Epidemiology is the study of the distribution
and determinants of health-related states of events in specified populations,
and therefore one of the core elements in public health. Epidemiological
studies provide a myriad of perspectives and guidance for the direction
of health research and planning. The changeable nature of the patterns
of disease worldwide obliges those in the field of Epidemiology to promote
and pursue a variety of research incentives. The Epidemiology major has
special interests in environmental and occupational epidemiology, chronic
disease epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology, genetic epidemiology
and molecular epidemiology. In addition, interdisciplinary collaboration
between field and laboratory work is a core part of this discipline.
Biostatistics
Biostatistics addresses the methodology and
theory of statistics as applied to problems in the life and health sciences.
Biostatisticians, in collaboration with scientists, investigate problems
in every facet of public health. The Biostatistics major focuses on topics
such as categorical data analysis, survival analysis, epidemiological
statistics, bioassay, demography and health indices as well as other basic
statistical techniques.
Public Health Nutrition
Public health nutrition
is an integral component in the maintenance of public
health and is defined as the application of nutrition
through an organized community effort to improve
or maintain optimum nutritional health of the population
or targeted subgroups. Public health nutrition efforts
are primarily focused on health promotion and disease
prevention by determining the nutritional needs
of community groups, and planning, implementing,
and evaluating programs to address those needs.
Research topics in the field include nutritional
assessment in various populations, research on the
causal relationships between dietary factors and
diseases, establishment of nutritional policy and
programs for disease prevention and treatment, and
development of nutritional education programs and
national nutritional surveillance systems.
Bioinformatics
Recent genome-sequencing projects are generating
an enormous amount of data related to the function and the structure of
biological molecules and sequences. Other complementary high-throughput
technologies, such as DNA micro-arrays, are rapidly generating large amounts
of data that are too overwhelming for conventional approaches in biological
data analysis. The interpretation of this wealth of biological data may
deeply affect our understanding of life, Biological knowledge can be gleaned
from this data and represented through powerful and sophisticated computational
tools. Bioinformatics emphasizes computer-dependent approaches to studying
biological issues. The most actively researched topics in this field are
prediction of protein structure and function and the interpretation of nucleotide
sequences. This field is integrated with biology, computer science, medical
science, mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Plus, Bioinformatics is highly
applicable to public health.
Health Demography
The major goal of population
studies is the quantitative analyses of the dynamics
of human population resulting from births, deaths
and migrations. Although this field has greatly
expanded in recent years, population studies generally
emphasize statistical analysis of data on fertility,
mortality, migration, and nuptials from the core
activities of formal demography. Socio-economic
determinants of population change are examined and
interactions of the demographic process with social
relationships are explored and predicted. In many
of these research areas, demographic research takes
on a multidisciplinary character.
Program in Health Care Management and Policy
Public Health Gerontology
Public Health Gerontology is an emerging field that studies aging from public health perspective. It was introduced to address the issues in health of and health care for older people in the context of rapid growth of the population and the increase of their life expectancy. Public Health Gerontology aims to promote health, functioning, and quality of life of older people. The major research areas include but are not limited to: health and illnesses and their determinants in later life; health care needs and utilization in diverse older population, from healthy elders to dying elders; gerontological health care services and delivery systems and their multi-dimensional outcomes; and aging and public health policies and programs for health promotion, disease prevention and early detection, disease management, and health assurance.
Health Policy
Access, equity, efficiency, effectiveness and
cost containment are the major concerns in the formulation of health policies.
This Major provides students with the academic training and discussion forums
necessary to attain the knowledge and skills required for health policy
development. Pertinent research topics relative to a Health Policy major
include policy development, economic aspects of health services and health
insurance, and managerial issues involved in health policies.
Health Economics
Economic factors are key elements in resolving
health care problems and in identifying potential health care solutions.
Economic analysis is important in understanding the health care sector,
predicting its future, and suggesting solutions to achieve an equitable
and efficient health care system. Health economics primarily deals with
issues associated with the production, consumption, and delivery of health
care services. The focus on economics, however, is not to ignore other ways
of analyzing the health field. Clearly, many different disciplines and approaches
must be assessed in addressing health economic issues.
Political Economy of
Health Systems and Policy
Political Economy of Health Systems and Policy
adopts the approach of economics and political science to study
health policy and health systems. Economic science provides a theoretical
foundation for rational decision making and efficient resource allocation
along with powerful empirical methodology for policy analysis. However
health policy and system analysis requires a good understanding
of political motivation and strategy, interest groups, political
resources, and policy process, which do not necessary follow rational
models. Political economic approach integrates economics and political
science to analyze and provide policy options to health policy and
systems of both developed and low-income countries. The area of
research includes health care financing (health insurance, resource
generation, resource pooling, purchasing), health care delivery
(payment system for providers, behavior of physicians and hospitals),
health care industry including pharmaceuticals, population aging
and long-term care insurance, equity (in financing, utilization
and outcomes), comparative health care systems, and international
health and health care development of low-income countries.
Health Sociology
Health sociology deals
with health-related issues from the viewpoint of
social theory. It thus focuses on rather theoretical
aspects of public health problems and policy implications.
This major provides the student with basic health
survey methods and theoretical schemes for analyzing
social relations embedded in health care. Students
majoring in Health Sociology gain an understanding
of the social dimension of health affairs and medical
practice.
Health Education
This major emphasizes a discipline that utilizes
strategies based on scientific principles to facilitate learning and voluntary
behavioral change in both health care provider and consumers. The strategies
include mass media and interpersonal communications, group dynamics and
community organization, combined with administrative and staff development
methods.
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Dept.
of Health Science and Services
