Concentration in Health Equity and Social Justice
Health Equity and Social Justice Concentration
The DrPH concentration in Health Equity and Social Justice is an interdepartmental concentration focused on understanding and addressing the multiple determinants of health, particularly among disadvantaged and marginalized groups in both high income, and low and middle income settings.
Through the concentration students learn about innovative epidemiological, social and behavioral tools to assess population health and influences upon it, and students acquire skills relevant to the design, implementation and evaluation of health programs designed to benefit the poor and marginalized groups, including the development and management of intersectoral partnerships.
This concentration is well suited to those seeking leadership positions in agencies concerned with planning and implementing projects designed to meet public health needs.
Concentration Co-directors
The DrPH Health Equity and Social Justice concentration co-directors are:
Please click their links to learn more about their research interests, departmental and center or institute affiliations, and contact information.
Concentration Competencies
| 1. | Employ bioethics and human rights concepts relating to equity and social justice in analysis of public health programs and policies. |
| 2. | Advocate with and on behalf of disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals and communities to improve their health and wellbeing and build their capacity. |
| 3. | Conduct assessments of health equity in communities and systems to identify the behavioral, cultural, social, environmental and organizational determinants that promote or compromise health in disadvantaged groups. |
| 4. | Identify evidence-informed strategies, and measurable goals and objectives, to promote health equity and social justice. |
| 5. | Implement effective, efficient and culturally sensitive strategies to improve health equity and social justice. |
Concentration Curriculum
Students are expected to complete a minimum of 28 credits of concentration-specific courses. These courses broadly address pedagogy under the following categories:
- Concepts, philosophical bases and methodological issues in HESJ
- Design and implementation of interventions (programs, policies and practice) for addressing HESJ issues
- Research and evaluation methods applicable for HESJ
- Conceptual and philosophical basis electives for HESJ
*Courses taken to fulfill foundational requirements may not be applied to fulfill concentration requirements.
Course Requirements for the Health Equity and Social Justice Concentration (min. 28 credits)
I. Required Courses (15 credits):
| Course # | Course Title | Credits |
| 410.605 | Fundamental Tools for Promoting Health Equity | 3 |
| 221.656 | Conceptual and Evidential Foundations of Health Equity and Social Justice | 3 |
| 410.630 | Implementation and Sustainability of Community-Based Health Programs | 3 |
| 340.667 | Health Equity Research Methods to Address Social Determinants of Health | 4 |
| TBD | DrPH Health Equity and Social Justice Concentration Seminar | 2 |
II. Design and Implementation of Interventions for Health Equity and Social Justice: take 3 or more credits from the below courses.
| Course # | Title | Credits |
| 330.647 | Childhood Victimization: An Overview of Public Health Efforts | 1 |
| 330.610 | Knowledge for Managing County and Local Mental Health, Substance Use, and Developmental Disability Authority | 1 |
| 221.625 | Evaluation Plans for Primary Health Care Projects in Low and Middle Income Countries: Evaluating Adequacy of District Level Implementation | 3 |
| 330.681 | Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of Refugees after Resettlement in High Income Countries | 2 |
| 188.694 | Health of Vulnerable Worker Populations | 3 |
| 380.681 | Strategic Leadership Principles and Tools for Health System Transformation in Developing Countries | 4 |
| 380.768 | Selected Topics in Women's Health and Women's Health Policy | 4 |
| 410.620 | Program Planning for Health Behavior Change | 3 |
| 180.600 | Special Topics in Health and Human Rights: Public Health Implication of Health as Human Right | 2 |
| 410.668 | Policy Intervention for Health Behavior Change | 3 |
| 380.663 | Gender-based Violence Research, Practice and Policy: Issues and Current Controversies | 3 |
| 410.672 | Organizing for Public Health with the Six Steps to Effective Advocacy: Turning Public Will into Public Policy | 3 |
| 380.623 | Adolescent Health and Development | 3 |
| 380.750 | Migration and Health: Concepts, Rates and Relationship | 3 |
| 221.688 | Social and Behavioral Foundations of Primary Health Care | 4 |
| 221.635 | Advances in Community-Oriented Primary Health Care | 3 |
| 380.765 | Preventing Infant Mortality and Promoting the Health of Women, Infants and Children | 3 |
| 380.761 | Sexually Transmitted Infections in Public Health Practice | 4 |
| 221.624 | Urban Health in Developing Countries | 3 |
| 380.725 | The Social Context of Adolescent Health and Development | 3 |
| 330.680 | Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental Disorders in Low and Middle Income Countries | 3 |
| 310.635 | Policing and Public Health | 3 |
III. Research and Evaluation Methods for Health Equity and Social Justice: take 3 or more credits from the below courses.
| Course # | Title | Credits |
| 410.635 | Applications of Innovative Methods in Health Equity Research | 4 |
| 309.631 | Population Health Informatics | 3 |
| 313.790 | Introduction to Economic Evaluation | 3 |
| 221.645 | Large-Scale Effectiveness Evaluations of Health Programs | 3 |
| 308.603 | Demographic Methods for Public Health | 4 |
| 380.611 | Fundamentals of Program Evaluation | 4 |
| 380.604 | Life Course Perspectives on Health | 4 |
| 380.604 | Nutrition and Growth in Maternal and Child Health | 2 |
| 380.711 | Issues in Survey Research Design | 3 |
| 380.651 | Methods and Measures in Population Studies | 4 |
| 340.666 | Foundations of Social Epidemiology | 3 |
| 221.620 | Applying Summary Measures of Population Health to Improve Health System | 4 |
| 221.722 | Quality Assurance Management Methods for Developing Countries | 4 |
| 330.621 | Mixed Methods for Research in Public Health | 2 |
| 330.657 | Statistics for Psychosocial Research: Measurement | 4 |
| 140.664 | Causal Inference in Medicine and Public Health 1 | 4 |
| 340.613 | Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials | 2 |
| 340.706 | Methods and Applications of Cohort Studies | 2 |
| 223.632 | Methods for Planning and Implementing Evaluation of Large-Scale Health Programs in Low and Middle Income Countries | 4 |
| 309.712 | Assessing Health Status and Patient Outcomes | 3 |
| 410.671 | Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods | 3 |
| 410.673 | Introduction to Qualitative Data Analysis for Public Health | 2 |
| 410.615 | Research Design in Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| 309.616 | Introduction to Methods for Health Services Research and Evaluation | 2 |
IV. Conceptual and Philosophical Bases Electives: take electives from the below courses, or any of those listed above which are not already being used to fulfill other requirements, to meet the 28 credits required for the concentration. Special elective courses outside these options will require advisor approval prior to registration.
| Course# | Title | Credits |
| 221.654 | Systems Thinking in Public Health: Applications of Key Methods and Approaches | |
| 700.622 | Bioethics, Human Rights, and Global Health | 3 |
| 380.604 | Life Course Perspectives on Health | 4 |
| 318.623 | Social Policy for Vulnerable Population in the United States | 3 |
| 308.610 | The Political Economy of Social Inequalities and Its Consequences for Health and Quality of Life | 3 |
| 180.625 | Community-driven Epidemiology and Environmental Environmental Justice | 3 |
| 410.864 | Critical Issues in Health Disparities (max. 2 credits) | 1 |
| 550.844 | Current Issues in Public Health: COVID-19 Pandemic Response | 2 |
| 410.619 | Social Justice: Policy, Practice and Research | 4 |
| 410.683 | Global Perspectives on LGBT Health | 3 |