Global Noncommunicable Disease

Graduate / Professional

This course focuses on the contemporary burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), with a particular focus on the health impact of NCDs in low- and middle-income countries. The first part of the course briefly covers the etiology and global distribution of four key NCDs: cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. We then discuss the shared behavioral, metabolic, and physiologic risk factors for these diseases and explore how NCDs are associated with economic development, globalization, and the demographic and health transitions. The second half of the course focuses concretely on approaches to NCD intervention, from individual-level approaches to coordinated global action. The last five lectures are by guest speakers offering insight into the successes and challenges of their own intervention attempts. M 10am-11:50am