Course Descriptions

This course will introduce students to the basic concepts, principles and methods of epidemiology. The topics covered will include basic epidemiological measures of disease frequency and association, study design and vulnerability to error, causation, and critical appraisal of an epidemiological study.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Tutorial hours
Prerequisite(s):STAT 244.3, STAT 245.3, STAT 246.3, or PLSC 214.3
Note:Priority will be given to students enrolled in the Biomedical Sciences majors. The course is open to undergraduate students from all colleges, pending availability, space, and by permission of the instructor. Students with credit for BMSC 350 may not take this course for credit.

This survey course provides an introduction to ways of critically understanding and acting on key issues affecting the health of disadvantaged peoples locally and globally. Using critical analyses of health and development concepts and theories, this course helps students understand links between global and local health issues, and foster their active involvement in communities as informed global citizens. Through active and participatory learning, students enrolled in Global Health 1 explore issues affecting personal, community and global health development both overseas and locally. Concepts such as determinants of health, globalization and health, and participatory strategies and actions for enhancing well-being are introduced along with related aspects of gender, power, ecology, education, indigenous health, social movements, and foreign aid.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the Department required.

This course aims to critically engage students in global health care challenges and issues facing under-served and low-resourced populations. Using active and participatory learning strategies including case studies and discussion, students will critically examine health care in low-resource settings. Topics include health care challenges and issues, innovative approaches, organizations providing health care, and the management of emergencies in relation to low-resource settings.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Seminar/Discussion hours
Restriction(s): Intended for College of Medicine students in the Certificate in Global Health program; however, open to additional students with permission from the instructor/department.
Prerequisite(s): CHEP 402.3 or equivalent

The inner city practicum component of the Certificate in Global Health Program will provide a service learning opportunity for students where they can reflect on, utilize and expand their global health knowledge and skills in a field setting. The practicum will be a 0 credit experience at SWITCH (Saskatoon) http://switchclinic.ca/or SEARCH (Regina). The Student Wellness Initiative Toward Community Health (SWITCH) provides clinical services and health promotion programming during extended hours at the West Side Community Clinic Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Saturday afternoons. SWITCH has established partnerships with the University of Saskatchewan; Community Health Services (Saskatoon) Association and Saskatoon Health Region-Primary Health Services. The SWITCH vision is to maintain an operating, interdisciplinary student-run health clinic in conjunction with health professionals and community partners to serve clients in Saskatoon's core neighbourhoods. Student Energy in Action for Regina Community Health (SEARCH) is the analogous student-run clinic in Regina.

Permission of the department is required.
Restriction(s): Restricted to College of Medicine students in the Certificate in Global Health program.

This practicum will be a six-week 3 credit supervised experience in one of three remote northern Saskatchewan communities. Supervision will be provided by a local field preceptor and the Global Health Certificate Program Director (a University of Saskatchewan faculty member). Students will have an orientation to the northern experience and a debriefing opportunity upon their return. Possible topics for the orientation include: Aboriginal and northern health and social issues, history of Aboriginal-European relations with emphasis on treaties; recent history, the reserve system, residential schools and current relations; traditional beliefs, traditional healing, the Medicine Wheel; current social problems, substance abuse; and research with Indigenous Peoples. The purpose of this orientation is to engage students in critical thinking about indigenous issues in preparation for their experience in the north.

Permission of the department is required.
Restriction(s): Restricted to College of Medicine students in the Certificate in Global Health program.

This international practicum component of the Certificate in Global Health Program will provide a service learning opportunity for students where they can reflect on, utilize and expand their global health knowledge and skills in a field setting. The practicum will be a 3 credit, six-week mentored experience at a College of Medicine-approved site in a low resource country. Students registering for the international practicum will have already completed the mandatory courses Global Health and Local Communities (CHEP 402.3) and Global Health 2 (CHEP403.3), met the program language requirement, completed the Northern Saskatchewan practicum and be engaged in the Inner City Practicum The international practicum experience will be structured by the student and the faculty mentor (advisor) in close consultation with the field preceptor/s at the proposed international site. A variety of experiential approaches and activities may be used to achieve the goals of the practicum.

