Principles of Public Health

The course “Public Health Principles for Healthcare Professionals” is an insightful, comprehensive program designed to equip healthcare professionals with the necessary knowledge of public health principles and practices. It provides an overview of key topics such as healthcare policy, health promotion, disease prevention, and epidemiology.

The course equips learners with a solid understanding of public health’s role in promoting health and wellbeing on a broader scope beyond individual patient care. It also explores the social determinants of health, population health concepts, and how to address health disparities using evidence-based strategies. By the end of this course, learners will have a good understanding of how healthcare professionals can contribute to public health strategies and interventions at the population level.

Course Learning Objectives:

• Understand the key principles and concepts of public health
• Examine the role of healthcare professionals in public health
• Analyze the importance of health promotion and disease prevention
• Apply epidemiological methods to address public health issues
• Explore the influence of social determinants on health
• Identify strategies to address health disparities and health inequalities

Course Outline:

Module 1: Introduction to Public Health – Definition, principles, history, and core functions. The role of healthcare professionals in public health.
Module 2: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention – Lifespan approach to health promotion, importance of immunization, and preventive health services.
Module 3: Epidemiology Basics – Definition, importance, types of epidemiological methods, and their applications in public health.
Module 4: Social Determinants of Health – Impact of environmental, social, and genetic factors on health outcomes.
Module 5: Population Health – Concepts of population health, disease surveillance, outbreak investigation and developing effective interventions.
Module 6: Healthcare Policy and Advocacy – Importance of health policies, policy development process and the role of healthcare professionals in advocacy.
Module 7: Health Disparities and Inequalities – Concept of health disparities, identifying health disparities, and strategies to address these inequalities.
Final Examination: Comprehensive assessment of course learning objectives.

Course Benefits:
• Development of a broad understanding of public health concepts and principles.
• Enhancement of your clinical practice with the application of public health strategies.
• An understanding of how to improve health outcomes for your patients using population-level interventions.
• The acquisition of skills in epidemiology, and policy-making, which can be used in various healthcare settings.
• The ability to identify and address health disparities and inequalities in your practice and community.

Online Delivery Mode / Self-Paced:
This course is delivered entirely online, allowing healthcare professionals to easily integrate learning into their busy schedules. It is self-paced, enabling learners to proceed through the course content at their own convenience and pace, allowing optimal absorption and understanding of the material. The course includes interactive instructional content, video lectures, discussions, case studies, and quizzes for engagement and thorough comprehension.