Schedule
Non-SPPH Students: If you are not an SPPH student and wish to register in one of courses, refer to our information for Visiting Students for instructions.
Courses
NOTE: Syllabi for all courses are updated as we receive them from the instructors. Please refer to past syllabi for content reference and keep in mind that room location and times (for example), may be subject to change. If you do not see a course syllabus here, please contact the course instructor directly for more information.
Not all courses listed here are offered every year. Please visit our online schedules (links provided at the top of this page) to see which courses are currently being offered.
SPHA courses offered in the Master of Health Administration program are restricted to MHA students and are listed separately.
Planned collection, numeric and graphic summarization, and elementary statistical analysis of data. Examples primarily from health sciences illustrate standard techniques for parametric and non-parametric hypothesis testing; regression and correlation; contingency tables. Also randomization, "blindfolding" and other specifically biomedical topics in statistics. Class size may be limited.
Please note this is a Graduate level course.
Prerequisite
Ability to use high school Algebra and simple graphs.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Basic epidemiological designs as a framework for commonly used biostatistical techniques such as the Mantel-Haenszel, chi-squared, linear and logistic regression, and survival analysis. Computer packages will be available for computation of assignments.
Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502 or (c) all of SPPH 567, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional (Section 002 - Master's students)
Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional (Section 007 - PhD students)
Syllabus to be supplied
Term 2: Distributed Learning (Section DL2)
Syllabus
To explore and compare methods of analyzing continuous and categorical longitudinal data. The issues of missing data and errors in measurement/misclassification will be covered in depth. The material will be taught by reading and discussing a selection of papers and by analyzing data sets using different techniques and comparing the results.
Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 500, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 500, SPPH 502 or (c) all of SPPH 500, SPPH 502, SPPH 567
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Sources and uses of epidemiologic data for health services planning and administration including methods of data collection and study design.
Prerequisite:
Enrolment in a Health Care and Epidemiology graduate program, or permission of instructor.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Critical thinking in epidemiology; principles and methods of study design; context for epidemiological investigations of human health.
Prerequisite:
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
This second level course will teach research trainees to apply methods taught in prior courses towards the development of a fundable research protocol and the analysis and interpretation of real epidemiologic data.
Prerequisite: Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 500, HCEP 502, or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 500, SPPH 502, and one of the following: SPPH 503, SPPH 506, SPPH 519 or SPPH 530.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus (Section 001)
Syllabus (Section 007)
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
The course will provide a framework for students to use epidemiological and other scientific evidence to make decisions about causation and to recommend policy actions.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Major quantitative research designs, measurement reliability and validity, common data sources used, internal and external validity, research proposals, and peer review.
Credit will be granted for only one of SPPH 506 or SPPH 548.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
SPPH 507 in conjunction with SPPH 607 is a required course for students in the MSc program. Students present and discuss their research and other topics of interest.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1
Syllabus
Includes a significant component of applied epidemiology and biostatistics in a field setting.
Prerequisite
SPPH 400, SPPH 502, SPPH 524, SPPH 525.
Concepts and techniques of measurement in epidemiological research. Topics covered include validity, reliability and misclassification, scale design and the construction of questionnaires and indices for both health outcomes and exposures.
Prerequisite
Either (a) HCEP 400 or (b) SPPH 400.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Collection and analysis of epidemiological data on cancer; genetic, occupational and other risk factors; analytic techniques; cancer control, prevention, screening, early detection and policy issues.
Prerequisite
SPPH 502 or equivalent.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Ethical considerations, intention-to-treat versus efficacy trials, principles of sampling and exclusion, methods of allocation and techniques of randomization, parallel versus cross over design, monitoring treatment outcomes, adverse effects, stopping rules, analytic techniques and data interpretation, and logistical issues in the management of clinical trials.
Prerequisite
Either (a) one of HCEP 502, HCEP 513 or (b) one of SPPH 502, SPPH 513
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Principles and methods of epidemiology are applied to clinical problems. Evaluation and design of laboratory and clinical tests and of therapeutic interventions.
Prerequisite
Either (a) one of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) one of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Methods and application of decision analysis to improve health from the perspective of the policy maker, health professional, and patient.
Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
This course provides students with a strong foundation in the theory of public health surveillance, covering both infectious and chronic diseases. Students get practical experience through the analysis of surveillance data and planning of a surveillance program.
Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
The course focuses on systematic review methodology so that students will develop an understanding of the key components of a review and acquire the key skills needed to carry out their own reviews.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Clinical Research Methods for Surgical Procedures
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Purposes, context, procedures, and relationships within qualitative health research and methodologies.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 2: Distributed Learning
No syllabus available
Epidemiology of viral, bacterial and parasitic infections with emphasis on the control of these infections in human populations. Immunization programs will be stressed.
Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating Traditional and Distributed Learning formats)
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 2: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Role of air, water, food, and solid waste as sources of human health risks; global environmental health issues; sustainability.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating Traditional and Distributed Learning formats)
Term 2: Traditional
No syllabus available
Term 2: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Global threats to human health stemming from conflict, poverty, and environmental degradation.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is jointly taught with INDS 502S
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
SPPH 524, Core Biological Concepts in Public Health, provides an overview on the biology (physiology and pathophysiology) of diseases relevant to public health. The course discusses common and relevant illnesses to public health using an organ system approach, exploring first the normal biology/physiology and then the pathophysiology of diseases. The lectures also present on the epidemiology, screening, diagnosis, interventions, and lifestyle related issues, discuss how these diseases influence individuals’ lives and public health initiatives, and explore illnesses from an individual’s as well as health care perspective.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning, but open to all students
Required for all MHSc students.
Theory, concepts, measurement, and practical skills using administrative data for analysis of health care systems.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Mechanism of action of commonly encountered occupational toxic agents; relevance of laboratory and epidemiological evidence.
Prerequisite
Permission of instructor.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional.
Syllabus
Occupational diseases; research, historical perspectives, and surveillance
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Scientific basis for the recognition, evaluation, and control of chemical, physical, and biological exposures; standard setting; exposure monitoring methods.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Experience of colonization; Indian Act; the histories and intergenerational impact of the residential school; child-welfare systems; communicable disease prevention; the challenge of ethical public health practice; and traditional healing.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Distributed Learning
No syllabus available
Indicators of maternal/newborn well-being across population subgroups, changing trends in obstetrical intervention, perinatal morbidity, and the analysis of perinatal data.
Prerequisites: SPPH 400, SPPH 502 Corequisite: SPPH 500.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is jointly taught with OBST 507 in Traditional and DL formats in alternate years.
Term 1
Syllabus
This course will review ethical discussions, principles and frameworks in relation to ethical issues that arise in population and public health. Ethical theory can help articulate the complexities of ethical issues and structure reasoning around the best responses. But there is no agreement about what ethical theory is the correct one, and different ethical theories emphasize different approaches to ethical concerns.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Summer Term only: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Examines the concept of evaluation in health services and how various methodological approaches can be used in evaluative studies.
Prerequisite
Either (a) all of HCEP 400, HCEP 502 or (b) all of SPPH 400, SPPH 502.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 2: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Economic evaluation of health service interventions and programs, with emphasis on methods and components of program costing.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Analysis of the evolution and structure of the Canadian health care system.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Practice and community-based (participatory) research related to health promotion, including its historical and philosophical roots. Application of social and behavioural theories to participatory research and the planning, implementation, and evaluation of community health promotion initiatives.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Resource allocation, economics and ethics based approaches for decision-making, uptake of evidence to inform resource use in health care.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2 (every other year): Traditional
Syllabus
Critical examination of strategies regarding addictive behaviours, substance use and related problems, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
We live in an increasingly complex, fast-paced, and volatile world. The stakes have never been higher and it is no longer sufficient for scientists to throw information into the public sphere and hope that someone is able to understand and apply it. Indeed, it is now clear that scientists have a moral obligation to spend as much time, thought, and effort in the communication of their knowledge products as they do in the generation of the knowledge itself. If scientific voices are to be heard above the din, and, more importantly, used for personal, public, and political decision-making, then efficient and effective communication is essential. However, science communication, and particularly the communication of risk in the scientific context, is difficult to do well, particularly without the appropriate training.
In SPPH 552, students will be introduced to the principles of science communication as well as the theory and practice of risk communication, specifically. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide students with the knowledge, practice, and mentorship required to develop and implement impactful risk messages for a variety of scenarios and applications. The course will cover the three main pillars of risk communication: 1) the ‘mission’ (e.g., communications objectives, identifying, understanding, and adapting to the target audience and context, ethical implications of risk communication, etc.), 2) the ‘message’ (e.g., use of different communication theories and frameworks, such as the Hazard vs. Outrage framework, nudge theory, and narratives, to craft a risk message), and 3) the ‘medium’ (e.g., how to select and implement a variety of communications tools, including social media, pitches, press releases, briefing notes, art, etc.).
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
The work of public health professionals in British Columbia is increasingly dependent on large and complex datasets from sources such as Vital Statistics, Medical Services Plan (MSP) billings, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) hospital Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), and PharmaNet. The overarching objective of this course is to provide students with practical, hands-on experience cleaning, preparing, linking, and managing the types of health data likely to be encountered in workplaces as a public health professional. It will use the principles of computer science to ensure correctness, efficiency, security, and reproducibility in all stages of data management and subsequent analyses.
The Traditional course is offered using the ‘R’ programming language, which is a flexible, open-source tool used for data management and analysis across many disciplines.
The Distributed Learning course is offered using the ‘SAS’ statistical analysis software, which is is the traditional standard for working with large datasets in the healthcare industry.
