Public Health Preparedness (PHP)

A public health perspective on the preparation necessary to develop a coordinated response to a disaster or terrorist emergency.

Introduces students to the design of exposure assessment and health effect studies applicable to disasters and terrorism.

Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.

Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently, several topics may be taught in one year or term.

This course will enable students to study obstacles outside of traditional pharmaceutical interventions that have major influences on the success or failure of public health responses. Despite their importance, these impediments are typically studied retroactively instead of being a major component of pre-planning and execution considerations. This course will use a series of case studies to explore Non-Medical Obstacles (NMOs) including security, logistics, communications, and social/cultural issues. Specific areas of focus will be their impact, policy implications, their past mitigation strategies, and future planning opportunities. These NMOs translate across diseases and countries so when their impacts are better understood and incorporated into the planning of future public health responses, it will be possible to provide more effective and efficient care to populations in need.

This course will enable students to systematically evaluate the critical infrastructure and related vulnerabilities of a hospital or health care system, and then use the knowledge and skills to develop an emergency response plan to mitigate distuption to health care delivery. The course uses an all-hazard approach which would be appropriate for carious natural or terrorist events. The course docuses upon the protection of all healthcare delivery for an individual hospital and for a defined residential population. The content includes a review of critical infrastructures, assessment of vulnerabilities, application to a simulated reural/urban county with muliptle hospitals, and development of a deasible response to the incident or terrorism. The course stresses advanced preparation, communication, and frequent evaluation of plans. The course also examines the relationship between the healthcare delivery system and the local. state, and federal emergency response agencies in addition to their particular roles relative to disasters and terrorist emergencies.

Teaches fundamentals of emergency preparedness exercises (i.e. orientation, tabletop, drill, functional and full scale exercises.

This course covers the principles, methods, and competencies for developing, improving, and evaluating a biorisk management system.

Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject with a professional orientation that may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester