Elective Courses

Remaining 4 units may be taken from the courses list as below offered in the MPH curriculum. Some courses may not be offered during every academic year. Please contact the MPH office for the latest information.

Biostatistics

BIOS5001 Introduction to Biostatistics

3 units (Compulsory MPH Course)

This course introduces basic statistical concepts and methods. The emphasis of the course is on practical applications: choosing the correct method for particular datasets and correct interpretation of the analysis results. Examples from different disciplines of public health including chronic and infectious disease epidemiology, environmental health, and health policy will be used to illustrate the use of biostatistical methods in answering important public health questions.

BIOS5002 Linear Models

2 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001)

This course will provide a foundation for the practical analysis of data for which the primary outcome is a continuous variable. The course will begin with an introduction to 'real-world' data analysis with a motivating example looking at predictors of infant birthweight in Hong Kong. Methods for analysis of variance and regression analysis for continuous outcomes will then be discussed in detail with an emphasis on correct use of these methods in practice.

BIOS5003 Categorical and Survival Data Analysis

3 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001)

This course will provide a foundation for the practical analyses of categorical and time to event (survival) data. The course will cover the use of logistic regression models for use with binary outcomes and Cox proportional hazards regression models for time to event outcomes. Practical application of these models will be emphasised and model building and the checking of model assumptions will be covered in detail.

BIOS5004 ICH - GCP Standard of Clinical Research

1 unit

The objective of this course is to provide background of regulation of drugs, devices and biological development. We will apply the principles of ICH-Good Clinical Practice in clinical research and discuss the role and responsibilities of key parties described in the document. We will describe the requirements of essential documentation and adverse event reporting. Scenarios will be given to the students to strengthen their understanding of practical application of ICH-GCP to the clinical trial process. (Pre-requisite or recommended background: 1. Familiar with Declaration of Helsinki; 2. Clinical Research Personnel)

BIOS5005 Clinical Trials

1.5 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001)

The objective of this course is to provide students with a theoretical and practical knowledge of the issues involved in the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of randomized clinical trials. Attention will be given to the problems of conducting clinical trials in both single centre and multi-centre, and covers trials initiated by industry as well as trials in academic setting. Students will be trained to develop skills to properly design clinical trial, critically analyze and carry out research and to communicate effectively.

BIOS5007 Pharmaceutical Statistics Computing in SAS

2 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001 and basic programming knowledge)

The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the SAS software for pharmaceutical application. The course starts with the introduction of basic SAS skills followed by using SAS to draw tables, figures, and listings (TFL) and to analyze medical data. Practical scenarios will be given to students to understand the needs of SAS in pharmaceutical industry.

BIOS6001 Topics in Linear Models

2 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001)

This course will cover advanced statistical modeling techniques for use with complex datasets. Topics will include Poisson and Negative Binomial regression for count outcomes, repeated measures ANOVA, GEE models and multilevel models for longitudinal data and multilevel models for clustered data. Upon completion of this course students will understand the reasons that more complex statistical models need to be used for datasets for which the assumptions of linear or logistic regression are not valid, such as datasets with ordinal or count outcomes, longitudinal or clustered data, and data with non-linear associations between variables. They will understand which models should be used for each of these situations, how to fit and interpret these models, and how to check the assumptions of these models.

BIOS6002 Topics in Multivariate Analysis

1.5 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001)

This course will cover methods importance in the analysis of data collected from questionnaires. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (under the framework of Structural Equation Models) will be discussed. After taking this course the students will understand the uses of exploratory factor analysis, discriminant analysis and SEM methods including confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis in the exploration and hypothesis testing for data collected from questionnaires.

BIOS6005 Pharmaceutical Bioinformatics

1 unit (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001; BIOS5002 or B10S5003 preferred)

The course will provide a broad overview and introduction to bioinformatics and its applications in pharmaceutical industry. Topics will cover (1) basic bioinformatics methods: hierarchical clustering, lasso, random forest, PCA, boosting, bootstrapping, etc. (2) data sequencing and management: microarray data, GWAS data, the raw data treatment and analysis method, batch effect and normalization, parallel programming in R; (3) phylogenic analysis.

