Course Descriptions
Communicating Public Health Effectively
1pm - 4pm, July 14-18, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 511 WARF
This one week course is designed to help students improve their ability to communicate with different audiences. From the news media to legislators, and from written to oral communication, students will learn strategies for health communication based on scientific and practical recommendations. Students will learn how to communicate public health information to nonscientific audiences more effectively. The knowledge and skills learned in this course will assist students with planning and executing communication activities carried out in the practice of public health. The course is taught by Patrick Remington, MD, MPH.
Field Work Seminar (Graduate students only)
9am - 12pm, August 11-15, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 1222 HSLC
The purpose of this course is to prepare MPH students for participation in the MPH Program’s Field Experience and Culminating Experience, and thus only MPH students will be allowed to enroll. Students will learn basic skills to assist them in the implementation of a MPH field experience project. Students must take this course prior to beginning their field experience making it particularly relevant for dual degree students complete the requirements of the MPH Program in one calendar year. The course is based on the temporary course, Field Work Seminar PHS:650-039 and is taught by Barbara Duerst.
Global Environmental Public Health
1pm - 4pm, July 21-25, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 758 WARF
This course will be taught by Dr. Jonathan Patz to fit into the Summer Institute format. The week-long course will focus on global scale challenges, health and the urban landscape, health and agricultural sustainability, and environmental health policy. Students will create pertinent environmental news portfolios, develop interviews and message boxes, and create an op ed for a newspaper or create an executive summary for policy makers to meet the requirements of this course.
Health Insurance Coverage and State Health Reform
1pm - 4pm, July 21-25, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 511 WARF
This one week course will be taught by Donna Friedsam, MPH, Associate Director for Health Policy in the UW Population Health Institute, along with faculty and expert guest speakers from the practice arena. The course will focus on the state’s role in health care coverage, trends in public and private insurance coverage, and current issues and debates about reform nationally and in Wisconsin.
Introduction to Social Marketing in Public Health
9am - 12pm, July 21-25, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 511 WARF
This course is designed to give students an orientation to social marketing and its specific applications in public health. It is appropriate for current and future practitioners in the public health field. Class sessions will combine didactic presentations with group discussions and in-class exercises. The course will be taught by one of the Department’s Honorary Fellows, Dr. Robert McDermott, visiting professor from the University of South Florida.
Issues in Tobacco Use and Control
9am - 12pm, August 11-15, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 511 WARF
This course will introduce participants to tobacco control science including policies and programs for prevention, control and treatment as related to various populations. The course will be taught by David Ahrens and several Public Health Sciences staff members.
Leadership Principles and Public Health Practice
1pm - 4pm, August 18-22, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 758 WARF
This course will examine the definitions, background, theoretical foundations and general nature of leadership and leadership styles and practice and will be taught by Frederick J. Wenzel, MBA, FACMPE, Assistant Professor at the University of St. Thomas.
Survey Methods for Public Health Professionals
9am - 12pm, July 14-18, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 758 WARF
This course is designed to help public health students, as future producers and consumers of health survey data, understand and critically evaluate health surveys and their results. This class will give students an overview of the skills necessary to design and conduct health surveys. The course briefly examines the concepts and principles of survey design. Topics include: components of a survey design, general concepts of sampling and total survey error, question and questionnaire design, modes of data collection, self-administered questionnaires, and issues in planning and implementing surveys. Instructors: R. Cradock, J. Dykema, PhD, K. Elver, N.C. Schaeffer, PhD, J. Stevenson, T. Thompson-Colon, PhD, K. Velyvis.
Survey of Public Health Disaster Management
9am - 12pm, August 18-22, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 511 WARF
This course is designed for physicians, veterinarians, public health officers, or graduate students aspiring to hold positions responsible for medical emergency management activities in order for them to prepare and implement emergency response plans (This is an identified core public health competency). It will include a discussion of domestic and foreign emergencies and disasters and planning for their efficient public health response. Although its primary focus will be on human populations, this course will also cover animal issues in the context of zoonotic disease outbreaks, human evacuation planning, and animal epidemics and their impact on public health perception and the safety of the food supply. Initially offered in the spring of 2007 as a semester long course, this course will be revised to fit the 1 week, concentrated time-frame of the Summer Institute. The course is instructed by Dr. Ty Vannieuwenhoven, an epidemiologist, emergency coordinator, and Incident Command System instructor and by Dr. Tracy Buchman, the UW Hospital Safety Officer and a health administrator and will feature several expert guest lecturers.
Update in Emerging Infectious Diseases Affecting Public Health
9am - 12pm, July 21-25, 2008 (MTWRF), Room 1335 HSLC
This course, is a brand new course created for the purpose of the Summer Institute and will be taught by Dr. George Mejicano, SMPH. The course focuses on emerging infectious diseases, infection control, global health issues, zoonotic infections, and public health prevention and preparedness. The course will feature guest lecturers including Dr. Dennis Maki, Dr. Carla Alvarado, Dr. Christopher Olsen, and others.
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health designates this educational activity for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Accreditation Statement – The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Writing for Scholarly Publication
9am - 12pm, July 28-August 1, 2008 (MWF) & August 4-7, 2008 (MW), Room 511 WARF
This course, also taught by Dr. Robert McDermott focuses on the study of the development of skills and opportunities that culminate in publishable works in public health and other health science-related professional journals, area-specific journals, cross-disciplinary journals, and other publications. There will be an emphasis on writing, editing, reviewing, and other professional development skills that culminate in the publication in peer-reviewed professional journals and other publishing outlets. This is an important skill-development course for professional growth and survival in the academic world or anyplace where written communication is a necessary job-related task. This course will not follow the typical course schedule of a three hour block over a one week period, but is proposed to be taught mornings every other day for a two week period to enable students to synthesize and practice the writing skills they have learned in the course.