Completion or co-completion of SPPH400 is recommended, but not required.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Severe addiction and mental illness and the systemic context in which they occur.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Summer: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Injury epidemiology; surveillance; development, implementation, and evaluation techniques of preventive strategies; determinants of health; social marketing; injury policy; evidence-based prevention strategies; utilization of injury datasets.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Distributed Learning
Syllabus
Industrial hygiene and environmental exposure monitoring, methods, and instrumentation, and theory. Laboratories demonstrate workplace sampling and analysis techniques.
Prerequisite
SPPH 535
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
No syllabus available
Industrial ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems, respiratory protection, chemical protective clothing.
Prerequisite
SPPH 535.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Human factors in workplace design, anthropometry, work physiology. This course applies knowledge about human capabilities to the design of work, including workspace design, work methods, work organization. Topics include systems design and task analysis, anthropometry and workspace design, upper-limb musculoskeletal injuries and back injuries, shift-work, skilled work and mental activity, psychosocial and organizational aspects of work and ergonomics regulations and standards.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating with SPPH 568 Safety)
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Application of occupational hygiene principles using field investigations, critical appraisal of results, and communication with labour and management.
Prerequisite
SPPH 562
Corequisite
SPPH 563.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
Determinants of exposure, sampling strategies.
Prerequisite
Introductory statistics.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Traditional: Term 2
No syllabus available
Safety management; systems analysis; accident investigation; collection of accident data; fault trees; total loss control.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught in alternate years (alternating with SPPH 565 Ergonomics)
Term 1: Traditional
No syllabus available
Health issues associated with health and the built environment; design of urban form for non-motorized transportation for the improvement of personal and environmental health; factors that impact transportation choices; applying findings from research to specific transportation planning processes and projects.
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is jointly taught with PLAN 579.
Term 1: Traditional
No syllabus available
SPPH 580 (3/6) Directed Studies
SPPH 580P (3) Bayesian biostatistics
Term Offered and Syllabus
This course is taught every other year.
Term 2: Traditional
No syllabus available
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
This is a foundational course for those entering the global health stream. Within the context of least developed countries or resource constrained populations this course will address burden of disease estimates, key indicators and principal determinants of health, global intervention strategies, public, NGO and private sector players in global health and their performance.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
This course is intended to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the important practical skills and key competencies that are required to be successful working in the field of global health.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Summer Term: Blended Course - online learning plus one weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) of face-to-face all-day meetings during the term
Syllabus
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
This course will serve as an introduction to the fundamental concepts of nutrition with particular emphasis to pediatric populations.
Term Offered and Course Outline
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Since the early 1990s, Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) has emerged as a highly influential movement that has impacted almost all health related disciplines, including population and public health. At the core of EBM is a set of beliefs about what constitutes good evidence for the effectiveness of health interventions. Consequently, it is an excellent example of what some philosophers refer to as a coupled ethical-epistemic issue. That is, what makes something good evidence for the effectiveness of a health intervention is not only a scientific or statistical question, but is also linked to the deeply value-laden aim of improving health in both clinical and population settings. This course, then, focuses on coupled ethical-epistemic issues arising from EBM, and their implications for population and public health. Specific topics to be addressed include:
- Ethical and value aspects of the concept of evidence.
- Potential rationales and shortcomings of evidence hierarchies commonly used in EBM.
- The role of evidence-based approaches in population health, wherein randomized clinical trials are often infeasible.
- Susceptibility of EBM to sponsorship bias and disease mongering, and approaches for countering these.
Term Offered and Course Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
This course is intended to provide students with an understanding and substantive knowledge of the epidemiology and burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their determinants in Canada and globally, introduce students to population-based NCD models and teach the principles of developing and implementing policies and programs for the prevention of NCDs
Term Offered and Course Syllabus
Term 2: Traditional
Syllabus
Applied project on approved topic based on practicum: requires a written and oral report.
MSc Thesis
Required course in PhD program. Topics of current interest will be presented and discussed by students and various faculty.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1
Syllabus
Research approaches in the area of population and public health; focus on developing research questions and the centrality of research questions in conducting research.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
The purpose of the course is to develop competency in applying causal inference methodology to observational data.
The course links concepts and practical skills for making causal inference in epidemiology, health services research, and studies in occupational and environmental health. The course formally defines concepts of causality and causal effect, and explicates conditions for attributing observed associations to causal relationship. Then, the course offers learning of causal methodology through practical applications to real data.
Learning from the course, students will be able to produce causal diagrams for thesis projects, to refine research questions, to identify variables for adjustment, to detail the plan of analysis, and to estimate direct and indirect treatment effects with data from their own projects.
The course will benefit those who analyze data from patient registries, administrative records, hospital discharges, or from study cohorts.
Term Offered and Syllabus
Term 1: Traditional
Syllabus
SPPH 699: Doctoral Dissertation (0)
SPPH 570 (3) / SPPH 710 (0): Current Issues in Public Health Practice