Course subject: Health Studies (HLTH)

A critical analysis of health policy formulation, implementation and evluation related to population health initiatives and health care delivery. The course will include discussion of the role of various regional, provincial, and national agencies in health care policy formation. It will examine various health care systems, their funding and how the Canadian healthcare system compares with systems in other countries. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

The use of regression models (for continuous and categorical outcomes) for analysis of multi-variable data sets. Strategies for model building, fitting of models, assessing model assumptions and testing hypothesis. Application of these models to problems in the health sciences.

Review of Hypothesis tests and Confidence intervals for paired and unpaired observations. The concept of a designed experiment and its associated model. Analysis of variance for one and two factor experiments including interaction. Contrasts for comparing various treatment means. Use of Residual analysis to check the statistical assumtpions of a design . SAS may be used to obtain listings used in the analysis.

An investigation of the epidemiology of selected non-infectious diseases with emphasis on the identification of risk factors and on the methodology of epidemiological investigations.

The various programs and services, particularly in the non-medical areas, will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on various programs which are available to the elderly residing in the community, such as home care and homemaking services, various outreach programs, including day hospitals, placement and coordination services, geriatric assessment services, vacation relief beds and foster home programs. The reasons for the changes which have taken place over time will also be investigated. In addition, the cost-effectiveness and methods how such cost-effectiveness can be evaluated will be outlined. As with HSG 703, students in this course will be expected to undertake some field work.

This course focuses on the fundamental methods that are commonly employed in modern health informatics research in order to collect, store, organize, process, analyze, and communicate data/information/knowledge. Emphasis is on computerized methods and concepts. Students will gain both theoretical knowledge and practical experience so that they can apply the learned methods in practice after completing this course.

One of the major aims of heal informatics is to help health professionals make better decisions. To this end, diverse models and methods of decision making and decision support have been developed and implements in health care settings. This course reviews theories, methods, and technologies for aiding the process of making decisions in health care.

Fall/Winter/Spring The supervised practicum is intended to enhance basic or applied research skills. The placement may involve a combination of research design or program development, data collection (using quantitative or qualitative methods), analyses, interpretation, and presentation. A contract stipulating practicum objectives, and work to be completed to meet these objectives must be jointly approved by the student, the practicum supervisor, the academic supervisor, and the practicum coordinator. A written report by the student, together with a letter from the field supervisor, are used by the co-ordinator to evaluate student performance. This course is intended for Masters level students. Graded on a Cr/NCr basis. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

The primary objective of the course will be to provide a basic understanding of how drugs can alter the function of neural cells, and how these changes can affect mood, cognition, and behaviour. Key topics to be discussed include: a) biological principles of pharmacology, b) general structure and function of the nervous system, c) major neurotransmitter systems of the brain, d) mechanisms of drug action on neurotransmission, and e) pharmaotherapy.

This advanced seminar examines modes of research inquiry in the health sciences. Issues related to measurement, casual inference, experimental and quasi-experimental research designs, descriptive, interpretive, and ethnographic methods of data collection will be examined. The objectives of the course are to build aspiring scholars' expertise in diverse modes of inquiry and systems of knowledge production in the health sciences, in critical assessment and contextualization of methodologies within the academic, interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and knowledge translation.

This course will focus on statistical methods for analyzing and drawing inferences from longitudinal data, time-to-event data and incomplete/missing data, with emphasis on their application for public health sciences. Topics include linear and generalized linear regression models (for correlated data), and imputation techniques for incomplete correlated and multilevel data. Students will learn appropriate methods to implement (particularly through the use of software) and interpret analyses of various types of complex public health data.

This course covers advanced research methods in health informatics that are often applied in cutting-edge health informatics research. Fundamental research methods will be extended to greater depth. Latest information technology will be discussed and applied in the context of health informatics.

This course will provide an overview of current thinking on work and health by introducing students to major substantive topics in the area from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The course will critically examine a variety of topics that may be investigated from different disciplinary perspectives. Classes will include presentations by faculty members representing different disciplines in the collaborative program. Examples of topics discussed in a given term may include work-stress relationships, healthy workplaces, and vulnerable populations.

This seminar is a forum for student presentations about results of or proposals for research. Invited speakers will also present results of research from time to time. Attendance at the seminar is required for two terms (i.e., during the candidates' first two years in the program). Attendance beyond that is encouraged. The range of topics that will be addressed in the seminar crosses all areas of investigation in the collaborative program. Grading will be on a credit/no credit basis.

The supervised research practicum is intended to enhance basic or applied research skills as demonstrated through previous practica, research assistantships or other research experiences.The placement may involve a combination of research design or program development, data collection (using quantitative or qualitative methods), analyses, interpretation and presentationa. A contract stipulating practicum objectives, and work to be completed to meet these objectives must be approved jointly by the student, the practicum supervisor, the academic supervisor, and the practicum co-ordinator. A written report by the student, together with a letter from the field supervisor, are used by the co-ordinator to evaluate student performance.