BIOS6006 Artificial Intelligence Methods for Medical Research and Pharmaceutical Science

2 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001)

This course is an advanced module for students who are interested to understand how various artificial intelligence approaches including machine-learning and deep-learning can be used on top of traditional biostatistics methods. It emphasizes on practical knowledge and skills needed for doing this kind of research leveraging on our experience and proprietary development of the Automatic Retinal Image Analysis (ARIA) and the Bioinformatics and Genomic research with significant machine-learning and deep-learning components. On top of sharing of the real life experience other important research areas in medical and pharmaceutical science would also be discussed.

Epidemiology

HPSB5001 Introduction to Health and Social Behaviour

3 units (Compulsory MPH Course)

The course provides students with an introduction to the basic concepts of health and social behaviour that frame public health promotion programmes. Students will learn about the process of creating and implementing health promotion programmes in the community using internationally accepted best practices. Case studies and guest speakers will highlight the concepts taught.

HPSB5002 Health Promotion Programme Planning and Implementation

2 units (Pre-requisite: HPSB5001 or HSYS5001)

This much needed course is designed to provide a practical course in the planning, needs assessment and development of health education and health promotion programmes.

HPSB5003 Health Promotion Programme Evaluation and Monitoring

2 units (Pre-requisite: HPSB5001 or HSOC5001)

This course is designed to provide a practical course in the monitoring and evaluation of health promotion programmes. It describes the various methods of evaluation and the latest advances in this field. Students should be able to develop a comprehensive evaluation plan for health promotion programs, conduct program monitoring and evaluation, interpret the program data, assess the program effectiveness, and write evaluation report.

HPSB5004 Healthy Settings

2 units (Pre-requisite: HPSB5001 or HSYS5001)

The United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2015-30 30 were adopted to strive for a world that is 'just, equitable and inclusive'. Those priority risk behaviours causing global burden of diseases are often established early in life and research findings have also confirmed the existence of common determinants (e.g., pathways in the brain) and the inter-relationships between the determinants of risk behaviours and behaviours themselves. Improvement of behaviours and well-being of citizens would not naturally occur without a specific "intentional intervention". The concept of Healthy Setting is to cultivate a healthy physical/psycho-social environment in the setting where people spend most of the time for working, studying, enjoyment of life, or for specific purposes. It is a very effective "intentional intervention" in achieving improvements in both health and wellbeing of citizens as it would penetrate into the wide arrays of their daily experiences. The whole concept of healthy setting is also based on striving the principles of 'just, equitable and inclusive' for citizen development. The key to successful implementation is engagement of key stakeholders in strategic way.

HPSB5005 Health Communications

2 units (pre-requisite: HSPB5001 or HSOC5001)

This course aims to integrate health promotion with the creation and development of health messages. The Course will cover the theories related to interpersonal and public health communications, principles and techniques for designing and disseminating effective health messages, plus class activities facilitating applications of the knowledge in real-life health settings.

HSOC5003 Nutrition for Public Health

2 units (Pre-requisite: HPSB5001 or HSOC5001)

Public health nutrition is the promotion and maintenance of nutrition-related health and wellbeing of populations through organized efforts and informed choices of society. To be effective, public health nutritionists must first connect the principles of nutrition science to the realm of public health practice in ways that emphasize the multi-factorial origins of actual nutritional problems in modern societies. In this course, students will be introduced to various essential elements of food and nutritional sciences.

HSOC5006 Medical Sociology

1.5 units (Pre-requisite: HPSB5001 or HSOC5001)

The course provides an opportunity to students to understand issues of health care in society from various sociological perspectives. Individuals are social beings who are subject to the influence of social structure and/or human agency. In relation to health and illness, other than the pathological entities, the sick person is inevitably affected by a wide range of social variables and personal behaviour while responding health and illness. The macroscopic and microscopic perspectives in understanding the issues of health and illness in context are important in the course of service delivery and policy making.

HSOC5103 Lecture Series in Non-communicable Diseases as Public Health Concerns

2 units

This course introduces to students how non-communicable diseases (NCD5) become a major public health concern in the past decades, the trend of common NCDs, and prevention strategies.

HSOC5210 Social Marketing Methods

1.5 units (Pre-requisite: HPSB5001 or HSOC5001)

The course aims at providing participants an overview of social marketing as an approach to health promotion. The course will cover key concepts and elements of social marketing, as well as the benchmark criteria for a social marketing initiative. The course will be conducted in a combined format of lecture and workshop. Examples of application of social marketing in health promotion will be illustrated in the course.

