University of TorontoDalla Lana School of Public Health

PHS100H1

GRAND OPPORTUNITIES IN GLOBAL HEALTH

(0.5 FCE)

Course Syllabus – Winter 2016

Time: Thursdays, 4-6pmLocation: Health Sciences Building, 155 College St.

Main Classroom: HS610Breakup rooms:

HS100HS614HS618HS695HS705

Course Directors:Professor Abdallah DaarDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of TorontoEmail: a.daar@utoronto.caOffice hours: Thursdays, 3-4pm, Suite 402, Health Sciences Building,155 College StreetPhone: 416-978-0373

Professor Andrea A. CortinoisDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of TorontoEmail: a.cortinois@utoronto.caOffice hours: Thursdays, 3-4pm, Suite 406, Health Sciences Building,155 College StreetPhone: 416-978-6051

1. INTRODUCTION AND COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an invitation to undergraduate students from all Arts and Science programs to embark on a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the complex and multifaceted field of global health. Public health, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, the allied health professions, development studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political sciences, bioethics, engineering, architecture, economics, and law are just some of the many disciplines that contribute to this field. No matter what your academic and professional interests are, you all can contribute to achieving better health in an interconnected, shrinking world where challenges tend to be increasingly global in nature and nation states are no longer the only actors involved. The course is an opportunity to meet and interact with many among the most creative researchers and mentors working at the University of Toronto. In addition, the course follows an innovative format that includes both online and in-class interactions and offers numerous opportunities for an enriching collective learning experience. There are no pre-requisites to enroll in this course except for a genuine interest in the topic, intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, and a desire to contribute to this collective exploration. For the academic year 2015-2016, this course is open to first year undergraduate students at the St. George’s Campus.

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

a. Understand key public health-related concepts (e.g. wellness, health, disability, right to health, disease, prevention, health indicators, etc.); the major public health milestones of the past (e.g. eradication of smallpox, development of antibiotics and vaccines); the evolution of public health models; and the major health-related transitions (e.g. demographic, epidemiological, environmental) that impact global health.

b. Recognize different definitions of global health and whether these are neutral or have underlying value-laden assumptions.

c. Explain current disparities and their continuing legacies from a historical perspective.d. Recognize the contribution of human rights to individual and public health, and how

gender inequities impact healthe. Identify global health stakeholders and their points of viewf. Analyze the values and ethical principles underlying global health and related research

and innovationg. Analyze and reflect on the major scientific, technological and social developments of the

past two to three decades, including those addressing infectious diseases, chronic non-communicable diseases, global mental health, macroeconomics and health, social determinants of health, building integrated health systems, implementation and delivery science, etc.

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3. COURSE FORMAT

The course includes both online and classroom components. The online component consists of video lectures, short readings, and peer-to-peer interactions among students. All these activities can be arranged by individual students to fit their own time availability. The classroom component is devoted to face-to-face discussion and group activities. Contrary to a traditional format, students view lectures and do the readings before attending classes. Because of that, this course format is known as ‘inverted’ or ‘flipped’.

Each of the eleven course sessions unfolds over one week and is organized as follows.

Online Component

1. Video lectures and readings: Students, at a time that suits them best, will watch a series of three to four 15-minute video lectures on the global health topic of the week. Videos are presented by University of Toronto professors with outstanding theoretical and applied expertise. Students will also read one or two short related readings.

2. Reflective question and student peer assessment: Students will individually answer a short question that will help them reflect on some of the concepts and examples presented in the lectures and readings. Once all students have submitted their responses, they will anonymously react to and discuss the answers given by two or three of their peers. In addition, each student will highlight the concept they have found most difficult to understand/least clear (the ‘muddiest point’).

Classroom Component

3. Finally, students will attend a two-hour, in-class session (the “flipped” class). This time will be used to review key concepts and ideas presented in the video lectures and readings and reflect on their application to real-world problems through case studies and other group activities. In-class activities will be facilitated by the two course directors, one or more professors among those who presented the lectures for the current week, and teaching assistants.

4. COURSE WORKLOAD

In order to achieve excellent results in PHS100H1, students should plan to dedicate 6-8 hours a week to the course, including: watching video lectures (1h); reading (1.5-2h); answering reflective questions (about 30 minutes); assessing other students’ responses to the reflective questions (30-60mins); and in-class activities (2h). The rest of available time students should

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plan to dedicate to preparing for the mid-term and final projects. Obviously, these are just indications- the time needed by each student to excel may vary. In all cases, however, work on the mid-term and final projects should start as early as possible in the course.

The following table illustrates how students might arrange their course-related work time for each weekly session.

5. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND ASSIGNMENTS

Students will be evaluated according to the following criteria.

