AGEC 532/NUTR 532: WORLD FOOD PROBLEMS

(Accepting undergraduate and graduate registrations: no pre-requisite required)

 

Professors: Dennis Savaiano, PhD (savaiano@purdue.edu) and Gerald Shively, PhD (shivelyg@purdue.edu)

This course has the goal of educate advance graduate and undergraduate students on the multidisciplinary challenges that exist in meeting the food and nutrition needs of a growing world population. The course aims to instill an appreciation of the importance of economics, food production and technology, trade, culture, communication, political processes and institutions, demography and related factors in determining adequate food availability and health globally. The end point for this multidisciplinary perspective is nutritional adequacy, and malnutrition prevention.

 

COM 576: HEALTH COMMUNICATION

(Accepting undergraduate and graduate registrations: no pre-requisite required)

 

Professor: Evan Perrault, PhD (perrault@purdue.edu)

This survey course is designed to introduce students to the wide range of scholarship in health Communication and begins with an introduction to the field of health communication, ethical concerns in the health care environment, and the models that frame theory and empirical research in this area. Students will learn about the creation of health messages, patient and provider interactions, diversity, organizing health care, health in communities, communicating risk, and health in the mass media. At the end, students will have knowledge in health communication theory, research, and it application

 

PUBH 590: HUMAN SEXUALITY & SEXUAL HEALTH

(Accepting undergraduate and graduate registrations: no pre-requisite required)

 

Professor: Andrea DeMaria, PhD (ademaria@purdue.edu)

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction of the major theories and principles guiding human sexuality as well as recent developments in sexuality health research; develop their understanding of methodological and assessment issues in the study of sexuality; and familiarize them with the extent to which sexuality research and principles inform public health efforts promoting sexual health.

 

PUBH 590: INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL HEALTH

(Accepting undergraduate and graduate registrations who have prior coursework in public health: no pre-requisite required)

 

Professors: Nilpua Gunaratna, PhD (gunaratna@purdue.edu) and Natalia Rodriguez, PhD (natalia@purdue.edu)

Global disparities in the health and well-being of diverse populations, across and within borders, have never been greater. Profound and rapid changes in demographics, from population growth to urbanization, along with unprecedented shifts in patterns of disease and risks, are coupled with game-changing advances in knowledge, technology, and innovation. This course will introduce students to current challenges and efforts at solutions in global health, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It will provide an interdisciplinary overview of topics that include measures of health and disease, communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer, women’s health, maternal and child health, food systems and nutrition, health systems, and health care delivery. In addition to lectures, the course will include interactive discussions of case studies and specific country examples, aimed at immersing students in the debates and challenges facing global health leaders and decision makers.

 

NUTR 590: FOOD POLICY

(Accepting undergraduate and graduate registrations: no pre-requisite required)

 

Professor: Dennis Savaiano, PhD (savaiano@purdue.edu)

We will explore the nature of contemporary United States food policy and key events throughout history that have shaped what it is today. We will investigate and discuss the roles individuals, corporations, and federal, state, and other government agencies play in creating food policy, and how these stakeholders as well as complex sociological and economic factors influence the way Americans eat. These questions will lead us to consider the future of food and food policy in the United States. Can Americans develop food policy that supports the agricultural economy AND promotes the consumption of healthy foods? Could our agricultural system support this? We will learn about and explore these questions with class discussions, debate, research, guest lectures, relevant documentary films, and thought-provoking readings that present a variety of viewpoints. You will explore current, real-life problems and have an opportunity to develop potential solutions.

 

PUBH 543: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH

(Accepting undergraduate and graduate registrations: no pre-requisite required)

 

Professor: Jorge Banda, PhD (bandaja@purdue.edu)

Students will be exposed to epidemiological, behavioral, and public health issues related to the promotion of physical activity across the life course. Major topic areas will include physical activity epidemiology, correlates of physical activity, and current evidence for physical activity interventions, ranging from individual behavioral strategies to environmental and policy approaches. This course is appropriate for students training to be practitioners or researchers from a range of disciplines, including epidemiology, health education and promotion, social and behavioral sciences, nutrition, and kinesiology.

 

CPB 62600: DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES

(Pre-requisite: One (1) graduate-level statistics course; IBM SPSS for Windows will be software program)

 

Professor: Hsin-Yi Weng, BVM, MPH, PhD (weng9@purdue.edu)

This course will provide students with hands-on training on the analysis of the data derived from epidemiologic studies using contingency table analysis, logistic regression, Poisson/negative binomial regression, and survival analysis. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of integrating causal thinking in study design, data analysis, and result interpretation. Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to define the key feature for different epidemiologic study designs, analyze data using the introduced statistical methods, and interpret results by critically appraising effect size, precision, bias, confounding, and effect modification.

 

NUR 69060: INNOVATIVE CARE/INNOVATIONS IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY

(Pre-requisite: The course is most appropriate for an advanced masters or PhD student with prior coursework in health policy, health care systems, public health, or related areas)

 

Professor: Gregory W Arling, PhD (garling@purdue.edu)

This graduate seminar addresses healthcare innovation aimed at improving healthcare quality and effectiveness. It approaches innovation from different perspectives, such as policy research, organizational studies, systems and complexity theory, design thinking, and economics. It also delves into issues of evidence translation and implementation, drawing particularly from implementation science literature. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of course content through presentations and class discussion. They will also apply knowledge gained in the course by analyzing and reporting on case studies of healthcare innovations. Special Emphasis – Fall 2020- The course will focus on innovations in data science. We will critically assess data science and big data applications in healthcare. We will review different types of data science innovations. We address questions such as -- What do data science innovations promise? What they can realistically deliver? How can they improve care delivery and/or population health? What are their implications for healthcare costs?