University of Toronto
Dalla Lana School of Public Health
PHS100H1
GRAND OPPORTUNITIES IN GLOBAL HEALTH
(0.5 FCE)
Course Syllabus – Winter 2015
Time:
Location:
Thursdays, 4-6pm
Health Sciences Building, 155 College St.
Main Classroom: HS610
Breakup rooms:
HS100 (A-F)
HS108 (G-L)
HS614 (M-S)
HS618 (T-Z)
Course Directors:
Professor Abdallah Daar
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Email: a.daar@utoronto.ca
Office hours: Thursdays, 3-4pm, Suite 402, Health Sciences Building,
155 College Street
Phone: 416-978-0373
Professor Andrea A. Cortinois
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Email: a.cortinois@utoronto.ca
Office hours: Thursdays, 3-4pm, Suite 406, Health Sciences Building,
155 College Street
Phone: 416-978-6051
1. INTRODUCTION AND COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is an invitation to undergraduate students from all Arts and Science programs to
embark on a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the complex and multifaceted
field of global health. Public health, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, the allied health professions,
development studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political sciences, bioethics, engineering,
architecture, economics, and law are just some of the many disciplines that contribute to this
field. No matter what your academic and professional interests are, you all can contribute to
achieving better health in an interconnected, shrinking world where challenges tend to be
increasingly global in nature and nation states are no longer the only actors involved. The course
is an opportunity to meet and interact with many among the most creative researchers and
mentors working at the University of Toronto. In addition, the course follows an innovative
format that includes both online and in-class interactions and offers numerous opportunities for
an enriching collective learning experience. There are no pre-requisites to enroll in this course
except for a genuine interest in the topic, intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, and a desire to
contribute to this collective exploration. For the academic year 2014-2015, this course is open to
first year undergraduate St. George’s Campus students.
2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
a. Understand key public health-related concepts (e.g. wellness, health, disability, right to
health, disease, prevention, health indicators, etc.); the major public health milestones of
the past (e.g. eradication of smallpox, development of antibiotics and vaccines); the
evolution of public health models; and the major health-related transitions (e.g.
demographic, epidemiological, environmental) that impact global health.
b. Recognize different definitions of global health and whether these are neutral or have
underlying value-laden assumptions.
c. Explain current disparities and their continuing legacies from a historical perspective.
d. Recognize the contribution of human rights to individual and public health, and how
gender inequities impact health
e. Identify global health stakeholders and their points of view
f. Analyze the values and ethical principles underlying global health and related research
and innovation
g. Analyze and reflect on the major scientific, technological and social developments of the
past two to three decades, including those addressing infectious diseases, chronic noncommunicable diseases, global mental health, macroeconomics and health, social
determinants of health, building integrated health systems, implementation and delivery
science, etc.
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3. COURSE FORMAT
The course includes both online and classroom components. The online component consists of
video lectures, short readings, and peer-to-peer interactions among students. All these activities
can be arranged by individual students to fit their own time availability. The classroom
component is devoted to face-to-face discussion and group exercises. Contrary to a traditional
format, students view lectures and do the readings before attending classes. Because of that, this
course format is known as ‘inverted’ or ‘flipped’.
Each of the eleven course sessions unfolds over one week and is organized as follows.
Online Component
1. Video lectures and readings: Students, at a time that suits them best, will watch a series
of three to four 15-minute video lectures on the global health topic of the week. Videos
are presented by University of Toronto professors with outstanding theoretical and
applied expertise. Students will also read one or two short related readings.
2. Reflective question and student peer assessment: Students will individually answer a
short question that will help them reflect on some of the concepts and examples presented
in the lectures and readings. Once all students have submitted their responses, they will
anonymously react to and discuss the answers given by two or three of their peers. In
addition, each student will highlight the concept they have found most difficult to
understand/least clear (the ‘muddiest point’).
Classroom Component
3. Finally, students will attend a two-hour, in-class session (the “flipped” class). This time
will be used to review key concepts and ideas presented in the video lectures and
readings and reflect on their application to real-world problems through case studies and
other group activities. In-class activities will be facilitated by the two course directors,
one or more professors among those who presented the lectures for the current week, and
teaching assistants.
4. COURSE WORKLOAD
In order to achieve excellent results in PHS100H1, students should plan to dedicate 6-8 hours a
week to the course, including: watching video lectures (1h); reading (1.5-2h); answering
reflective questions (about 30 minutes); assessing other students’ responses to the reflective
questions (30-60mins); and in-class activities (2h). The rest of available time students should
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plan to dedicate to preparing for the mid-term and final projects. Obviously, these are just
indications- the time needed by each student to excel may vary. In all cases, however, work on
the mid-term and final projects should start as early as possible in the course.
The following table illustrates how students might arrange their course-related work time for
each weekly session.