Health Promotion & Social Behavior

EPID5001 Introduction to Epidemiology

3 units (Compulsory MPH Course)

This course serves as an introduction to epidemiology for postgraduate students and gives a general overview of disease quantification, the various epidemiological studies used in public health and their respective interpretations and limitations. The course covers the basic competencies of public health epidemiology provides the basis for more advanced studies.

EPID5002 Epidemiology II

2 units (Pre-requisite: EPID5001)

This is a follow up course after EPID5001 (Introduction to Epidemiology) to provide further concepts and application of epidemiology. Topics will include further concepts in epidemiological study designs and application of concepts to the planning and design of epidemiological studies.

EPID5003 Epidemiology III

3 units (Pre-requisite: EPID5001 & BIOS5001)

In this course, students shall learn how to conduct common statistical analyses of epidemiological data by using SPSS or other statistical softwares and to prepare scientific report for epidemiological studies. Each session will consist three parts: a brief introduction, a computer demonstration and students' computer analyses.

EPID6001 Appraisal of the Methods of Epidemiological Studies

2 units (Pre-requisite: EPID5001)

The course will include a series of tutorials for appraising the methods of commonly used epidemiological study designs. In each tutorial, a published study of a specific design (e.g., randomized controlled trial) will be selected and presented and questions regarding the methods of the study will be asked.

EPID6002 Selected Topics in Epidemiology

1.5 units (Pre-requisite: EPID5001 & BIOS5001)

The course involves a series of guest lecture seminars in which methodological aspects of various areas of epidemiological research are discussed and elaborated. Students will become familiar with the methodological and substantive issues of conducting epidemiological investigations in various subject areas. The course is structured as a series of seminars with interactive discussion. Each session will summarize the major methodological considerations of epidemiological research on the given topic. Students should be able to understand the major data collection and data analysis issues of the various types of epidemiology presented. Students will be asked to read scientific papers that illustrate concepts in class. Students should be able to understand the major data collection and data analysis issues of the various types of epidemiology presented.

EPID6003 Nutritional Epidemiology

2 units (Pre-requisite: EPID5001)

In this course, you will learn about the methods used to assess dietary intakes and how to overcome limitations in assessing such a complex ‘exposure’. Nutrient intakes and dietary patterns in different population groups will be illustrated and key diet-disease associations will be presented. Finally, some of the challenges in interpreting nutritional epidemiology evidence and practical issues in communicating findings will be covered.

EPID6005 Digital Epidemiology

2 units (Pre-requisite: BIOS5001 & EPID5001)

This advanced module introduces the concept of digital epidemiology with new forms of health data and real examples for disease management. The traditional epidemiology consists of studying various risk factors of the general population to study incidence and prevalence. The field of digital epidemiology is new, but has been growing rapidly with the increasing amounts of data generated on the internet, wearable devices, and mobile APPs. Students will explore the feasibility of applications through different real digital examples, including the consideration with data privacy and protection.

EPID6006 Advanced Infectious Disease Epidemiology

2 units (Pre-requisite: EPID5001)

This course is designed to enable post-graduate students who have a background in infectious diseases epidemiology to practice their skills in the real-life problem in infectious disease epidemiology. Contemporary statistical and mathematical methods will be introduced for the study of infectious disease epidemiological data. The course is illustrated with many topical examples including COVID-19, SARS, and influenza.

Health System, Policy & Management

HSYS5001 Health Systems, Policy and Management

3 units (Compulsory MPH Course)

This course is an introductory course to the basic principles of management, strategic planning, quality assurance, health economics and financing, and health policy analysis that serves as a foundation to more advanced coursework in health policy & management. This course is benchmarked to meet most of the competencies of the Part A, Diplomate Membership level of the UK Public Health Examination, the US Certified Public Health Exam of the Association of Schools of Public Health as well as Part I Examination in Administrative Medicine of the HK College of Community Medicine.

HSYS5002 Healthcare Organisation and Management

2 units (Pre-requisite: HSYS5001)

This course aims to equip students with a broad base of knowledge and concepts in health services management, as well as to develop their competency in applying the knowledge and learning to appraise day-to-day management and operational problems in healthcare organisations. Basic financial management concept is also introduced in the course. This course is designed to meet most of the Basic Specialist Training and Part I Examination curriculum in Administrative Medicine of the HK College of Community Medicine.

