220.601.81 INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL HEALTH

Introduces approaches used by various countries in solving their health and medical care problems, and the role of major international health organizations. Analyzes some of the current important issues in international health.

By the end of the course students should be able to 1) Locate and correctly cite information on demography, health conditions, health programs and health research for a country from multiple sources including websites maintained by international health organizations and scientific journals; 2) Characterize the demographic situation in a country using standard fertility and mortality indicators and the concept of demographic transition; 3) Describe the pattern of burden of disease in a country using standard fertility and mortality indicators, estimates of disease burden measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), data on disease incidence, prevalence, risk factors and geographic distribution and the concept of epidemiologic transition; 4) Describe the pattern of nutritional well-being and under or overnutrition in a country using standard indicators, and discuss how the concept of nutrition transition applies to the country; 5) List various criteria that can be used to define the health priorities of a country; 6) Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different criteria for setting health priorities in terms of defining a plan for action and building partnerships to address a health problem; 7) Select an appropriate model or framework to define alternative actions to address a health problem. Describe and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the following frameworks for defining possible actions: problem-solving framework, multi-level models of disease, mortality or fertility determinants, intervention development and evaluation framework, and health systems framework; 8) Describe the different categories of partner organizations that should be considered when determining responsibilities for implementing actions to address a health problem, and the strengths and weaknesses of each category of organization; 9) Select and define appropriate indicators for reporting to a funding organization on progress in implementing a health program or intervention; and 10) Identify topical interests in international public health to pursue in further courses, the MPH Capstone Project, the MHS internship or a doctoral dissertation.