The Stanford Journal of Public Health provides a list of public health-related classes for the convenience of those interested in the public health. Click on the Column headers to sort by Course, Units, or Quarter. The classes on this list may not be offered every year. For the most updated information, please visit Stanford Explore Courses.
| Course | Units | Quarter | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course | Units | Quarter | Description |
| HumBio 151: Intro to Epidemiology | 4 | AUT | Principles of epidemiology: the distribution and determinants of disease; the control of health problems; and the medical detective work required to understand disease outbreaks. Case studies from developed and developing countries to explore the use of epidemiological techniques in describing disease dynamics of human, emerging and zoonotic (animal to human) diseases such as SARS, plague, HIV, and influenza; the impacts of changes in policy, law, and behavior on disease control and eradication, such as hepatitis vaccination; and modern challenges in epidemiology such as global disease transmission, environmental change, and bioterrorism threats. |
| Anthro 177: Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases | 3-5 | AUT | The changing epidemiological environment. How human-induced environmental changes, such as global warming, deforestation and land-use conversion, urbanization, international commerce, and human migration, are altering the ecology of infectious disease transmission, and promoting their re-emergence as a global public health threat. Case studies of malaria, cholera, hantavirus, plague, and HIV. |
| HumBio 122: Beyond Health Care: Seeking Health in Society | 3 | AUT | Available evidence at the national and cross-country level linking social welfare interventions and health outcomes. If and how non-health programs and policies could have an impact on positive health outcomes. Evaluation of social programs and policies that buffer the negative health impact of economic instability and unemployment among adult workers and their children. Examination of safety nets, including public health insurance, income maintenance programs, and disability insurance. Prerequisites: HUMBIO 4B or equivalent, and background in research methods and statistics. |
| HumBio 126: Promoting Health Over the Life Course: Multidisciplinary Perspectives | 3 | AUT | Disease prevention and health promotion topics pertinent to different stages of the life span emphasizing healthy lifestyle and reducing risk factors in both individuals and communities. Focus is on scientific investigation, the application of behavioral science to risk reduction strategies, and the importance of health promotion as a social and economic imperative. Topics include: epidemiology of chronic diseases; social determinants of health, behavior change; obesity, nutrition, and stress; young adult, mid-life and aging health issues; health care delivery and public health system; workplace wellness programs; and environmental and international issues. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor |
| HumBio 129: Critical Issues in International Women's Health | 4 | AUT WIN | Women's lives, from childhood through adolescence, reproductive years, and aging. Economic, social, and human rights factors, and the importance of women's capacities to have good health and manage their lives in the face of societal pressures and obstacles. Emphasis is on life or death issues of women's health that depend on their capacity to negotiate or feel empowered, including maternal mortality, violence, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and sex trafficking. Organizations addressing these issues. A requirement of this class is participation in public blogs. Prerequisites: Human Biology core or equivalent or consent of instructor. |
| HumBio 156: Global HIV/AIDS | 3 | AUT | Public health, policy, and research issues. Resources at Stanford and institutions such as government, NGOs, and pharmaceutical, advocacy, and international organizations. Sources include biomedical, social, and behavioral sciences. Student projects. Guest lectures. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor. |
| BIOMEDIN 156: Economics of Health and Medical Care | 5 | AUT | Graduate students with research interests should take ECON 248. Institutional, theoretical, and empirical analysis of the problems of health and medical care. Topics: institutions in the health sector; measurement and valuation of health; nonmedical determinants of health; medical technology and technology assessment; demand for medical care and medical insurance; physicians, hospitals, and managed care; international comparisons. Prerequisites: ECON 50 and ECON 102A or equivalent statistics. Recommended: ECON 51. |
| BIOMEDIN 432: Analysis of Costs, Risks, and Benefits of Health Care | 4 | AUT | Same as MGTECON 332) For graduate students. How to do cost/benefit analysis when the output is difficult or impossible to measure. How do M.B.A. analytic tools apply in health services? Literature on the principles of cost/benefit analysis applied to health care. Critical review of actual studies. Emphasis is on the art of practical application. |
| HUMBIO 120: Health Care in America: The Organizations and Institutions that Shape the Health Care System | 4 | AUT | Health policy and health care delivery. Options for health care reform. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 121: Critical Issues in Child Health | 4 | AUT SPR | Integrated picture of the physical and psychosocial health factors that result in a healthy child building on principles taught in the Human Biology core. Students apply basic human physiology to the physiology of the child to develop perspective on global pediatric health challenges and how the cultural context influences and defines the child living within it. |
| HUMBIO 129P: International Health Policy: Comparative Health Care Systems | 3 | AUT | Key dimensions and issues involved in affluent health care systems in countries such as the U.K., Canada, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, and France, including lessons for the U.S. Key problems that health care systems face, principal characteristics of several systems, forces of change, and structural differences. How a given country approaches health care reveals its values, sense of justice, views on rationing, interest groups, and political power structure. |
| MED 257A: Patient Advocacy in Community Clinics and MED 258A: Advanced Patient Advocacy in Community Clinics | 1-4 | AUT | Early clinical experience for pre-medical and medical students. Structured training and shadowing in preparation for a clinical role working with patients in community health clinics; the context of the work, populations served, and social role of physicians. Regular shifts at one of the course-affiliated clinic sites throughout the academic year. 1-2 units for students attending class meetings and performing clinic shifts. 3-4 units for a year-long, clinic-based project. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center). Prerequisite: application. |
| MED 283: Early Clinical Experience at Pacific Free Clinic | 1-3 | AUT WIN SPR SUM | Hands-on experience at a student-run free clinic targeting immigrants in the San Jose area. Opportunity to work with an interpreter and learn about unique health care issues faced by immigrants. Students are expected to conduct history and physicals, present to the attending physician, help arrive at a diagnosis and plan and participate in basic procedures. 1 unit for limited commitment; 2 units for volunteers in training and students who volunteer a minimum of once a month; 3 units for Steering Committee members and students who volunteer a minimum of twice a month. |
| HRP256: Economics of Health and Medical Care | 5 | AUT | Graduate students with research interests should take ECON 248. Institutional, theoretical, and empirical analysis of the problems of health and medical care. Topics: institutions in the health sector; measurement and valuation of health; nonmedical determinants of health; medical technology and technology assessment; demand for medical care and medical insurance; physicians, hospitals, and managed care; international comparisons. Prerequisites: ECON 50 and ECON 102A or equivalent statistics. Recommended: ECON 51. |
| HRP 210: Health Law and Policy | 3 | AUT | (Same as Law 313) Open to law , medicine, business, and graduate students. Focus this term is on the physician/patient relationship, medical ethics, and public health law. |
| HRP 225: Design and Conduct of Clinical and Epidemiologic Studies | 3-4 | AUT | Intermediate-level. The skills to design, carry out, and interpret epidemiologic studies, particularly of chronic diseases. Topics: epidemiologic concepts, sources of data, cohort studies, case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, sampling, estimating sample size, questionnaire design, and the effects of measurement error. Prerequisite: A basic/introductory course in statistics or consent of instructor. |
| SURG 150: Principles and Practice of International Medical Humanitarianism | 4 | AUT | Open to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. Focus is on understanding ethical theory behind humanitarianism (utilitarianism, global health equity, and basic human rights), the growing role of surgery in international health, and social innovation and business in the health care sector. Summer internship opportunities for international health service with subsidized travel for top students. Guest speakers include world-renowned physicians, CEOs, and social-medical entrepreneurs. |
| HUMBIO 82B: Advanced Data Analysis in Qualitative Research | 3 | AUT | For students writing up their own qualitative research. Students prepare a complete draft presenting their own qualitative research study including results, with reports drafted section by section, week by week. Class provides feedback, guidance, support. |
| HUMBIO 90Q: Contemporary Issues in Human Experimentation | 3 | AUT | Preference to sophomores. The guiding principles currently used to protect human subjects in terms of informed consent and protection of privacy; ethical issues relating to compensatory mechanisms for inherent risks; historical perspective and the development of the current mechanisms to safeguard the privacy and integrity of the individual; examples of use/abuse of human experimentation during medieval, Nazi, and modern times. Guest speakers currently performing human experiments or involved in approving such experimentation. Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | UG Reqs: Writing2 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credi |
| HUMBIO 4B: Environmental and Health Policy Analysis | 5 | SPR | Connections among the life sciences, social sciences, public health, and public policy. The economic, social, and institutional factors that underlie environmental degradation, the incidence of disease, and inequalities in health status and access to health care. Public policies to address these problems. Topics include pollution regulation, climate change policy, biodiversity protection, health care reform, health disparities, and womens health policy |
| ANTHRO 117A: Conservation Medicine in Practice | 4 | SPR | Examination of the interconnectedness of the environment and human and animal health. Investigation of the `One World-One Health' paradigm, by examining issues such as climate change and human health, ecological perturbation and infectious diseases, and the importance of new conceptual approaches to combat disease emergence and spread. Seminars, from experts working in government, NGOs, public health, medicine and academia, will emphasize the importance of inter-disciplinary approaches (medicine, epidemiology, anthropology, ecology, environmental science) in understanding health scenarios, and also upon the importance of using science and policy to improve public health. |
