Tai Mendenhall

PUBH 6060 Section 101 Class #85173
May 18 (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
May 19, 20, 22 (8 a.m. -12 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours

Even when individuals want to give up addictive behaviors, adopt healthier behaviors or follow a chronic disease treatment regimen, they often have a difficult time doing so. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a client centered directive method for enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence. This course is designed to introduce participants to the theoretical basis of the MI style and to help them begin to acquire skills and strategies for using the MI style in diverse contexts (clinic, community program, research) and relative to diverse behavioral issues (additions, healthy lifestyle behaviors, chronic disease adherence). With brief background lectures on the theoretical basis of MI and empirical evidence of its efficacy, class sessions will emphasize demonstration and practice of MI skills and strategies.

Melinda Wilkins

PUBH 7238 Section 101 Class #
May 18 (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
May 19, 20, 22 (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours

This course will provide the student with a basic understanding of systems, systems thinking, and how to use a systems thinking mindset and tools to support problem solving in a One Health context. Students will learn how to engage stakeholders, recognize systems, clearly define complex problems, and visualize/diagram systems. In addition, students will practice identifying leverage points within a system and anticipate intended and unintended consequences to changes within a system. Tools and examples will be used to explain each step and students will have a chance to practice using several common systems thinking tools before student teams apply these tools to address a more complex One Health problem.

Jeff Bender, Lillian McDonald, Allison Thrash, Doug Schultz

PUBH 7214 Section 101 Class #85155
May 18, 19, 20 (1 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
May 22 (1 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours

In brief, this course explores how people perceive risk and how to communicate effectively about risk, with an emphasis on preparing you to respond when a crisis occurs and you are on the firing line. The term “risk communication” refers to a body of knowledge and a set of practical skills that can be used by government, public or private agency public health, public safety and other professionals in characterizing and managing issues, disseminating information and communicating effectively in crisis or emergency situations. Principles of risk communication are derived from social science research, psychological research and theory, communication theory and the accumulated experience of professionals who have addressed real-world public health, public safety or emergency management communication issues on a day-to-day basis. This course covers key concepts of risk communication theory as well as their practical application to the collection and sharing of information in support of individual and community decision-making about public health issues. The course will also examine new media and their role in public health communication. Challenges in communicating with underserved and non-English speaking populations will be discussed.

Carolyn Porta

PUBH 7257 Section 101 Class #85188
May 18, 19, 20 (1 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
May 22 (1 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours

You’ve conducted key informant interviews, or a series of focus groups. Now what? How do you reflect the participants’ individual opinions and perspectives in your analysis while at the same time draw some collective conclusions? Is it possible to analyze qualitative data objectively? Do you need to use qualitative software? What is the best way to present qualitative data to different audiences? How can you collaboratively analyze qualitative data with community partners? This course will provide discourse and some answers to the questions above, for currently employed professionals and students completing an advanced degree. The course is intended for students who plan to collect and analyze qualitative data, including those employed in public health, private, and non-profit agencies. Whether the data are collected to describe a problem, evaluate a program, or inform an intervention, the principles and challenges of analysis remain the same. This course will provide an opportunity for analyzing and working with qualitative data from a variety of data collection methods and using multiple analysis approaches. Students are encouraged to bring any existing data they have as there may be opportunities in class to discuss and work with the data.

Craig Hedberg, Stephanie Meyer, Melanie Firestone

PUBH 7210 Section 101 Class #86551
May 20 (6 p.m. – 8 p.m.)
May 21 (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
0.5 Credit or 7.5 CE contact hours
S/N only

The global food system for candy, nut snacks, and sweet treats will be reviewed to identify food safety hazards associated with inputs, ingredients and processing. Participants will visit manufacturing facilities that produce candy, nut snacks, and sweet treats.  The product distribution system will be reviewed and processing and distribution issues related to food safety will be discussed, along with consumer issues related to the safety of these products. Discussion will include elements of foodborne disease epidemiology as it relates to candy, nut snacks, and sweet treats. Examples of real foodborne disease outbreaks will illustrate critical control points in the production of these products.

Melanie Firestone, Sean Buuck

PUBH 6185 Section 101 Class #85175
May 26 (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
May 27, 28, 29 (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours

This course focuses on the principles and practice of epidemiology to investigate urgent public health problems. The focus is on application of critical tools to identify, prevent, and respond to disease outbreaks, including roles and responsibilities. Modeled after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Field Epidemiology Training Programs, the focus will include disease surveillance, descriptive epidemiology, outbreak investigations, and applied analytic methods. The course focuses on the use of sound judgment and discusses considerations for when epidemiologic theory and practical considerations conflict.

Cheryl Petersen-Kroeber

PUBH 7221 Section 101 Class #86552
May 26 (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
May 27, 28, 29 (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours
This course will be offered in a synchronous online classroom format.

Public concern over the impact of disease outbreaks, environmental disasters and exposures, and the potential for intentional use of biologic, chemical, radiological, or explosive devices has led to an increased emphasis on the role of public health in disaster preparedness and response. Public health agencies, working collaboratively with colleagues in other disciplines, are front-line workers in early detection, taking action during a disaster, and supporting long-term assessment and recovery for all types of hazards. New activities of managing national or local supply stockpiles, coordinating patient care and supporting volunteer programs have expanded the traditional roles of public health in emergency preparedness. This course explores the role of public health in disaster preparedness, response and recovery and how planning and preparing public health agencies for managing the crisis, provides a foundation for effective response such as providing surge capacity to maintain public health and healthcare functions and assisting a community’s recovery from a disaster.

Lianne Siegel

PUBH 7264 Section 101 Class #85150
May 26, 27, 28 (1 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
May 29 (1 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours

In this course, you will learn how to manipulate data and prepare basic visualizations using the statistical software R. While the tools and techniques taught will be generic, there will be options to use public health data.

Angela Ulrich & Michael Osterholm

PUBH 7200 Section 101 Class #86553
May 26, 27, 28 (1 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
May 29 (1 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
1 Credit or 15 CE contact hours
S/N only
This course will be offered in a synchronous online classroom format.

Vaccines are one of the most powerful public health tools ever developed. They have been instrumental in the prevention and response to infectious disease threats and have markedly reduced disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality worldwide. However, the vaccine landscape in the United States is rapidly changing. Vaccine mandates, policy shifts, partisan rhetoric, and concerns surrounding vaccine safety and efficacy are woven into an individual’s personal decisions to vaccinate themselves and their families. At the same time, declining vaccination rates and the dismantling of the federal vaccine infrastructure are having tangible impacts on the ability to prevent and respond to public health threats.

In this course, we will review how vaccines are developed, monitored for safety, and utilized for disease control; discuss current challenges and recent changes to vaccination policies; and examine how to communicate the value of vaccines to the public.