DrPH Curriculum

This course focuses on how major social and economic conditions affect the health of populations. Key topics include poverty, socioeconomic position, education, occupation, behavioral risks, social and economic inequality, discrimination, social networks and support, working and living conditions, and the built environment. Students will review the empirical and theoretical literature on mechanisms and processes that mediate between socio-economic factors and their health effects, and discuss alternative models for advancing public health.

This course builds upon graduate-level health economics to deepen student understanding of the relationship between private and public sector forces in the US healthcare system. Fundamental concepts such as supply and demand, scarcity, resource allocation, equity and redistribution, efficiency, competition, production and delivery of care and other topics are reevaluated through an exploration of how neoclassical economic assumptions may not always hold in the healthcare sector. Empirical research of both healthcare sector and non-healthcare determinants of health are reviewed. Current economic issues that impact the healthcare sector directly or indirectly are explored though application of economic tools of analysis.

The objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the critical role of systematic evaluation in assessing the effectiveness of health services programs and policies. This course covers health services research conceptualization, modeling, literature review, study design, sampling, data collection and measurement. Students are exposed to the basic theoretical concepts and practical approaches in order to examine the use, costs, quality, accessibility, delivery, organization, financing, and outcomes of healthcare services and their impact on individuals and populations. The primary focus is on the practical application of evaluation principles and methods to health services programs and policies.

Introduction to Public Health Law introduces doctoral students to the U.S. legal environments of public health, including constraints imposed by constitutional, statutory, regulatory, fiscal and political requirements. The course explores the sources of law and their interrelationships, legal protections of fundamental rights, government police powers, healthcare regulations, access to health care, ethics, legal liability, and legal influences on public health programs. Students are also exposed to the political and advocacy aspects of the law-making process as it relates to public health, with the goal of providing a realistic and practical assessment of how public health legal issues can be addressed within the political process. In its review of these issues, the course involves the exploration of new developments and emerging case law in the areas of public health and health care, the relationships between public health science and research and the law and the role of legal and legislative advocacy in the realm of public health reform. Interactive class sections consist of a combination of student presentations, faculty-led discussions, and conversations with guest speakers who are leaders in health law practice, as well as case studies in public health law, legislation, litigation and policy.

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to theories and concepts of leadership, provides students the opportunity to identify their personal leadership attributes, and through case study development and analysis, review leadership challenges from public health practice. Content areas include leadership theory; community leadership; personal leadership; leadership in organizations, and research. Emphasis is placed on the application of the course material to real life public health problems and issues in the development of public health careers. Special topics may include futures research, systems thinking, sustainable development and leadership in science.

The objective of this course is to provide students with a deep understanding of the relationship between private market forces and the public sector in the US healthcare system. The course covers the historical development of public-private dynamics on hospital and insurance markets, health manpower, biomedical research and their impact on costs, quality, access to health care and, policy formation.

This course examines health policy formulation, implementation and evaluation through a critical analysis of the history of healthcare reform in the United States. In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course establishes a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to healthcare reform at state and federal levels. (Master’s level students, with the permission of the director of the doctoral program, may enroll in this class.)

This course focuses on ethical issues arising in human subject research, and examines basic policies governing research, with a special emphasis on moral issues such as informed consent, the inclusion of vulnerable populations, and community research, etc. The course will apply the principles of clinical ethics and research that encompass notions of patient autonomy, beneficence of care providers and concerns for social justice.

This course builds upon Health Services Research and Evaluation I. The primary focus will be on the practical application of evaluation principles and methods to health services programs and policies. Particular emphasis will be given to the research process, from the initial research design to writing up statistical results, to prepare students for their own dissertation research. Students will cover topics including the systematic management of data collection; economic cost analyses; quantification of uncertainty by combining objective and subjective information; measurement and evaluation of outcomes; comparison of outcomes with several attributes through utility analysis; and a review the application of descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA, Chi Square, Correlation, Scattergram and Multiple Regression.

Students are provided with opportunities to interact with other public health professionals in a variety of settings and to apply their skills to real-world problems under the guidance of a mentor. These internships will make use of the rich academic and practice environment offered by New York Medical College, its hospital and county health department affiliates, or other health-related organizations.

This course includes doctoral-level study and research in an area of interest chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty member. The research must relate to health care services and their public health impact. The student must obtain prior approval for the research topic by the instructor. Depending on the research topic and the research objectives, coursework will include retrieval and analysis of health-related data, an extensive scholarly literature review, or study design.

This course includes doctoral-level study and research in an area of interest chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty member. Opportunities for work on special problems are provided.

The dissertation serves as the culmination of the research competency of the doctoral program. The dissertation must address an original research question and the student must interpret and discuss the significance and potential application of the study results within the context of the public health arena.

This course is designed for students who have little or no familiarity with the Stata statistical analysis program. Students will learn the basic functions of the Stata program using its menus, dialog boxes, and commands, as well as common data preparation for analysis. Although this is not a statistics course, it is expected that students will have experience with basic descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing so that they can understand and interpret Stata results and the reasoning behind the associated statistical tests. At the course conclusion, students will be able to use Stata to complete necessary statistical analyses as they arise in future courses, research, and writings. To accomplish the objectives, students will be responsible for completing weekly assignments, special projects and a comprehensive final project. Experience indicates that the course objectives are achieved by requiring students to spend a significant amount of hands-on computer time. Therefore, the first part of each class will be presented as a lecture/demonstration. Students will then have the opportunity to go to the computer lab with faculty supervision to use Stata to accomplish the tasks that were presented/demonstrated in lecture and to begin their assignments and projects.