Fri
Sat
Sun
Video lectures and
readings
(2.5-3h)
Mon
Tue
Reflective question
(approx. 30m)
(Midnight deadline)
Peer assessment
(30-60m)
(Midnight deadline)
Wed
Thu
In-class
activities
(2h)
5. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND ASSIGNMENTS
Students will be evaluated according to the following criteria.
Evaluation Criterion
Weight
Deadline
Participation
15%
Ongoing, weekly
Reflective questions
20%
Ongoing, weekly
Peer assessment
15%
Ongoing, weekly
Mid-term project
20%
Feb 22 (11:59pm)
Final project
30%
Mar 29 (11:59pm)
Participation
Active and thoughtful participation in in-class activities is an important ingredient for success in
this course. To receive full participation marks, students are expected to attend and actively
participate in all in-class activities!
Reflective Question
Of all the responses to the weekly reflective questions submitted by a student throughout the
course, three will be randomly selected and assessed, at the end of the term, according to a set of
specific criteria that will be soon available on Blackboard. To receive a ‘reflective question’
final mark, students must complete the ‘peer assessment’ component of the course, too.
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Peer Assessment
Of all the assessments of responses given by peers submitted by a student throughout the course,
three will be randomly selected, at the end of the term, and evaluated according to a set of
specific criteria that will be soon available on Blackboard.
Mid-term Project
Students will write a 1,500 word essay exploring in more depth a topic of their choice among
those that were discussed during the first half of the course. General guidelines and an evaluation
rubric (marking guideline) for this assignment will be soon available on Blackboard.
Final project
Students will work in pairs to develop the text (3,500-4,000 words) of a 15 minute lecture on a
global health topic of their choice. Each will get a grade and the best script will be selected to be
video-recorded and become part of the course future collection. General guidelines and an
evaluation rubric for this assignment will be soon available on Blackboard.
6. COURSE POLICIES
Email Communication
To ensure efficiency and a rapid response to you, for all course-related emails sent to the
teaching assistants, please always:
1) write from their University of Toronto official email address;
2) start the subject line with ‘PHS100H1 – ’; and
3) use a subject line that meaningfully describes the content of the message.
Emails that do not conform to this format will not be answered. Also, emails including questions
that have already been addressed in this syllabus or in the guidelines and evaluation rubrics for
specific assignments will not be answered. As a general rule, all other emails will be answered
within two business days.
Grading
Grading will follow the official University of Toronto, ‘University Grading Practices Policy’ for
undergraduate courses, which can be found at:
http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/newstudents/transition/academic/grading
Academic Integrity
Honesty and fairness are considered fundamental values shared by students, staff and faculty at
the University of Toronto. The University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously.
Penalties can be severe. For further information and to learn how to avoid plagiarism students
should carefully read all information available at: http://academicintegrity.utoronto.ca/
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Extensions and Penalties for Late Assignments
Extensions for personal and family illness and emergencies can be granted but must be discussed
with the teaching assistants as early as possible and not once the deadline for the assignment has
passed. Late assignments will be penalized by 5 percentage points per day and will only be
accepted up to one week after the due date, unless the student(s) has(have) received from the
instructor explicit approval in writing for a longer extension.
Accommodation for a Disability
Students who require accommodation for a disability should register with Accessibility Services
at: http://www.accessibility.utoronto.ca/
7. DATES TO REMEMBER
First day of classes .......................................................................................................
Jan 8
Winter Reading Week .................................................................................................. Feb 16-20
Mid-term project due ...................................................................................................
Feb 22
Final date to drop the course without academic penalty ..............................................
Mar 8
Last day of classes .......................................................................................................
Mar 26
Final project due ..........................................................................................................
Mar 29
8. SUMMARY OF SESSIONS AND LECTURES (Provisional sequencing)
Jan 8
Introduction to the course
(A. Cortinois; A. Daar)
Defining health in the 21st Century
(A. Cortinois; A. Jadad)
Jan 15
Global health: Definitions and history
(R. Kotha; A. Pinto; R. Upshur)
Jan 22
The right to health
Jan 29
Global health ethics
Feb 5
Health systems
Feb 12
Urbanization and health
(H. Hu; P. O’Campo; B. Poland)
Feb 26
Global mental health
(A. Daar; K. McKenzie; C. Pain)
Mar 5
Big data for global health
(L. Forman; D. Gastaldo; P. Hamel; J. Kohler)
(J. Gibson; S. Green; J. Lavery; D. Silva; A. Jadad)
(A. Brown; J. Gibson; A. McGahan)
(A. Chockalingham; D. Henry; P. Jha; R. Kaul)
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Mar 12
Grand Challenges approach
Mar 19
The Human Genome Project
Mar 26
Achieving convergence
(O. Bhattacharyya; Y.-L. Cheng; K. Simiyu; P. Singer)
(A. Daar; S. Scherer; M. Szego)
(Z. Bhutta; D. Sellen; S. Zlotkin)
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