HSYS5003 Health Economics: Economic Evaluation

1 unit

There is a fundamental question asked in public health and healthcare in general: how can we get the best results, in terms of better health, from the resources which are available in the community? Health Economics, as a field, attempts to provide an explicit and rationale framework to improve the efficient and equitable allocation of healthcare resources. In this course, we will examine selected topics in health economics that have major implications for healthcare delivery, financing and clinical and public health research. Essential economic theories and methods for exploring each topic will be discussed, along with the role of markets and government. We will go through different models of healthcare financing from a policymaking perspective, applying measures such as equity and efficiency to evaluate them. In addition, basic skills of conducting economic evaluation, such as cost-effectiveness analysis, will also be introduced.

HSYS5004 Health Systems and Policies

3 units (Pre-requisite: HSYS5001)

This course will build on the content of HSYS5001, and students will gain advanced understanding on the structural and functional characteristics of health systems. Through in-class interactive discussion, students will acquire competency in analyzing factors which impact on health service delivery and in comparing health systems in different. Students will also be exposed to basic methodology in health policy research and analysis.

HSYS5005 Healthcare Financing

1 unit (Pre-requisite: HSYS5001)

This course introduces the key policy and economic principles that underpin the approaches to healthcare financing and the performance of health systems in relation to Universal Health Coverage.

HSYS5006 Managing in Healthcare

2 units (Pre-requisite: preferably have at least two years working experience, though not necessarily in the healthcare field.)

This course focuses on the practical aspects of management, and supplements the theories presented in HSYS5001, HSYS5002 and HSYS5012, to further the training in healthcare management. Teaching will include lectures, case studies and small group discussions, as well as exercises and interactive games to enhance management insights.

HSYS5011 Health Informatics

1 unit (Pre-requisite: HSYS5001)

This course introduces the principles of healthcare information systems, role of informatics in risk management, quality improvement and basic understanding of technical aspects.

HSYS5012 Human Resource Management

3 units

This course aims to introduce the major issues and concepts of human resource management in the healthcare setting, so as to develop students capabilities in analyzing and solving related problems to achieve system or organizational objectives.

HSYS5013 Financial Management

2 units (Pre-requisite: HSYS5002)

This course focuses on essential competencies of health services managers to understand, interpret and manage financial resources. It covers the basic knowledge and concepts in Management Accounting and Financial Management. Topics include understanding of accounting principles and standards, financial statements, financial performance and budgeting, revenue generation and financial decision-making.

HSYS5014 Quality and Safety Management

2 units

This course introduces students to the concept, framework, practical approaches and current movement for safe, efficient, effective, and patient-centred healthcare; principle and practices of incident management and patient relations; concepts of errors in healthcare and principles and strategies in quality improvement; key concepts in operations management in the healthcare settings.

HSYS5015 Medico-legal Management

2 units

This course covers the principles and practices of health care ethics and medicolegal management in modern healthcare. The course uses case studies to cover important topics in health care ethics and medico-legal management including theory and principles of health care ethics, ethical issues in public health & services, complaints handling and investigation, clinical negligence and responsibility, and risk management strategies. It introduces and discusses major ethical issues in healthcare to provide perspectives in health services management as well.

HSYS5016 Health Services Planning

1 unit

This course aims to enrich students with the knowledge in health services planning and technology management. Students will have the opportunity of visiting a local hospital to appraise the planning issues and learn the principles of planning through case studies and class exercises.

HSYS5017 Health Innovation and Technology Management

1 unit (Pre-requisite: HSYS5002)

This course aims to enrich students with the knowledge in health innovation and technology management. The course will involve active learning from the students with a workshop on design thinking and a case study on health technology management.

HSYS5018 Healthcare Ethics

1 unit

This course introduces and discusses major health care ethics issues and provide perspectives for health services management. The issues are discussed based on cases and dilemmas.

HSYS5019 Operation Management

1 unit

This electice course introduces students to key concepts in operations management including LEAN and 6-sigma in the healthcare settings.

HSYS5020 Corporate Communication and Marketing

1 unit (Quota limitation)

This course introduces students to the principles and practices of today’s corporate communication and marketing in healthcare. Examples and case studies, from healthcare where appropriate, are used to illustrate the up-to-date treatment of the key aspects of corporate communication and marketing.

