Fall Institute 2021 Courses | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

November 1-5, 2021

188.682.98 A Built Environment for a Healthy and Sustainable Future (3 credits)

Pre-recorded sessions
Live via Zoom November 1-4, 2021: 2:00 pm -7:00 pm CET / 8:00 am -1 pm EST
Instructors: Shima Hamidi, Laia Palència and Marta Olabarria
Registration Fee: 420 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $3,699
Enrollment Maximum: 30

This course is intended for anyone interested in learning about how the built environment affects our health and well-being. We will address some rural and agricultural land use issues, but most of the course will focus on the urban built environment and transportation infrastructure. We will explore ways to change the urban built environment to contribute fewer greenhouse gases and to adapt to a changing climate. With more than half of the global population now living in cities, this is a timely topic.

Addresses the role that the built environment plays in public health. Specifically examines how building design, community planning and design, land use, and transportation networks contribute to energy use, water supply degradation, climate change, ecosystem degradation, and public health. Explores the contributions of suburban sprawl to adverse environmental and public health outcomes. Also examines how the built environment could and must change if we are to stabilize the climate and move into a sustainable future.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation and a mid-course assignment. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final assignment due no later than December 22, 2021.

550.608.98 Problem Solving in Public Health (4 credits)

November 2, 3,4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 2021
Live via Zoom, 2:00 pm -7:00 pm CET/ 8:00 am -1:00 pm EST
Instructors: Cyrus Engineer and Brian Wahl
Registration Fee: 560 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $4932
Enrollment Maximum: 40. This course is only open to newly matriculated JHU MPH students only.

This course serves as an integrated introduction to the field of public health, offering definitions of health and public health, a comparison of the fields of public health and medicine, and an introduction to a broad array of current public health issues. The main focus of the course is to help students develop an effective, coherent approach to solving public health problems. Public health work is rarely conducted in isolation: Students will work in teams to develop their skills in the use of a public health framework for addressing public health challenges—and opportunities.

The Problem Solving framework used in the course contains a series of sequential steps: defining the problem; measuring its magnitude; understanding the key determinants; identifying and developing intervention and prevention strategies; setting priorities and recommending policies; implementing intervention strategies; and evaluating the interventions. Effective communication strategies are critical at all stages of the Problem-Solving framework, and the human rights impact of each step is actively considered.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation, small group work and group presentation. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated based on a final paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

Fall Institute Workshop Offerings

Note: For the Fall Institute of 2021, workshops are open to only researchers and staff of the Barcelona Public Health Agency and specifically invited guests. All workshops will be held from 9:00 am -6:30 pm CET. For questions regarding workshop logistics, please contact Ms. Aeve Ribbons via email at aeve.ribbons@upf.edu.

300.856.98 Workshop: Community Participation and Engagement During Covid in Barcelona

November 4, 2021
Live via Zoom
Instructors: Sara Tolosa, Iago Rodriguez, Ana Fernandez, Noelia Vazquez and Douglas Storey

This workshop will examine community participation and engagement during Covid in the city of Barcelona. The workshop will focus on methodologies of how to maintain community engagement.

Workshops are intended to be hands-on opportunities for employees and researchers of the Barcelona Public Health Agency to examine a topic of particular interest or application to the city of Barcelona. The workshops are not open to others this year.

November 8-12, 2021

308.842.98 Emerging Dimensions of Social Determinants of Health Inequalities: A Transdisciplinary Integrated Approach (3 credits)

Pre-recorded sessions
Live via Zoom November 8-10. 2021; 2:00 pm -7:00 pm CET/ 8:00 am -1 pm EST
Instructor: Joan Benach
Registration Fee: 420 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $3699
Enrollment Maximum: 25

Although there is abundant literature on the analysis of Social Determinants of Health Inequities (SDHI), most research approaches are based on limited risk factor analyses and other reductionistic linear behavioral and biological perspectives. The advance of ‘complexity science’ and ‘systems thinking’ across a broad range of practices and tools (e.g., system dynamics, network analysis, and agent-based modeling) allows one to consider the causes of and solutions for complex challenges such as obesity and addiction, which follow complex systems characteristics such as nonlinearity, feedback loops, or chaotic behavior.

This course will introduce a novel transdisciplinary approach to SDHI. An in-depth understanding of macro, meso and micro levels, all of which generate health inequities, will be discussed, helping to prepare students to examine the changes, causes, and potential policies to address systemic public health and equity-related subjects and the complex interactions between biology, behaviors, society and politics. The course will integrate a broad range of disciplines, ‘systems thinking’ practices, and methodological pluralism. Research advances, including explanatory case studies and the evaluation of policies and interventions to reduce health inequities, will be reviewed.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation and group presentation. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by an individual position paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

308.610.98 The Political Economy of Social Inequalities and Its Consequences for Health and Quality of Life (3 credits)

Pre-recorded Sessions
Live via Zoom November 8-10, 2021, 3:00 pm -7:00 pm CET/ 9:00 am -1 pm EST)
Instructor: Vicente Navarro
Registration Fee: 420 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $3699
Enrollment Maximum: 35

This course focuses on the economic, financial, political, and social causes of the growth of social inequalities, in both developed and underdeveloped countries, and its consequences for health and quality of life. A special emphasis is given to the analysis of public policies that have been developed by national and international agencies and how they have impacted the growth of those inequalities. The course also analyzes social class, race, and gender inequalities and their reproduction through national and international policies. The increasing concentration of power and the way it appears in health and vital statistics is emphasized. This course requires active participation of the students in the discussion of the issues involved.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on active class participation, including position debates. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

