GHS-Global Health Studies

GHS 600. Fundamentals of Global Health. 3 Hours.

This course is designed to introduce students to the foundations of global health programs, policies and practices. Students will explore the history of the field of global health, including its roots in colonial exploration, tropical medicine, and imperialism, and the current paradigms shifting the field to a collaborative and transnational effort to improve health equity for all and reduce the global burden of diseases. The course will emphasize the main concepts necessary to examine the critical links between health outcomes and social, environmental, and economic determinants at multiple levels of scale and across low, middle, and high -income countries. The course will be global in coverage but will a focus on the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries and on the health of the poor in low-resource or resource-scarce settings.

GHS 601. Global Health Partnerships and Development. 3 Hours.

Global health is an emerging and evolving field of health research and practice. Working in global health means that researchers, practitioners, and advocates work alongside and within a complex system of governance that has emerged over time and in response to very significant global health events. This course offers a critical analysis of global health programs and partnership initiatives over time and their impact on health and development. Using a historical lens to examine the growth of global health as a field of research and practice, this course examines the very significant paradigm shift from the field of international health to global health. By exploring key historical events and interventions, this course also explores why global health diplomacy is so important to cooperation among countries as well as global health security and how global health programs are funded, and programs and initiatives are implemented in various bilateral, multilateral, and private-public partnerships.

GHS 603. Immigrant, Migrant, Refugee Health. 3 Hours.

This course will introduce students to the inter-relationships between migration and health, focusing on the myriad of health issues experienced by migrant populations. The course will focus on both communicable and non-communicable health issues among migrating populations. The course will examine health issues among all types of migrant populations with a particular focus on the categories of ‘displaced peoples’, and the resultant state and humanitarian responses surrounding health and social (public health) services. This course frames global health in broad terms to include the underlying social and economic conditions, including climate change, economic underdevelopment, and political instability, which displace people, or motivates them to migrate, and which present barriers to achieving health, mental health, and wellbeing in immigrant, migrant, and refugee communities. We explore how violence, social suffering, health, disease, and mental health are intertwined with displacement and migration.

GHS 604. Infectious Diseases of Global Health Significance. 3 Hours.

The purpose of this course is to equip participants with up-to-date knowledge of global pandemic preparedness and control measures necessary to protect present and future generations. This course will expose students to Global Health agreements such as the pandemic treaty and International Health regulations. The course also challenges students to find new innovative strategies for the prevention of the big 3 (HIV, TB & Malaria) infectious diseases and familiarize students with global health priorities. To achieve this, the course will introduce concepts of disease infectious disease transmission and disease transmission dynamics and introduce the principles of global health security. The course adopts multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspectives in studying the factors that contribute to the impact of pandemics and major outbreaks using Smallpox, malaria, and COVID-19 as an important historical lens. Students will explore some of the WTO policies that facilitate or preclude the discovery of vaccines and distribution of vaccines and medical commodities during pandemics. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on equity, one health, and universal health coverage.

GHS 605. Disabilities and Global Health. 3 Hours.

This course explores current paradigms and models for defining and categorizing disability based on various international agreements and documents.

GHS 606. Critical Issues in Global Maternal and Child Health. 3 Hours.

This course is an elective module for students enrolled in UAB Certificate in Global Health program. Mothers and children in developing countries are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors of the world's population. This course defines the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) discipline, describes the current practices and challenges, and compares global strategies and potential solutions.

GHS 607. Global Health and Gender. 3 Hours.

Sex and gender are both important determinants of health. Biological sex and socially constructed gender interact to produce differential risks and vulnerability to ill health, differences in health seeking behavior, in health care providers' response and in health outcomes for women and men. Gender differences in morbidity and mortality represent `avoidable¿ and/or `unfair¿ inequalities in health. Because gender is socially constructed, gender-based inequities in health are amenable to policy and program interventions. This course is designed to help public health students, policy makers, health care providers and health researchers understand concepts related to gender and to apply them in an analysis of specific policies and programs. The course will enable participants to identify the gendered nature of issues like violence and sexuality and how these affect health. The course provides participants with support to apply a gender perspective to program planning, policy analysis, or a research design as part of their final assignment.

