PUBH 523-910: Disease detectives and social engineersInstructor: Carolyn Cannuscio, ScDMeeting time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-7 pmLocation: Weigle Information Commons Classroom, Van Pelt LibraryOffice: Colonial Penn Center, 4th floorOffice Hours: Friday from 2-4 pm (signup sheets will be posted in office)Overview and Purpose:This course will examine the fundamental challenges of public health, focusing on outbreaks, emergencies, and chronic environmental threats, as well as the actions required to remedy those threats. Using a case-based framework, the class will study historical and recent epidemics, methods used to identify the sources of those epidemics, actions taken to protect the public, and the social and economic ramifications of the epidemic. The course will center on the actions and policies that are central to public health. In particular, course readings and cases are designed to illustrate a major challenge of public health: that policy decisions often must be made in the setting of sparse or inadequate data. How do researchers, practitioners, and policymakers weigh the information available, secure necessary resources, build political will, and confront vested interests in order to protect or promote population health? To answer this central question, students will be expected to complete course readings, prepare for each session,and engage in critical thinking and dialogue in class. Active, informed participation during class sessions is the key to success in this course. Students who participate in this class will become proficient in applied epidemiological reasoning. The emphasis will be on evaluating the empirical base for public health decision-making. What data are available? Can we trust the quality of those data? Whatadditional information would be desirable/essential? Research methods training will be embedded as the students learn to critique the quality of evidence used to support public action. Course participants will develop: a) an understanding of basic epidemiological concepts; b) familiarity with major historical and recent epidemics and the social forces that shapedthose epidemics; c) an ability to evaluate data critically and present those data clearly; and d) a capacity to apply a range of data to recommending appropriate public health action. Assignments and grades:1. Preparation for class sessions: slide decks (30% of grade). By 9 am on the morning of each class session, each student will be required to prepare and submitto Blackboard a slide deck related to the assigned topic and readings. The instructor will provide a template, slide preparation guidelines, and a series of questions to be answered in the slide deck. You will be evaluated on the content, organization, and clarity of your slides (with extra points for originality or creativity). You are developing a resource that you will use during class, as well 1as in future research projects and presentations. And you may refer to your slide decks during…2. Weekly quizzes (25% of grade). Once a week (usually on Tuesday), at the start of class, we will have a brief quiz regarding the assigned reading and course material covered to date. You may refer to any of your slide decks (but not to the assigned readings) during the class quizzes. Yes, this is to encourage you to be a well-informed class participant. 3. Class participation (25% of grade). Come prepared with insights and questionsbased on the readings for the week.4. Final exam (20% of grade). Students will be given an in-class final exam duringthe class meeting on Thursday, July 3. The final exam will cover content from theclass readings and discussions and will include a case of a public health challenge or emergency. Students will be asked to review and integrate available evidence in order to make an informed decision regarding the most appropriate action(s) to recommend. I will distribute guidelines for individual assignments. I encourage--and in some cases may require--students to schedule appointments with me, or to visit me during office hours, to discuss their course progress and assignments.Tuesday, May 27thSession 1: To be in public health--are you a disease detective or a social engineer?Class session will include a conversation with public health practitioners, who will describe their own role in the public health infrastructure, highlighting the most challenging aspects of their jobs.Thursday, May 29th Session 2: A mysterious respiratory illness in New Mexico—The first half of this sessionwill include a conversation with Walter Straus, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer who led the outbreak investigation. The second half of the session will be devoted to keyepidemiological concepts. Reading:Kindig, D. Understanding population health terminology. Milbank Quarterly. 2007. 85(1): 139-161.Coggon, D, Rose G, Barker DJP (1997). Epidemiology for the Uninitiated, Fourth Edition. Focus on sections 1 (“What is epidemiology?”) and 11 (“Outbreaks of disease”).Available at: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/collections/epidem/epid.shtml. Use these references as a resource for deciphering epidemiological terms and concepts throughout the course.2Tuesday, June 3rdSession 3: Removing the handle from the Broad St. pump—how John Snow shaped epidemiology and public healthReading: Johnson, S (2006). The Ghost Map. The story of London’s most terrifying epidemic—and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world. New York: Riverhead Books.Assignment: slides based on Ghost Map submitted to blackboard by 9 am.Thursday, June 5thSession 4: The distribution of disease—maps as a key public health toolAmy Hillier will be our guest speaker. In an interactive session, she will illustrate how GIS technology (and historical maps) can be used to understand disease patterning.Reading: Galea, S. Cities and population health. Social Science and Medicine. 2005. 60: 1017-1033.Assignment: slides capturing effective maps that describe the distribution of a disease, risk factor for disease, or other threat to public health. Submit to Blackboard by 9 am.Tuesday, June 10thSession 5: Urban challenges—how an epidemic brought a thriving city to its knees (and helped shape modern public health)Reading:Crosby, Molly Caldwell. (2006) The American Plague: The untold story of yellow fever, the epidemic that shaped our history. New York: The Berkeley Publishing Group.Assignment: