, quality control, precision accuracy, and statistical analysis.
  • SPEA-H 460 Techniques in Environmental Science and Health (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 459. Basic physical, chemical, and biological examinations and standards for potable water quality, wastewater treatment determinations, and stream pollution control. Basic physical, chemical, and biological (ergonometric) examinations used in industrial hygiene and air pollution control. Instruction in basic laboratory skills and techniques for performing these examinations.
  • SPEA-H 466 Public Health Field Experience (1-3 cr.) Supervised advanced training in professional and technical functions in public health; guided student activity and performance in professional public health functions. Individualized programs may be arranged to suit students' areas of concentration. Students will be required to fulfill a minimum of 120 hours of professional relevant work.
  • SPEA-H 472 Applied Health Care Administration (3 cr.) P: SPEA-H 320 and senior standing. This course is a study of the complexities of multi- institutional arrangements and integrated services in the U.S. health care industry. The focus is applying management skills to and making comparisons of the current driving forces among health care delivery system components.
  • SPEA-H 491 Directed Research in Public Health — Honors (3 cr.) This is an intensive research course for undergraduate public health majors in SPEA's Honors Program. The course focuses on theories, concepts, and case material selected by the student in consultation with a faculty member. Key research products for the course may include a substantial research paper or institutional analysis.
  • SPEA-H 492 Global Health Issues and Management (3 cr.) An overview of the theoretical underpinnings of, and current issues within, global health management. Topics include the impact of globalization on disease, health organization, program management, management of humanitarian events, and health system planning. The necessity of collective obligation and action for global health will be a recurring theme.

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