GHS 608. Food and Nutrition in Resource Limited Settings. 2 Hours.

This course will provide to graduate and professional students a general overview of the facts, research finding underlying nutrition and the relationships to acute and chronic diseases worldwide and their impact productivity and economic development.

GHS 609. Environmental Health in Resource Limited Settings. 3 Hours.

Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the complex roles played by the environment as a major determinant of health and identify the major environmental health issues confronting populations in a resource-limited setting.

GHS 610. Refugee Health Care. 3 Hours.

This course is one of the elective courses of the UAB Global Health Studies Certificate program, and is designed for professionals undertaking the GHS continuing education certificate as well as UAB graduate students enrolled in the GHS graduate certificate program. The course addresses the issues of refugees and the agencies concerned with their protection, human rights, and coordination and provision of care.

GHS 611. International NGO Management. 3 Hours.

The course addresses issues for managers of NGOs primarily at the field level of operation with special emphasis on project management. It begins with the history of international organizations and their roles in aid, development, and human rights. It follows with analysis of NGO organizational structure and function, roles, and the responsibilities of various stakeholders at the macro and micro level. Project development, planning, implementation, and evaluation will be addressed. Management principles and skills will also include budget preparation and staff/human resource management.

GHS 620. Infect Dis Surveillane & Contr. 3 Hours.

The primary focus of the course is vector ecology and biology, infectious disease surveillance and control, and water and sanitation in a developing country, with an emphasis on field and community-based learning. This class will take place in Jamaica and you must be accepted by the Sparkman Center for Global Health.

GHS 629. Intensive Global Health Training - SIFAT. 3 Hours.

Become a better Global Citizen by learning critical issues on Household Energy use in the developing world that affect health, environmental sustainability, gender equity, economics, and the development of millions of families and communities globally. Learn what you can do to make a difference. Be a part of the solution for a better world!.

GHS 630. Field Training in World Hunger and Malnutrition: Practical Skills to Make a Difference. 3-6 Hours.

This two week intensive field training course will take place at SIFAT's 176-acre international training campus in Lineville, AL. Students will attend didactic sessions and participate in hands on activities and simulations. SIFAT trainers are experienced in international development and cross-cultural dynamics. On-site Field Training.

GHS 645. Comparative Health Systems and Policy. 3 Hours.

This course provides a comprehensive survey of a number of healthcare systems from low-, middle-, and high-income countries, situating the U.S. and other national experiences in a comparative cross-national frame. The course provides frameworks for students to analyze in diverse settings the different ways that health policy is developed and implemented, given the resources, capacities, and systems of each country. The course will also examine the ways in which health care is organized and delivered, along with underlying global public health principles and impacts. By comparing health systems and policies, globally, students will reflect on how a country’s social-historical context and values, geography, polity, and economy influence the way that health care is provided and its relationship with population health, as well as how health policies influence the quality of life.

GHS 649. Interprofessional Global Health Service Learning. 3 Hours.

This course provides students with an opportunity to work in small teams to address a global health problem in collaboration with a community partner. The global health problem to be addressed can be at a local site (with a local agency or partner), a site within the US, or an international site (with a US or non-domestic agency or partner). Interprofessional teams of 4-6 graduate and professional students will apply concepts and theories related to global health, interprofessional collaboration, team building, leadership, community partnerships, business models, and appropriate framework for developing and implementing a plan to address a specific global health problem with a community partner.

GHS 690. Special Topics in Global Health. 1-6 Hour.

This special topic course will be used in the graduate global health certificate program to cover emerging issues or specialized content not represented in the main curriculum. Prerequisites: Permission of instructor; other prerequisites may be required.