380.623.98 Adolescent Health and Development (3 credits)

November 8-11, 2021
Live via Zoom 1:00 pm -7:00 pm CET/7:00 am -1:00 pm EST)
Instructors: Robert Blum, Esther Sánchez and Gemma Serral
Registration Fee: 420 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $3699
Enrollment Maximum: 30

This course will include lectures and research findings that present biological, psychological, and social aspects of normal adolescent growth and development. In addition, a framework for viewing a variety of adolescent health problems and their social and biological effects will be discussed. The course also considers programmatic needs of the adolescent.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation and intervention options. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

340.651.98 Emerging Infections (2 credits)

November 10-12, 2021
Live via Zoom 2:00 pm -7:00 pm CET /8:00 am -1 pm EST
Instructors: Emily Gurley, Tomás Montalvo, Laura Barahona, Sandra Franco and Lilas Mercuriali
Registration Fee: 280 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $ 2466
Enrollment Maximum: 30

This course will explore the factors promoting the emergence of new infectious diseases and the re-emergence of some of the more traditional infections. We will evaluate agent, host, environmental and ecological factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Instructors will present methods of surveillance and early recognition of several important emerging infections and lecturers with considerable experience in the investigation of specific emerging infections discuss the issues specific emerging infections.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

330.674.98 Suicide as a Public Health Problem (3 credits)

Pre-recorded sessions
Live via Zoom November 10 -12, 2021, 2:00 pm -7:00 pm CET/8:00 am -1:00 pm EST
Instructors: Holly Wilcox and Jordi Alonso
Registration Fee: 420 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $3699
Enrollment Maximum: 30

Suicide is a major public health problem, over 40,000 people in the Unites States, and over 1 million worldwide, die by suicide each year. This course will introduce students to the following content areas regarding suicide: history and theories; epidemiology; etiological factors and mechanisms; clinical phenomenology and co-morbid disorders; assessment of suicidal behaviors; special populations; preventive and treatment interventions.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation and a group presentation. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

300.713.98 Research and Evaluation Methods in Health Policy (3 credits)

Pre-recorded sessions
Live via Zoom November 9 -18, 2021, 2:00 pm -5:00 pm CET/8:00 am -11:00 am EST
Instructors: Cassandra Crifasi, Xavier Continente and Maria José López
Registration Fee: 420 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $3699
Enrollment Maximum: 30

Public health is a science-based profession. An important part of that science is determining whether public health interventions achieve their intended objectives in practice. Whether your career goal is to become a researcher, a teacher, or a practitioner in public health, it is critical that you understand the principles and practices of that determination, to ensure that the interventions pursued or advocated for are in fact evidence based.

This course introduces basic principles and methods for undertaking scientifically rigorous research with a special emphasis on evaluations of interventions intended to improve health and safety. It will focus on evaluations of policy, health care delivery systems, and public health programs. Topics include the evaluation and health policy analysis; common research designs and their strengths and weaknesses; and internal and external validity with the intent of giving students the fundamental tools needed to conduct health policy evaluations and/or making them better consumers of research conducted by others.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on active class participation and in-class exercises. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final exam due no later than December 22, 2021.

November 15-19, 2021

317.864.98 Advanced Topics in Climate Change Policy (2 credits)

Pre-recorded sessions
Live via Zoom November 15-16, 2021, 2:00 pm -7:00 pm CET/ 8:00 am -1 pm EST
Instructor: Mary Sheehan
Registration Fee: 280 Euros
JHU Academic Credit Tuition: $2466
Enrollment Maximum: None

This course focuses on advanced issues at the forefront of climate change and public health policy and practice and takes a complex system view that traverses the boundaries between sectors, spans government levels, and integrates perspectives across public and private actors.

This year’s topics include the new IPCC report, heat-health plans, compound extreme weather impacts and migration and refugees and slow-onset climate challenges.

All students enrolled in this course are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the course. Students enrolled in this course will be evaluated for receipt of the certificate of participation based on class participation and a paper outline. Students taking this course for Johns Hopkins or UPF academic credit will be further evaluated by a final paper due no later than December 22, 2021.

Fall Institute Workshop Offerings

Note: For the Fall Institute of 2021, workshops are open to only researchers and staff of the Barcelona Public Health Agency and specifically invited guests. For questions regarding workshop logistics, please contact Ms. Aeve Ribbons via email at aeve.ribbons@upf.edu.

300.857.98 Workshop: Co-Housing and Its Impact on Health in Barcelona

November 17-18, 2021
Live via Zoom November 17-18, 2021; 2:00 pm -5:00 pm CET/ 8:00 am -11:00 am EST
Instructors: Ana Novoa and Shima Hamidi

This workshop will examine housing in the city of Barcelona. The workshop will focus on options of co-housing, co-operative housing, communal housing and their impact on health.

Coming Spring 2022

Workshop: Methods for Analysis of Interventions in Observational Studies in Barcelona

Spring 2022
Instructors: Alvaro Muñoz and Xavier Bartoll

This workshop will explore advanced methods useful for the design and analysis of cohort studies in public health. Focus will be on methods for the analysis of interventions in observational studies such as confounding, individual effectiveness and population effectiveness.