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Public Health

The Public Health major at Miami University is a field of study focused on preventing illness and promoting health in individuals, communities, and society as a whole. This program builds on the university’s strengths in 3 areas: human disease and epidemiology (CAS); health policy and administration (CAS); and public health promotion and education (EHS). The major is unique in that it is housed in both the College of Education, Health and Society (EHS) and the College of Arts and Science (CAS).

What is Public Health?

Public Health is a field of study focused on preventing illness and promoting health in individuals, communities, and society as a whole. The Public Health major at Miami builds on the university's strengths in 3 areas:

  • Human Disease and Epidemiology
  • Health Policy and Administration
  • Public Health Promotion

Bachelor of Arts in Public Health (CAS)

The Public Health major is unique at Miami in that it is housed in both the College of Education, Health and Society (CEHS) and the College of Arts and Science (CAS). Students choosing to complete the concentration in Human Disease and Epidemiology or Health Policy and Administration will complete all of the requirements of the College of Arts and Science.

petri dish

Human Disease and Epidemiology

This concentration utilizes basic concepts in biology and focuses on the factors that cause illness and promote health in human populations. This concentration explores differences in health across time and population subgroups as well as the reasons for those differences.

Contact:
Dr. Kelly Abshire
(513) 529-5422
abshirk@MiamiOH.edu
Student with employer at white board writing information during internship

Health Policy and Administration

This concentration focuses on critical policy and programmatic issues in public health. The emphasis of this concentration is to examine how public policy impacts the public health delivery system and how administrators work to develop and implement programs in the field of public health.

Contact:
Dr. Sara McLaughlin
(513) 529-2658
mclaugsj@miamioh.edu

Other Academic Information

Core Courses

MBI 131 - Community Health Perspectives (3) MPF

Discussion of community health primarily from the perspective of leading causes of disease
and death in the U.S. Exploration of the impact of environment, behavior, and disease,
including prevention and treatment strategies, on human health, public resources, and
quality of life for society.
Does not count as credit toward an A.B. or B.S. in microbiology.
IVA. CAS-D.

MBI 361- Epidemiology (3) MPT

Consideration of the epidemic nature, etiology, and characteristics of infectious and organic
diseases, and methods used to analyze their control within the framework of environmental
and population variables.
Prerequisite: 2 hours of microbiology or biology or permission of instructor.

IES/KNH 441 - Environmental Public Health

This course is a study of the effects of human-made and natural physical, biological, and chemical agents on human health. The course explores the interaction of population health, demographics, and environmental determinants of disease. The course covers the basic principles of epidemiology, exposure, risk characterization, disease pathogenesis, and diagnostic testing, as well as the public works and regulatory controls used to limit exposure.

GTY 365 - Social Policy and Programs in Gerontology (3)

Provides practical information about working in programs serving older people and an aging population across the life course. Topics include social policy and old age, health policy and programs, federal healthcare reform and comparative social policy.
Prerequisite: GTY 154.

KNH 125 - Introduction to Public Health (3) MPF

Public health is a multi-disciplinary field aimed at reducing preventable morbidity and premature mortality, and promoting a higher quality of life in populations and groups through health intervention. This course is designed to introduce the basic tenets, applications, and foci of public health, including integrating public health with other health professions. It will provide a history of public health, an overview of the core disciplines, current events and issues in the field.

KNH 218 - Applied Health Behavior Change (3)

Applied Health Behavior Change focuses on the role of theory in shaping research and practice in health promotion and education. This course will provide an overview of social and behavioral science theories that are currently used to: 1) understand health related behaviors; and 2) guide development of interventions designed to prevent, reduce or eliminate major public health problems.

KNH 321 - National and Global Health Policy (3)

National and Global Health Policy provides students with an overview of the U.S. health care system, its components, and the policy challenges created by its organization. The course focuses on the major health policy institutions (nationally and globally) and important issues that cut across institutions, including private insurers and the federal/state financing programs. The course will also address mental health issues, disparities in access to care, the quality of care, structure of the delivery system, the challenges of long-term care and the aging of the population, including the drivers of cost growth.

STA 261 - Statistics (4) or STA 301 - Applied Statistics (3) MPT

STA 261

Course examines descriptive statistics, basic probability, random variables, binomial and probability distribution, tests of hypothesis, regression and correlation, and analysis of
variance. Course emphasis is on application.
Prerequisite: Math 102 or 104 or 120, or 3 years of college preparatory math.

STA 301

A first course in applied statistics including an introduction to probability, the development of estimation and hypothesis testing, and a focus on statistical methods and applications. Includes introduction to probability of events, random variable, binomial and normal distributions, mathematical expectation, sampling distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing. Statistical methods include one and two sample procedures for means and proportions, chi-square tests, analysis of variance, and linear regression.
Credit for graduation will not be given for more than one of ISA 205, STA 261, STA 301, or STA 368.
Prerequisite: Calculus I or II.

Learning Objectives

Public Health

Learning Objective Core Courses Addressing Objective
Identify and address the concepts of population health, and the basic processes, approaches, and interventions which focus on the major health-related needs and concerns of populations Introduction to Public Health
Social and Health Policy
Applied Health Behavior Change
Describe the basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy Social and Health Policy
Introduction to Public Health
Integrate the core elements of public health with a selected area of specialization to recognize how the field of public health applies to individuals, communities, and society overall Advanced Epidemiology Capstone (Concentration 1)
Internship Capstone (Concentration 2)
Internship or Research Capstone (Concentrations 3 and 4)

Human Disease and Epidemiology (Concentration 1)

Learning Objective Courses Addressing Objective
Describe the underlying science of human health and disease including opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the life course Introduction to Public Health
Epidemiology
Human Physiology
Introduction to Cell Biology
Biological Concepts
Demonstrate the use of research tools and analytic methods to critically analyze, monitor, and assess the health status of populations and current public health-related issues Epidemiology
Advanced Epidemiology
Microorganisms and Human Disease
Doctors, Clinics, and Epidemics
Immunology Principles

Health Policy and Administration (Concentration 2)

Learning Objective Courses Addressing Objective
Evaluate the impact of policies and legislation on individual and population health Policies and Programs in an Aging Society
Public Policy Analysis
Public Administration
Explain the fundamental characteristics and organizational structure of the U.S. health systems as well as the differences in systems in other countries Social Policy and Programs in Gerontology
Social and Health Public Health Policy
Policy and Programs in an Aging Society
Developing Solutions in Global Health
Health Economics
Public Policy Analysis

Contact the Public Health Program

143 Upham Hall
100 Bishop Circle
Oxford, OH 45056