Public Health Policy

Public health policy is carried out in multiple sectors of society. In this course we will break down public health problems into their component parts, scrutinizing the roles that governments, health care providers, organizations, and ordinary citizens have in building a healthy (or unhealthy) society. We will examine topics such as obesity, gun violence, substance use, maternal mortality, and product toxicity to understand the extent to which public health problems have behavioral, social, regulatory, or market-based causes and solutions. Our analysis will employ systems thinking, historical trends, and regulatory frameworks. The course will be lecture-oriented with in-class discussions and exercises. Sources will include articles in peer-reviewed literature, industry reports, policy statements, and the popular press.