University of Pennsylvania
Graduate Program in Public Health
MPH Degree Program
Course Syllabus
PUBH500 / N570 -Introduction to Public Health
Fall Semester 2009: Thursday, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Title: PUBH500 / Nurs570 - Introduction to Public Health
Course Units: 1 cu, 45 theory hours
Catalog Description: This course will provide a topical overview of the
interdisciplinary field of public health and provides grounding in the public health
paradigm. Through a series of lectures, students will learn about the history of
public health, about the core public health sciences including behavioral and
social sciences, biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, policy and
management as well as and prevention of chronic and infectious diseases and
injuries. Other lectures include ethics and law in public health, context analyses
(specifically sociographic mapping and urban health), health promotion and disease
prevention paradigms.
Placement: Fall Semester: Thursday, 5:00-7:00 pm lecture, 7:00-8:00 pm recitation
Faculty:
Giang T. Nguyen, MD MPH MSCE
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
nguyeng@uphs.upenn.edu
Kathryn H. Schmitz, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology
Schmitz@mail.med.upenn.edu
Affiliated Faculty:
Rosie Frasso, MS, MSPH, CPH
Doctoral Candidate, School of Social Policy and Practice
rofrasso@sp2.upenn.edu
Pre-requisites: Enrollment in a master’s or doctoral program. Undergraduates with permission
of the instructor.
Course Overview: This course aims to provide the student with a foundational overview of the
field of public health and grounding in the public health paradigm.
Co-requisites: none
Course Objectives
At the completion of the course, the student will be able to:
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Describe Public Health’s essential missions, goals, services and core functions.
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Show an understanding of the public health paradigm and roles and functions of the
basic public health sciences including the prevention of chronic and infectious
diseases and injuries.
Describe the historical development, structure and interactions of public health and
health care systems
Describe the organization and processes of the major public health surveillance and
measurement systems, national and international, including the data bases available to
public health practitioners and researchers
Identify ethical principles that guide public health practice
Develop an awareness of the processes that shape “current” issues in public health
Identify community dimensions of public health e.g. urban health, culture and
ethnicities, academic-community partnerships, community assets and resources
Core Competencies:
1. Selects and defines variables relevant to defining public health problems
2. Recognizes how data illuminate ethical, political, scientific, economic and overall public
health issues
3. Collects, summarizes, interprets and communicates information relevant to a population
health issue
Teaching Methods: lecture and discussion groups
Evaluation Methods:
Exam 1 -40%
Exam 2 - 40%
Class Participation-20%
Extra Credit: Bring in 3 headlines relevant to public health AND the original literature on
which it is based for a 3 point bump on final grade. Acceptability of submissions at the
discretion of faculty. Only one student can bring in a specific popular press article and get credit
for it (first come first serve).
Class Participation
Students are expected to come to class prepared with questions from their assigned readings and
participate in small group discussions.
Course Readings:
Required Text: The New Public Health. T.H. Tulchinsky, 2009, Elsevier.
Reference Text (helpful but not required):
Institute of Medicine (2003). The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century. Washington,
DC: National Academies Press. Available on line: www.nap.edu
Assigned Readings:
All assigned readings and supplemental readings will be posted on Blackboard. Assigned
readings are required.