Evaluation Criterion Weight Deadline

Participation 15% Ongoing, weekly

Reflective questions 20% Ongoing, weekly

Peer assessment 15% Ongoing, weekly

Mid-term project 20% Feb 28 (11:59pm)

Final project 30% April 10 (11:59pm)

ParticipationActive and thoughtful participation in in-class activities is an important ingredient for success in this course. To receive full participation marks, students are expected to attend and actively participate in all in-class activities!

Reflective QuestionOf all the responses to the weekly reflective questions submitted by a student throughout the course, three will be randomly selected and assessed, at the end of the term, according to a set of specific criteria that will be soon available on Blackboard. VERY IMPORTANT: to receive a ‘reflective question’ final mark, students must complete the ‘peer assessment’ component of the course, too.

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Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

Video lectures and readings(2.5-3h)

Reflective question (approx. 30m)

(Midnight deadline)

Peer assessment(30-60m)

(Midnight deadline)

In-class activities

(2h)

Peer AssessmentOf all the assessments of responses given by peers submitted by a student throughout the course, three will be randomly selected, at the end of the term, and evaluated according to a set of specific criteria that will be soon available on Blackboard.

Mid-term ProjectStudents will write a 1,500 word essay exploring in more depth a topic of their choice among those that were discussed during the first half of the course. General guidelines and an evaluation rubric (marking guideline) for this assignment will be soon available on Blackboard.

Final projectStudents will work in pairs to develop the text (3,500-4,000 words) of a 15 minute lecture on a global health topic of their choice. Each will get a grade and the best script will be selected to be video-recorded and become part of the course future collection. General guidelines and an evaluation rubric for this assignment will be soon available on Blackboard.

6. COURSE POLICIES

Email CommunicationTo ensure efficiency and a rapid response to you, for all course-related emails sent to the teaching assistants, please always:

1) write from their University of Toronto official email address;2) start the subject line with ‘PHS100H1 – ’; and3) use a subject line that meaningfully describes the content of the message.

Emails that do not conform to this format will not be answered. Also, emails including questions that have already been addressed in this syllabus or in the guidelines and evaluation rubrics for specific assignments will not be answered. As a general rule, all other emails will be answered within two business days.

GradingGrading will follow the official University of Toronto, ‘University Grading Practices Policy’ for undergraduate courses, which can be found at: http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/newstudents/transition/academic/grading

Academic IntegrityHonesty and fairness are considered fundamental values shared by students, staff and faculty at the University of Toronto. The University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously. Penalties can be severe. For further information and to learn how to avoid plagiarism students should carefully read all information available at: http://academicintegrity.utoronto.ca/

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Extensions and Penalties for Late AssignmentsExtensions for personal and family illness and emergencies can be granted but must be discussed with the teaching assistants as early as possible and not once the deadline for the assignment has passed. Late assignments will be penalized by 5 percentage points per day and will only be accepted up to one week after the due date, unless the student(s) has(have) received from the instructor explicit approval in writing for a longer extension.

Accommodation for a DisabilityStudents who require accommodation for a disability should register with Accessibility Services at: http://www.accessibility.utoronto.ca/

7. DATES TO REMEMBER

First day of classes ....................................................................................................... Jan 14Last day to add an S course .......................................................................................... Jan 24Winter Reading Week .................................................................................................. Feb 15-19Mid-term project due ................................................................................................. Feb 28Final date to drop the course without academic penalty .............................................. Mar 13Last day of classes ........................................................................................................ Apr 7Final project due ......................................................................................................... April 10

8. SUMMARY OF SESSIONS AND LECTURES (Provisional sequencing)

Jan 14 Introduction to the course (A. Cortinois; A. Daar)

Defining health in the 21st Century (A. Cortinois; A. Jadad)

Jan 21 Global health: Definitions and history (R. Kotha; A. Pinto; R. Upshur)

Jan 28 The right to health (L. Forman; D. Gastaldo; P. Hamel; J. Kohler)

Feb 4 Global health ethics (J. Gibson; S. Green; J. Lavery; D. Silva; A. Jadad)

Feb 11 Health systems (A. Brown; J. Gibson; A. McGahan)

Feb 25 Urbanization and health (H. Hu; P. O’Campo; B. Poland; P. Braitstein)

Mar 3 Global mental health (A. Daar; K. McKenzie; C. Pain)

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Mar 10 Big data for global health (A. Chockalingham; D. Henry; P. Jha; R. Kaul)

Mar 17 Grand Challenges approach (O. Bhattacharyya; Y.-L. Cheng; K. Simiyu; P. Singer)

Mar 24 The Human Genome Project (A. Daar; S. Scherer; M. Szego)

Mar 31 Achieving convergence (Z. Bhutta; D. Sellen; S. Zlotkin)

Apr 7 Wrapping up and final course party (A. Daar; A. Cortinois)

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