Permission of the department is required.
Restriction(s): Restricted to College of Medicine students in the Certificate in Global Health program.
Prerequisite(s): Students registering for the international practicum will have already completed CHEP 402.3 and CHEP 403.3, met the program language requirement, completed the Northern Saskatchewan practicum (CHEP 411.3) and be engaged in the Inner City Practicum (CHEP 410.3).

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Introduces key concepts and the basic methods used in epidemiology and biostatistics and their application to improving public and population health.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): STAT 244, STAT 245; or equivalent
Note: Students with credit for PUBH 800 will not receive credit for this course.

This course is intended to build upon the foundational knowledge gained in CHEP 800 (Epidemiology) and CHEP 805 (Biostatistics). Topics include: causation, bias, multivariable modelling, critical appraisal, study design, and “new” techniques in epidemiology (machine learning, predictive modelling and others). Methods of instruction will feature lecture, small group exercises, interactive outbreak case studies/discussion and lab sessions. Focus will be on application of epidemiological skills in order to conduct independent research.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): CHEP 800 or PUBH 800 and CHEP 805 or PUBH 805.

Designed for life sciences students who wish to understand and apply commonly used advanced statistical methods which they are likely to encounter in their career. The emphasis is on the appropriate application of these research methods and the correct interpretation of their results. Topics covered are: multiple linear regression, logistic regression, model building strategies, survival analysis, and non-parametric methods. Computer software used: SPSS.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): STAT 244, 245; or equivalent.
Note: Students may receive credit for only one of NURS 818, CHEP 805, and PUBH 805.

Explores the application of advanced multivariate statistical methods which are commonly used in life sciences and is an extension and continuation of Biostatistics I (CH&EP 805.3). Topics to be covered in the course are: general approaches for longitudinal data analysis, which include analysis of repeated measures using Analysis of Variance, Survival Analysis, statistical methods based on Generalized Estimating Equations and Maximum Likelihood; and brief introduction to handling missing data. Computer software used: SPSS and SAS.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): CHEP 805 or permission of the instructor.

This course is designed to introduce (i) methods for statistical modeling of cross-sectional and longitudinal complex surveys data sets, with an emphasis on the impact of weighting, stratification and clustering on parameter estimates and their standard errors and (ii) variance estimation methods such as Taylor linearization, bootstrap, jackknife, and balanced repeated replication. Procedures to handle missing data in complex surveys will be discussed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s):CHEP 805 or equivalent, or with instructor approval.

Theory/practice-based course designed to provide advanced knowledge about the design and analysis of clinical trials. This course cannot be taken with STAT 843 or VLAC 881.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Restriction(s): This is a required course for PhD students enrolled in the Biostatistics Graduate Program.

Closing the Gap: Global Health and Social Inequities - is a survey course designed to give graduate students an introduction to the broad multi-disciplinary field of global health, focusing on selected issues related to global health equity, the social determinants of health and community-based approaches to "closing the gap".

In this course, we examine the links between the modern industrialized food system, its alternatives and various aspects of community and population health. The course will cover topics related to the environmental, social, and health impacts of food systems, and will provide real-world experiences that will allow students to contribute to an on-going food system initiative that aims to improve community health. Students will learn through lectures, small group exercises and presentations, class discussion, media, community-service learning and assignments.

Weekly hours: 2 Lecture hours and 1 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the instructor is required.
Note: This course is offered intensively in the Spring.

This interactive course is to review definitions, theories, methods and underlying assumptions of population health intervention research and to examine the evidence-base for evaluating population health interventions. We will discuss local real world examples and the way they are informing research, policy, program and practice changes to improve health and health equity.

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): CHEP 813 or equivalent

Designed as a culminating course experience for students in the doctoral program in Community Health and Epidemiology, for whom it is required. Students will take this course as they are completing their other course requirements, and it will provide them with an opportunity to reflect, integrate and synthesize all course materials and knowledge areas in preparation for their comprehensive examinations and dissertation research. The purpose is to prepare advanced students to become effective leaders in academic and research settings in all work settings. As such, this course will integrate content and theory with population health research practice as experienced by students through previous course work and life/professional experiences. It will be overseen by the course instructor, but the students will be major participants in their own learning. Students will participate in determining the course content, design and deliver a session, and contribute to assessment of student performance in the course.

