Undergraduate Global Public Health (UGPH-GU)

This course examines social, behavioral and cultural factors that have an impact on public health in community, national and global contexts. We will consider how health is influenced by factors such as age, gender, culture, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and social class. Public health problems and their solutions will be analyzed in light of individual risk factors as well as larger structural forces.

This course provides a survey of contemporary issues in bioethics. Students will be introduced to a variety of ethical issues and questions arising in health care and the biological sciences, as well as with emerging technologies. Topics include the moral status of animals, personhood at the margins of life, abortion and infanticide, euthanasia and suicide, the nature of health and well-being, disability and mental illness, autonomy and addiction, paternalism and manipulation, genetic engineering and human enhancement, geoengineering and de-extinction, and the allocation of scarce medical resources. The focus throughout will be on moral questions and how decisions in these domains should be made.

This course introduces basic concepts and techniques in the analysis of public health data. It is an applied course, emphasizing use, interpretation and limits of statistical analysis. Real world examples are used as illustrations, and computer-based data analysis is integrated into the course.

Neuroethics has two branches: the neuroscience of ethics and the ethics of neuroscience. The former is concerned with how neuroscientific technologies might be able to shed light on how we make moral decisions, as well as on other philosophical issues. The latter is concerned with ethical issues raised by the development and use of neuroscientific technologies. Topics include whether neuroscience undermines deontological theories; whether our moral reasoning is inherently biased; whether there is a universal moral grammar; the role of emotions in morality; the extended mind hypothesis; the ethics of erasing memories; the ethics of addiction and brain stimulation; neuro-enhancements; "mind-reading" technologies; disorders of consciousness; free will and legal responsibility; developmental issues; personal identity and neurodiversity.

As thinking beings, we do not only have lives, we also lead lives; and we not only will die, we also reflect on the fact that we will die. In this class, we will ask how (if at all) the knowledge that we (and others) are going to die does (or should) affect the way we lead our lives. Topics may include: Does knowing that our lives will end affect how we plan them? Does “living life to the fullest” require taking a certain attitude towards death? Does knowing that we and our loved ones will die affect what we care about? Does knowing that we are getting ever closer to death shape our lives? Do the unlived lives we could have had matter to the one we lead? Finally, do the answers we give to those questions change as we live our lives and approach death? Readings will be drawn from contemporary academic philosophy, the history of Western and non-Western philosophy, literature, psychoanalysis, and nonfiction.

This course provides a survey of contemporary issues in Public Health Ethics. Students will be introduced to a variety of ethical issues and cases concerning public health, both globally and domestically. Much of the course will focus on how the pursuit and promotion of public health can come into conflict with individual autonomy, privacy, and social justice, and on how to think about the relation of health to human welfare more broadly. Topics include the nature of health and well-being, the right to health care, obesity prevention, tobacco control, infectious disease control (such as Ebola and Zika), childhood vaccination efforts, breastfeeding promotion, public health messaging, health inequalities and marginalized populations, global public health and resource allocation, and global health justice.

Clinical ethics is concerned with the ethical issues arising in the medical care of patients, and with the various stakeholders that interface with patients. The course will begin with an introduction to ethical principles, specifically justice, autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. It will then explore how these principles are weighed against each other to determine the best course of action. The focus will then shift to specific clinical topics, often in the form of cases. Physicians, nurses, and/or ethicists will lecture on ethical issues that they encounter in their work. Topics include balancing patient well-being with patient choice, incapacity and surrogate decision-making both for adults and for children, truth-telling in a variety of settings, the allocation of scarce resources, and the ethics of offering unproven, experimental interventions. Students will be introduced to ethical consultation as performed in clinical settings and given opportunities to role-play serving on ethics committees.

This course will involve an examination of a variety of ethical issues of contemporary significance that arise in connection with our evolving understanding of disability, gender and race. We will address foundational metaphysical questions such as: What is disability? What is gender, and how might it be different from biological sex? What defines race, and to what extent are these factors natural or social? We will focus especially on ethical questions regarding how disability status, gender or race should affect (or should not affect) how we treat others. For example: Should we regard a person's own self-identification with a particular racial group as fully authoritative? Should new medications be tested for safety and efficacy separately in men and in women? What would justice for the disabled involve? Is there something ethically objectionable about using modern medical technology to prevent children from being born with disabilities?

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health and illness in human populations worldwide. The overall objective of this course is to introduce students to the history, principles, and methods of epidemiology in a global context. Students will also examine epidemiological theories, analytic approaches, and tools from a global health perspective. Finally, students will develop the necessary skills to critically read, interpret, and appraise published epidemiological studies and to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize information from mass media sources.

This course focuses on ethical and epistemological issues that arise given the ubiquity of the Internet and the ocean of information available both to us and about us. How, if at all, should so-called "Big Data" and associated technologies technologies be regulated? What should governments, parents, and employers be able to learn about you based on your digital footprint? Questions concerning privacy, autonomy, informed consent, and the extent to which values should constrain technology will also be discussed. The second part of the course investigates questions concerning knowledge, understanding, objectivity, and trust in the Internet Age, including the prevalence of "fake news" and the negative impact of "information bubbles".

This course will focus on the global risks and consequences of health behaviors. You will become familiar with the distribution of these risk factors and consequences across global populations. The approach will involve an examination of the ways in which behaviors associated with health risks are shaped by, and in turn, shape larger social contexts. You will be introduced to evidence regarding the role of these different contexts of risk behavior, and the successes and challenges of various interventions that have influenced how programs were designed and targeted. Further, different frameworks will be explored to understand these contexts and thus contribute to the design, implementation, and evaluation of such interventions. For each topic, we will examine the global history, biomedical consequences, epidemiology, and global public health approaches.

his course offers an introduction to the intersection of ethics and technology. Many emerging technologies raise serious ethical concerns. The first part of the course will focus on artificial intelligence, including machine learning, robots, autonomous weapons, self-driving cars, and other intelligent machines. The second part will focus on brain-computer interfaces, internet-based applications, virtual reality, and more. The third part of the course will focus on technologies in health care, including assistive technologies, diagnosis, enhancement, personalized medicine, and telemedicine. At each stage the course will explore ethical issues raised by these technologies, including algorithmic fairness, data privacy, the safety of artificial intelligence, the moral status of robots, technology and employment, and the fair availability of technology.

This course introduces students to key concepts in health policy formation, implementation and evaluation in a global context. Using a comparative lens, students explore organization, financing and delivery of health care services and health systems around the world. We examine the role of governmental and non-governmental agencies in delivering care and contributing to a health care infrastructure using case studies and other materials in a comparative approach. Key lessons in the implementation of new health policies and initiatives are explored across the developing world, as well as in a US as students explore health system performance, the quality and cost of care, the management of health care services, the process of health improvement and health reform. The course will use a multidisciplinary approach that employs sociological, political, economics, and ethical perspectives. The objective is to build an understanding of the fundamental ideas, issues, and problems currently debated in global health policy and management and to provide a foundation for future studies and careers in the global health field. Epidemiology in a Global World and Health and Society in a Global Context are recommended but not required pre-requisites for the course.

This course examines the origins, substance, and application of leading theories of human rights. We will begin by looking philosophical defenses of, and challenges to the idea that all human beings have certain fundamental rights. From there, we will examine philosophical and practical issues related to specific rights such as the right to health, women's rights, minority and indigenous rights, and the rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. This course will enhance students' ability to think critically about the relationship between theories of human rights and the practical challenges that we confront in defining and enforcing human rights globally. Students will gain an understanding of the relationship between human rights and the health needs of vulnerable populations.

This course explores the immediate and long-term applications of nutrition necessary for optimal maternal, infant, child, and adolescent health within a public health context. Biological, physiological, and psychological aspects of fertility, pregnancy, and growth and development will be discussed, with particular focus on how they are influenced by nutrition. Methodological issues encountered in public health and clinical research will be incorporated into lectures and discussions.

This course will examine some of the key issues and principles of environmental health practice. It will focus on the how environmental health issues are defined and approached by civic groups, governmental officials and researchers. It will highlight how environmental threats come to the attention of the public and weigh the options for addressing these threats. Finally, it will underscore the need for multi-disciplinary approaches in understanding these threats and crafting solutions. We will focus on prevention of environmentally mediated diseases and discuss challenges to effective prevention.

This course examines moral issues in medical practice and research. Topics include euthanasia and quality of life; deception, hope, and paternalism; malpractice and unpredictability; patient rights, virtues, and vices; animal, fetal, and clinical research; criteria for rationing medical care; ethical principles, professional codes, and case analysis (for example, Quinlan, Willowbrook, Baby Jane Doe). Attention will be paid to the unique ethical challenges, including rationing and prioritization, that arise in the context of responses to natural disasters and to public health emergencies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The global health undergraduate experiential learning experience has a three-fold goal: It: 1) broadens the student's exposure to public health issues, 2) facilitates opportunities for students to observe public health work and leadership in action, and 3) increases the student’s knowledge of specific career opportunities. The integration of didactic and fieldwork experiences provide the student with opportunities to critically reflect on the fieldwork experience, complete a public health project that is mutually beneficial to the student and the university, and synthesizes public health approaches. Students enroll in either an individual project, similar to a traditional internship, or a team-based project where students are assigned to small teams to complete their experiential learning fieldwork on the first day of class. Fieldwork focuses on a public health issue on NYU’s New York campus.

Sexually-transmitted infections have affected and influenced people for millennia, and this class provides a comprehensive overview of STIs for public health students. The introduction concentrates on the epidemiology and natural history of common STIs, supplemented with discussions on how biologic and behavioral factors can be used to inform prevention strategies. The next segment focuses on marginalized populations who are at high-risk for STIs, covering evidence-based means of engaging with individuals in these populations to design culturally-appropriate methods for STI prevention. The final section describes overarching themes between STIs and public health, past, present, and future, providing a venue to think critically and comprehensively about STIs, and to develop effective prevention messaging. Pre-requisite: UGPH-GU 30 Pre-requisite: UGPH-GU 30

This course addresses questions of justice concerning health and health care. Topics include the nature, justification, and limits of the (purported) right to health care; the ethics of health care rationing and cost containment; competing theories of justice; the ethics of "nudging" in health care; inequality and exploitation; privatization; the nature and ethics of disability; and markets on the margins.

A new GIPH course focused on creating sustainable and scalable Public Health business models, either as stand-alone entities or within a larger corporation. Teams of undergraduate students will explore specific Public Health needs that can be addressed via innovative, entrepreneurial ventures and gain increased business and entrepreneurship skills in a Public Health context.

The course examines the scandals that launched the field of research ethics and consider the ethical principles that arose in reaction. A central issue concerns the nature and limits of informed consent. Topics include: what makes consent valid? What kind of understanding is required for consent to count as 'informed'? How should we distinguish research and clinical care? What clinical responsibilities to researchers have in designing and conducting studies? What does it take to justify research when consent is impossible, as in the case of children or incapacitated patients? When, if ever, is it acceptable to use deception in research? What else is required, beyond informed consent, to justify research? In particular, what sorts of social goals should research promote, and what social harms must it avoid.

This course surveys central issues in the ethics of human reproduction. Topics include the morality of abortion; whether we can harm people by bringing them into existence; moral issues raised by assisted reproduction; genetic selection and enhancement; the impact of our reproductive choices on future generations. The course will introduce students to philosophical conceptions of personal identity, fundamental moral notions (e.g., harm, interests, autonomy, respect), and the standards of bioethical debate.

This course will explore how sociocultural and political economic factors in different Latin American countries have affected the development of their health care systems and contributed to marked health disparities. Using a multidisciplinary lens that will draw on and compare public health policy and anthropological perspectives, students will explore sociocultural and political economics factors that have an impact on public health and delivery of health care services in Latin America, and individual and community experiences with health care. Students will focus particularly on the Argentinian health care system through lectures and visits with health care users, providers, managers, and policy advocates throughout Buenos Aires.