HSYS5021 Advanced Organisation Management

1 unit (Pre-requisite: HSYS5002)

This course aims to equip students with a more in-depth knowledge in organisational management by going into areas of organisational health and organisational culture. Organisational health and organisational culture are important and related concepts affecting the performance of the organisation with respect to external and internal stakeholders. The course emphasises on learning through reflection and practical application of key concepts in organisational health and culture supported by case studies.

HSYS5022 Patient-centred Health System

1 unit (Quota limitation)

The course will introduce students to the principles and practices of patient-centred care, and application of design thinking concepts in the development towards a patient-centred health system.

HSYS5023 Local Visits

1 unit

This course aims to give students a broader and deeper exposure to service management through observing management in action in both healthcare and non-healthcare settings. Management in non-healthcare settings can often shed useful insights to healthcare management. The ability to observe and identify good practices or rooms for improvement, and to evaluate different practices are important skills for health service managers and the group interactions would help to sharpen these skills. These local visits supplement the classroom teaching. The work of summarising and presenting their observations would help to consolidate the learnings from visiting these organisations.

HSYS5024 Driving Healthcare Improvement with Data

1 unit

This course introduces students to
(1) The concept and practice of data-driven healthcare improvement in the context of interprofessional teamwork;
(2) Data visualization and analytic tools that inform decision making in the context of clinical practices (for example, run charts and control charts);
(3) Data and change management: Feedback and improving the whole process

HSYS5026 Complaints Management in Healthcare

1 unit

This course aims to equip students with a macro concept as well as in-depth knowledge and skills to meet the challenges of complaints against healthcare services providers. It introduces students to:

the complaints systems in public and private healthcare services institutions in Hong Kong;
the knowledge, strategy and practical skills in complaints management including mediation and conciliation;
the legal requirements of complaints mechanisms and compliance issues;
the law relevant to complaints management including the Apology Ordinance and the Mediation Ordinance;
the application of complaints management skills and legal principles in resolving disputes.

Infectious Diseases

INFD5001 Infectious Diseases in Public Health Practice

1 unit (Compulsory MPH Course)

This course is designed to develop basic knowledge base in infectious diseases in the society, in contexts of causation, impacts, diagnosis and epidemiology.

INFD5002 Topics in Infection and Microbiology I

2 units (Pre-requisite: Biomedical science background)

This course is designed to strengthen knowledge in microbiology and infectious disease in public health contexts.

INFD5003 Infectious Diseases of Public Health Importance: Epidemiology, Control and Policy

3 units (Pre-requisite: INFD5001 or Biomedical science background)

This course is designed to strengthen knowledge in microbiology and infectious diseases in public health contexts.

INFD5004 Inflection Control in Health Care and Community Settings

2 units (Pre-requisite: INFD5001 or Biomedical science background)

Students would be introduced to the principles and practice of infection control in three settings - hospital and clinic, laboratory and the community, through a series of lectures and demonstration tailored to the needs of public health professionals. The course would emphasize on the development of a systematic approach to infection control practice.

INFD5006 Applied Epidemiology: Outbreak Investigation

2 units (Pre-requisite: Biomedical science background)

This course is designed to enable post-graduate students who have a background in infectious diseases epidemiology to practise their skills in outbreak investigation by using real-life examples and real data. Classic techniques of investigating outbreaks with different modes of transmissions will be demonstrated. This course covers the epidemiological skills and statistical methods in outbreak investigation.

INFD5007 Application of Geographical Information System in Public Health

2 units

Geographical information system (GIS), Integrating cartography, statistical analysis, and database technology, has been widely applied in the study of public health, for example, disease surveillance, risk assessment, and decision making for public health practices. This course aims to offer a general introduction to GIS, including basic concepts, methodologies, and applications of GIS in public health issues.

No special prerequisite for this course. Class size can NOT be larger than 40.

INFD6801 Practicum on Infectious Diseases

1 unit

The course offers a practical learning opportunity to students who are interested in the public health management and control of infectious diseases in local context. Through the 1.5-day visit (9 hours) to the Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, students would be supervised and guided by the Course coordinator with a tutorial followed by all visits.

Environmental & Occupational Health

OENV5001 Environmental Health Sciences

2 units (Compulsory MPH Course)

This course addresses how the environmental and occupational (work-related) factors affect human health and what we can do to prevent or minimize the negative impacts. It examines the environmental health issues and recent development in industrialized and developing countries. It also covers risk communication, environmental health policy, and emerging environmental health problems.

