INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL HEALTH: HISTORY, CURRENT ISSUES, AND HEALTH STATISTICS
Provides opportunities that facilitate learning in the areas of global health history and contemporary issues; global health frameworks, policies, and assessing and critically evaluating data; the socioecological model for global health, health equity and disparities; and, global health communication. Presumes some background and understanding of basic principles of health and addresses topics at a graduate level.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: Graduate/professional standing, or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Global Health Online Course Designation: Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Compare and contrast the current definitions of “global health” from both historical perspectives and usefulness in addressing today’s major global health challenges. Audience: Graduate 2. Critique the concept that global-local-global continuum thinking can positively impact contemporary problems that affect populations both locally and abroad. Audience: Graduate 3. Evaluate commonly used global health frameworks (e.g., Alma Atta, MDGs/SDGs) for the likelihood that they will positively impact health in the next 20 years. Audience: Graduate 4. Debate whether ‘Health as a Human Right’ should be explicitly present in the Sustainable Development Goals. Audience: Graduate 5. Analyze the intersections of data and policy for their impacts on health outcomes. Audience: Graduate 6. Assess the importance and challenges of accurate surveillance data in designing policy interventions. Audience: Graduate 7. Explain social determinates of health and health equity obstacles within global health trends (e.g. urbanization, globalization) and outcomes (global health disparities). Audience: Graduate 8. Defend the opinion that the Social Ecological Model of well-being can be applied to the field of global health. Audience: Graduate 9. Evaluate the roles of at least three organizations in maximizing health security and effective health communications. Audience: Graduate 10. Analyze whether social marketing can not only communicate health information but also improve outcomes. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Compare and contrast the current definitions of “global health” from both historical perspectives and usefulness in addressing today’s major global health challenges. Audience: Graduate 2. Critique the concept that global-local-global continuum thinking can positively impact contemporary problems that affect populations both locally and abroad. Audience: Graduate 3. Evaluate commonly used global health frameworks (e.g., Alma Atta, MDGs/SDGs) for the likelihood that they will positively impact health in the next 20 years. Audience: Graduate 4. Debate whether ‘Health as a Human Right’ should be explicitly present in the Sustainable Development Goals. Audience: Graduate 5. Analyze the intersections of data and policy for their impacts on health outcomes. Audience: Graduate 6. Assess the importance and challenges of accurate surveillance data in designing policy interventions. Audience: Graduate 7. Explain social determinates of health and health equity obstacles within global health trends (e.g. urbanization, globalization) and outcomes (global health disparities). Audience: Graduate 8. Defend the opinion that the Social Ecological Model of well-being can be applied to the field of global health. Audience: Graduate 9. Evaluate the roles of at least three organizations in maximizing health security and effective health communications. Audience: Graduate 10. Analyze whether social marketing can not only communicate health information but also improve outcomes. Audience: Graduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027