Skip to main content

380.755.60
Population Dynamics and Public Health

Location
East Baltimore
Term
Summer Term
Department
Population, Family and Reproductive Health
Credit(s)
2
Academic Year
2021 - 2022
Instruction Method
Hybrid In-person and Asynchronous Online
Class Time(s)
Week 1: All students meet Thursday 1:30-3:20 PM Weeks 2-7: Lab sections 1-3 meet Thursdays 1:30 - 3:00 PM Lab sections 4-6 meet Thursdays 3:30 - 5:00 PM Week 8: No meetings - window for final exam
Thursday, 1:30 - 3:20pm
Lab Times
Thursday, 1:30 - 3:00pm (01)
Thursday, 1:30 - 3:00pm (02)
Thursday, 1:30 - 3:00pm (03)
Thursday, 3:30 - 5:00pm (04)
Thursday, 3:30 - 5:00pm (05)
Thursday, 3:30 - 5:00pm (06)
Auditors Allowed
No
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Prerequisite

None

Description
Public Health is a population science, and gaining an understanding of how trends and patterns of births, deaths and migrations determine the size, age-sex structure and location of populations is a critical foundation for all work in the other public health disciplines.
Provides an introduction to population dynamics, the processes by which populations change, as a foundation for understanding population health. Students learn how births, deaths, and migrations determine the size, growth, age-sex structure, and geographic location of populations. Students review the proximate and indirect causes of population change and assess their socioeconomic, environmental, and public health consequences. Students calculate and interpret basic measures used to describe populations and measure population dynamics, and learn the main sources of population data and their strengths and limitations.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Describe global and nation-specific trends in population size, age-sex structure, and geographic distribution
  2. Describe global and nation-specific trends in fertility and discuss the proximate determinants and most important indirect determinants of these trends
  3. Describe global and nation-specific trends in mortality and discuss some of the factors that explain mortality differentials among populations
  4. Explain how changes in fertility, mortality, and migration determine population growth and age-sex structure
  5. Summarize the interrelationships among economic development, population and health policies, and population dynamics
  6. Recognize the impact of population growth on the global environment
  7. Calculate and interpret the basic measures used to describe populations and measure population dynamics
  8. Identify selected sources of population data and describe their strengths and limitations
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
  • 72% Quizzes
  • 28% Final Exam
Enrollment Restriction
Open only to full-time MPH students or part-time MPH students who can attend the course in person.