Millions upon millions of people, especially children, die each year from preventable diseases. Meanwhile, various groups, with different models, are engaged in confronting this global health emergency—from international and national agencies like the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to private philanthropies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Rotary International. This course will consider a core question-- How can we best work together as a global community to effectively control and eradicate preventable diseases?-- by studying both what has worked in the past and what is being done in different parts of the world today FIVE global health campaigns have been chosen as examples: against SMALL POX (the only infectious disease to be wiped from the earth); POLIO (a disease on the verge of eradication through intense world cooperation); AIDS (a disease that has thus far eluded our efforts); and AVIAN FLU and EBOLA (the latest threats to the emerge). Students will read and discuss literature on a wide range of subjects, including the history of medicine and philanthropy, public health, and the culture of disease, while honing their writing

This course explores the social determinants of health at local, national and global levels, and how understanding of historical, behavioural and political contexts can be used to improve public health. Health is determined by a range of influences, both risk factors and positive assets. Population sciences will inform our concepts of health, as well as individual biology and life stories. We will consider the rights of the individual alongside the welfare of the public. The class will discuss how our understanding of health and well-being relates to our experiences of health care systems, our personal values and our assumptions.

This course introduces basic concepts and techniques in the analysis of public health data. It is an applied course, emphasizing use, interpretation and limits of statistical analysis. Real world examples are used as illustrations, and computer-based data analysis is integrated into the course.

By the end of this course students will develop the ability to understand the evolution and current role of epidemiology as an approach to assessing public health problems; describe epidemiological approaches to defining and measuring health problems in defined populations; understand how epidemiologic studies are designed, implemented and analyzed; understand the concepts of measurement of test performance and be able to apply these concepts of testing and screening in a range of health and other settings; understand and apply epidemiological criteria needed to establish cause and effect relationships; understand, and apply key ethical issues to the conduct of epidemiological and other scientific investigations; conduct library research to find information on diseases and other health conditions; and critically read and understand health information.

This course introduces students to key concepts in health policy formation, implementation and evaluation in a global context. Using a comparative lens, students explore organization, financing and delivery of health care services and health systems around the world. We examine the role of governmental and non-governmental agencies in delivering care and contributing to a health care infrastructure using case studies and other materials in a comparative approach. Key lessons in the implementation of new health policies and initiatives are explored across the developing world, as well as in a US as students explore health system performance, the quality and cost of care, the management of health care services, the process of health improvement and health reform. The course will use a multidisciplinary approach that employs sociological, political, economics, and ethical perspectives. The objective is to build an understanding of the fundamental ideas, issues, and problems currently debated in global health policy and management and to provide a foundation for future studies and careers in the global health field. Epidemiology in a Global World and Health and Society in a Global Context are recommended but not required pre-requisites for the course.

This course will examine some of the key issues, achievements, shortfalls and principles of environmental health practice. It will focus on the how environmental health issues are defined, how they interact with other factors to impact health and how they are approached by civic groups, governmental officials and researchers. It will highlight how environmental threats come to the attention of the public and weigh the options for addressing these threats. Finally, it will underscore the need for multi-disciplinary approaches in understanding these threats and crafting solutions.

The course examines the scandals that launched the field of research ethics and consider the ethical principles that arose in reaction. A central issue concerns the nature and limits of informed consent. Topics include: what makes consent valid? What kind of understanding is required for consent to count as 'informed'? How should we distinguish research and clinical care? What clinical responsibilities to researchers have in designing and conducting studies? What does it take to justify research when consent is impossible, as in the case of children or incapacitated patients? When, if ever, is it acceptable to use deception in research? What else is required, beyond informed consent, to justify research? In particular, what sorts of social goals should research promote, and what social harms must it avoid.

This course will explore how sociocultural and political economic factors in different Latin American countries have affected the development of their health care systems and contributed to marked health disparities. Using a multidisciplinary lens that will draw on and compare public health policy and anthropological perspectives, students will explore sociocultural and political economics factors that have an impact on public health and delivery of health care services in Latin America, and individual and community experiences with health care. Students will focus particularly on the Argentinian health care system through lectures and visits with health care users, providers, managers, and policy advocates throughout Buenos Aires.

This course will explore how sociocultural and political economic factors in different Latin American countries have affected the development of their health care systems and contributed to marked health disparities. Using a multidisciplinary lens that will draw on and compare public health policy and anthropological perspectives, students will explore sociocultural and political economics factors that have an impact on public health and delivery of health care services in Latin America, and individual and community experiences with health care. Students will focus particularly on the Argentinian health care system through lectures and visits with health care users, providers, managers, and policy advocates throughout Buenos Aires