OENV5002 Lecture series in Occupational Health

3 units (Pre-requisite: OENV5001)

A basic course for students intending to study in any discipline of occupational health. General basic principles of controls of hazards in the practice of occupational health and hygiene will be introduced. Other topics include chemical hazards, physical hazards, biological hazards, ergonomics, injury and return to work, workplace wellness, as well as common occupational diseases and challenges in Hong Kong.

OENV5006 Air Pollution

2 units (Pre-requisite: OENV5001)

This course introduces the current state of knowledge in the key areas in which air pollutants impact on the health of the general population. Topics include the health impacts of gaseous air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone; mechanism of lung injury by airborne particulate matter; epidemiological evidence of the risk from particulate matter exposure; airborne chemical carcinogens; health effects of indoor air pollution; and setting health-based air quality standards.

OENV5008 Water and Health

2 units

The course gives a brief introduction to water, environment, and health. Students will be able to understand the importance of water in human health, describe problems of water, sanitation and hygiene in urban slum population, understand effect of heavy metal poisoning from industrial and agricultural pollution, describe common diarrheal diseases, their prevention, and how climate affects infectious diseases.

OENV5010 Environmental Risk Assessment

2 units (Pre-requisite: OENV5001)

This course provides students with an understanding of the role and scope of health risk assessment, the application of toxicology, epidemiology, exposure assessment and environmental monitoring in risk assessment, risk characterization and risk management.

OENV5011 Environmental Risk Management and Communication

2 units (Pre-requisite: OENV5001 and OENV5010)

This course builds upon the principles taught in OENV 5010 (Environmental Risk Assessment). The course gives students basic knowledge of the frameworks used for risk reduction and the protection of human health from chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic hazards. Students will be exposed to environmental risk communication frameworks and practical guidance on report writing for stakeholders and for future policy formulation.

Population & Global Health

POPG5001 Global Health

2 units (Pre-requisite: PBHT5000)

The global nature of public health issues across the domains of practice are of growing importance. Chronic disease problems such as obesity and its consequences as well as communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB are of international concern. So too are the health effects of international policies and trade agreements. In addition, public health has a key role to play in disasters such as earthquakes, floods and Tsunami. This course will enable a deeper understanding of a global perspective to non-ancommunicable disease; the inequalities between nations; the impact of the wider environment on health; response to disasters; the role of international bodies.

POPG5005 Global Child and Adolescent Health

2 units

The purpose of this class is to examine child and adolescent health in developed and developing countries. Biomedical, socio-medical, behavioural, economic and political factors affecting child and teen health will be systematically explored. Health services and health education for children and adolescents will also be addressed.

POPG5006 Disaster and Humanitarian Crisis

2 units (Pre-requisite: POPG5001)

Disaster and humanitarian responses are crucial elements in public health practices. Humanitarian relief actions often highlight the importance of mitigation, preparedness, training and multidisciplinary collaborative response within and beyond the health and medical sector. This course offers an overview of the disaster management cycle and the public health and medical implications of disaster and humanitarian crisis. It aims to show how public health principles may be applied in disaster relief and how evidence-based health related humanitarian actions can be planned, implemented and evaluated.

POPG5007 Demography and Health

2 units (Pre-requisite: POPG 5001)

This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of demographic methods and the applications of demographic methods towards population studies.

POPG5008 Global Health Policy

2 units (Pre-requisite: POPG 5001)

This course aims to provide an overview of global health policy, the area of public health concerned with decisions of policies that translate empirical and epidemiological evidence and political will into consensus and interventions in a global scale. Throughout the course, topics of global health policy will also be explored using the lens of public health ethics and justice.

OENV5011 Environmental Risk Management and Communication

2 units (Pre-requisite: POPG5001 recommended)

Despite the advancement in economic development and food technology, there are people living without the basic supply of sufficient and clean foods require for their physiological well-being. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life". This course introduces the factors affecting the sustainability of the contemporary food systems at both global and local perspectives. Areas including technological advancement, economic drive, political stability, as well as socio-cultural influences will be analyzed critically as insights to tackle the challenge of future food crisis.

POPG5013 Global Health Perspectives of Humanitarian Crisis and Human Security

2 units (Pre-requisite: POPG5001 recommended)

Human security is an emerging paradigm in the global healthcare community that can be applied to guide local and global public health practices. It can also provide a basis to link up related themes under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through various real-life case studies and practical applications, this course will provide participants with an understanding of how the human security and health security concepts are applied in public health practices, especially under emergencies and disasters. The challenges with putting the human security concept into operation will also be explored.