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Seminar/Discussion hours
Restriction(s): Must be registered in the Community Health and Epidemiology Ph.D. program or have received permission from the instructor.
Note: Students with credit for CHEP 812 cannot take CHEP 817 for credit.

This course will consider how different qualitative methodologies have been, or may be, developed or adapted ontologically and epistemologically for applied health research questions. Students will work with one qualitative methodology of their choice throughout the term to consider its location in population and public health research.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): CHEP 822.2 and CHEP 824.2 or permission of the instructor.
Note: Students with credit for NURS 896 will not receive credit for this course.

This course will delve into the historical and contemporary aspects of colonization, and the impact it has on Indigenous People’s health status. The historical context will be linked with the current reality, with a strength-based focus on Indigenous People’s culture and healing practices. Privilege and power of those who benefit from colonization and colonial systems will also be explored.

The primary objectives of the course are to introduce the realist philosophical paradigm and discuss the main consequences of the realist thinking for doing research in social and related sciences. Additionally, the course aims to help students apply the realist philosophical paradigm to realist synthesis and evaluation practice.

Prerequisite(s): This course is intended for upper year graduate students. Departmental permission is required.

Centered on equity, this course will focus on population/public health as discipline and practice; community health, health promotion, health advocacy; Indigenous health; and global, environmental, and planetary health. Content will include theoretical and methodological considerations.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): Must be registered in CHEP graduate program, or have permission of instructor.
Note: Students with credit for CHEP 813 will not receive credit for this course.

An introduction to research methods in population and community health, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Topics include: research paradigms, the role of theory, and processes of designing studies and collecting and analyzing data.

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): Must be registered graduate student in CHEP or have permission of instructor.
Note: Students with credit for CHEP 802 will not receive credit for this course.

This course is an introduction to health care and public health systems with some history, definitions, principles and challenges at local, national and global levels. Learners will be introduced to the variety of players intervening in these systems, and will become aware of continuous quality improvement research, data sources and frequently used health systems research methods.

Prerequisite(s): Must be registered in the CHEP graduate program or have permission of the instructor.

The goal of the course is to equip graduate students with research skills through practice in qualitative and alternative data collection approaches, methods and analysis; critical and creative thinking; community-based research collaborations and team management; and knowledge mobilization and translation.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Restriction(s): Must be registered in CHEP graduate program or have permission of instructor.
Note: Students with credit for CHEP 811 will not receive credit for this course.

Graduate students in the health and social sciences with research interests in individual, population, and public health will benefit from this course which provides them opportunities to learn and practice using Excel as a tool for entering, managing, analyzing, and sharing health research data. In this course, students will use strategies in Excel to facilitate accurate data entry, improve data quality, and make it easier to analyze data. The emphasis is on applied learning and hands on practice. Students will gain further experience in the manipulation and handling of data and start to understand the important role that spreadsheets can perform in a data analysis environment. Students will complete a final project where they incorporate the Excel skills they have learned to analyze and interpret data from a provided data set to answer a health research question

Permission of the department is required.
Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology.

Graduate students in the health and social sciences with research interests in individual, population, and public health will learn to use STATA, a statistical software frequently used in health research. This course provides an overview and practice with data entry, data management and manipulation, and visualization using STATA. This course also covers basic statistical application, including the Chi-square test, T-test, ANOVA, linear regression, and logistic regression. To demonstrate proficiency, students will be given a dataset with steps to follow and analyze based on the learning outcomes. Students will complete a final project where they incorporate the STATA skills they have learned to analyze and interpret data from a provided data set to answer a health research question.

Permission of the department is required.
Restriction(s): Restricted to students in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology.

These courses are offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations. Students interested in these courses should contact the department for more information.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

A seminar is held periodically throughout the regular session during which current issues in research and practice are discussed. Graduate students are required to attend the seminars.

Students writing a Master's thesis must register for this course.

Students writing a Ph.D. thesis must register for this course.