Spotlight on Spring Global Health Courses

global health classroom

Published January 7, 2014, last updated on April 9, 2018 under Education News

With 33 global health courses to choose from this semester, students are sure to find one or more that peak their interest. Global health courses offered through the Duke Global Health Institute and in partnership with departments across campus cover an array of subjects for students of all levels. See our full listing of courses here and we’ve highlighted a few below.  Sign up for a global health course today! Drop/add ends on Wednesday, January 22.

Introduction to mHealth (GLHTLH 590S, undergrad and grad)
Instructor: Lavanya Vasudevan
The use of mobile technologies to deliver health services in low- and middle-income countries is growing in popularity because it is proving to work. The course covers important aspects of designing, implementing and evaluating an intervention involving mHealth. The instructor was honored for her work in mHealth last month. See the story.

Primate Disease Ecology and Global Health (EVANTH 385D / GLHTLH 315D, undergrad only)
Instructor: Charles Nunn
This course uniquely links aspects of global health, evolutionary anthropology and infectious diseases. Students come away from the course with an understanding of basic principles of epidemiology and disease evolution, with a focus on wild primates, humans and other mammals. Nunn talks about his course in this video.

Global Women’s Health Technologies (BME 290 / GLHTLH 390, undergrad only)
Instructor: Nimmi Ramanujam
This course introduces students to the role of technology in women's health locally and globally. Students will focus on understanding how devices are engineered and used in health. Both engineering and non-engineering students will be able to think more critically about how medical technologies for women’s health are created and implemented in different settings. The instructor leads the new Global Women’s Health Technologies Center at Duke. Learn more.

Global Health Research: Qualitative Field Methods: (GLHLTH 772, grad only)
Instructor: Kearsley Stewart
This field-based, applied course helps students choose the qualitative field methods that best fit their research project. Students will develop skills practiced in the social sciences, such as ethnographic description, participant observation and interviewing. Students will also gain a deeper understanding of collecting, analyzing, integrating and reporting data from multiple sources as well as the considering the ethics of their work.

Air Pollution: From Sources to Health Effects (ENVIRON 642, undergrad and grad)
Instructor: Jim Zhang
Both urban outdoor air pollution and household indoor air pollution contribute significantly to global burden of disease. This course covers the fundamentals of how major air pollutants are generated and transported in the atmosphere and how they affect human health. Students will also discuss case students related to exposure assessment, toxicology and epidemiology.

Population and Environmental Dynamics Influencing Health (GLHLTH 637S / ENVIRON 637S, undergrad and grad)
Instructor: William Pan
The course examines the connections between population, health and environment (PHE) with a focus on interactions in developing or transition economies. Students will gain experience in the design and analysis of PHE studies, and epidemiology of vector-born, chronic and enteric infections. The instructor recently wrote commentary on the topic. Read it here.

One Health: From Philosophy to Practice (GLHLTH 771, grad only)
Instructor: Chris Woods, William Pan
The course is based on the increasingly popular and holistic approach to health that studies the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health. Students will explore such topics as the impact of earth’s changing ecology on health, food and water security, and the impacts of animal health on human health. The course, which includes a weekly multi-campus seminar off-site, was among the first in the nation to be taught three years ago. See the One Health blog.