POPG6801 Field Action Lab

2 units (Pre-requisite: PBHT5000/ POPG5001)

This is a practicum course aims at providing a unique opportunity for students to gain familiarity with public health practice. Practicum experience allows students to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills they learned through coursework and prior experiences in a public health environment. Students are required to complete an approved public health practice related practicum (single or combined experience) in a variety of settings, including rural field trip, governmental and non-governmental health agencies, academic institutions, or community settings under the supervision of site administrators (mentors/ practicum supervisors) and the guidance from the School of Public Health and Primary Care. Students will be involved in project planning, field-based health needs assessment, health intervention, project evaluation and report writing during the field practicum.

Important Notes

*Class enrollment: Max 12 students for field trip (credit bearing);

Max 40 students Sit-in ONLY for Lectures.

**Enrollment priority will be given to students who have

i) Chosen MPH Practicum based Capstone-Practicum (PT Yr 2 and FT) (Upon agreement from course coordinator)

ii) Already taken POPG5001 Global Health

iii) Selected “Population and Global Health” as concentration

*** Enrolled students are expected to pay for their own travel expenses

General Public Health

PBHT5000 Foundations of Public Health

1 unit (Compulsory MPH Course)

This course is an introductory course for all students which aim to provide an overview on the basic concepts and current issues in the field of public health. Students will gain a broad, general understanding of how public health issues can be framed in the context of global health and the key functions of health system. This foundation course will equip students with an analytic lens that is essential for deeper learning in global public health. Tutorials will reinforce concepts taught in lecture.

PBHT5001 Introduction to Qualitative Research: Theories and Research Design

2 units

This qualitative methods course will introduce students to the topical issues related to conducting qualitative research and allow for some hands-on exposure to the methods of data collection and analysis used in this methodology.

PBHT5002 Public Health Law

2 units (Pre-requisite: HSYS5001)

This course examines the role of law as a tool for public health both within Hong Kong at international level.

PBHT5005 Basic Human Physiology

2 units

This course is a basic introduction to the human body for public health students without a bio-medical background. It is geared towards students with an undergraduate degree in social sciences, arts and physical sciences. It will introduce the overview of basic scientific mechanisms, concepts and principles in health and in the pathogenesis of disease. It provides clinical scientific foundation for applications to the practice of public health. Professionals in the clinical health field such as physicians, nurses, dentists and allied health specialists will not be permitted to take this course for credit.

PBHT5801 Climate Change and Planetary Health

2 units

Climate change is an important topic for public health practice. As the frequency and severity of climate-related disasters increase, in order to protect health and well-being, the need to understand and prepare for unforeseeable events is rapidly growing. This course provides an overview of issues in relation to climate change and health in the context of public health practice. It introduces important concepts of how to tackle climate change related health impacts and how to support community preparedness, response, policy formulation and implementation.

PBHT5900 International Field Studies

1 Unit (Pre-requisite: PBHT5000, POPG5001 preferred)

This course is designed to allow students to conduct field studies abroad and to receive academic credit for their supervised work and studies. All field studies must include some form of assessment that must receive prior approval from the module coordinator. This course cannot be used toward Capstone-related practice hours.

PBHT5901 Exchange Study

1.5 Units

Students enrolled in public health courses during their summer or winter terms in other universities can seek unit credits for their studies towards their MPH degree. Approval made on a case-by-case basis by the Concentration Coordinator after discussion with Curriculum Coordinator.

PBHT6802 Global and Regional Perspectives on Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention and Control

1 Unit

This course aims to provide students an in-depth understanding of the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) at the local, regional, and global scales. It equips students with the knowledge and tools to prevent and control NCDs and associated risk factors using effective public health strategies, as well as how to conduct NCD surveillance and research to assess and adapt interventions across diverse population settings.

PBHT6900* Master Capstone Project & Report

6 units (Compulsory MPH Course)

Each student is required to develop and complete an individual project of a public health problem, under the direction of a supervisor in their chosen concentrations. The topic of each project should be relevant to the concentration selected. Students will be assigned a supervisor and are required to do presentations and to submit a final written report.

*This course is mandatory for graduation.

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