| CEE 70N: Water, Public Health, and Engineering | 3 | SPR | Preference to sophomores. Linkages between water, wastewater and public health, with an emphasis on engineering interventions. Topics include the history of water and wastewater infrastructure development in the U.S. and Europe; evolution of epidemiological approaches for water-related health challenges; biological and chemical contaminants in water and wastewater and their management; and current trends and challenges in access to water and sanitation around the world. How to identify ways in which freshwater contributes to human health; exposure routes for water- and sanitation-illness; how to classify these illnesses by pathogen type and their geographic distribution; how to identify the health and economic consequences of water- and sanitation-related illnesses; costs and benefits of curative and preventative interventions; and how to interpret data related to epidemiological concepts. No previous experience in engineering is required. |
| HRP 263: Advanced Decision Science Methods and Modeling in Health | 3 | SPR | Advanced methods currently used in published model-based cost-effectiveness analyses in medicine and public health, both theory and technical applications. Topics include: Markov and microsimulation models, model calibration and evaluation, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Prerequisites: a course in probability, a course in statistics or biostatistics, a course on cost-effectiveness such as HRP 392, a course in economics, and familiarity with decision modeling software such as TreeAge. |
| HRP 299: Directed Reading in Health Research and Policy | 1-18 | AUT WIN SPR SUM | Epidemiology, health services research, preventive medicine, medical genetics, public health, economics of medical care, occupational or environmental medicine, international health, or related fields. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 152: Viral Lifestyles | 3 | SPR | Contemporary topics related to microorganism. Relevance of microorganisms to disciplines beyond molecular biology and medicine. Public health implications of human/viral interactions, and the human behaviors that bring about such interactions. The ecological role played by viruses and their role in environmental health. Prerequisite: familiarity with biological systems, evolutionary biology, and microbiology. |
| MED 83Q: Ethical, Legal, and Social Dimensions of Stem Cell Research | 3 | SPR | Preference to sophomores. Ethical, legal, social, and economic dimensions of stem cell research such as the discovery of human embryonic stem cells and the international landscape of public policy. How stem cells work, their role in the upkeep of the human body, and current and future uses in medicine. Issues at the intersection of science and society such as human-animal hybrids, notions of justice in intellectual property law, distribution of health care, and the major ethical frameworks defining the debate. |
| MED 263: Advanced Decision Science Methods and Modeling in Health | 3 | SPR | Advanced methods currently used in published model-based cost-effectiveness analyses in medicine and public health, both theory and technical applications. Topics include: Markov and microsimulation models, model calibration and evaluation, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Prerequisites: a course in probability, a course in statistics or biostatistics, a course on cost-effectiveness such as HRP 392, a course in economics, and familiarity with decision modeling software such as TreeAge. |
| HRP 240: Rethinking Global Health | 3 | SPR | Challenges for those seeking to improve global health: contending with a dynamic balance between infectious and chronic non-communicable disease that differs across and within countries; issues relating to the proximate and more removed causes of disease and illness, including nutrition, infrastructure, governance, economic development, and environmental changes; diverse proposed responses with arguments for particular courses of action appealing to cost-effectiveness, egalitarian, and rights-based principles. Course goal is to begin to make sense of these challenging issues, requiring data and evidence derived via multiple methodologies, critical thinking, and sound reasoning. Prerequisite: course dealiing in global health, such as HUMBIO 129S, or consent of instructor. |
| NBIO 101: Social and Ethical Issues in the Neurosciences | 2-4 | SPR | Influences on public debate and policy of scientific advances in the study of the brain and behavior: theories of brain function; philosophical and scientific approaches; advances in the neurosciences, possible uses in medical therapy, and interventions involving genetic screening, genetic selection, enhancement of neurological functioning, and manipulation of behavior; questions related to medical therapy, social policy, and broader considerations of human nature such as consciousness, free will, personal identity, and moral responsibility. May be taken for 2 units without a research paper. Prerequisite: Neuroscience, Biology, or Symbolic Systems major; or Human Biology core; or consent of instructor. |
| BIOMEDIN 205: Biomedical Informatics for Medicine | 1-2 | AUT SPR | Primarily for M.D. students; open to other graduate students. Emphasis is on practical applications of bioinformatics and medical informatics for medicine, health care, clinicians, and biomedical research, focused on work at Stanford. Topics may include: methods to analyze genetic conditions, integrative methods for microarray, proteomic, and genomic data to understand the etiology of disease, clinical information systems in local healthcare facilities, cellular and radiology imaging, and pharmacogenomics. Enrollment for 2 units includes weekly assignments. Non-MD students may enroll for 1 unit. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: background in biomedicine. Recommended: background in programming. |
| EE 303: Autonomous Implantable Systems | 3 | SPR | How implantable systems can revolutionize health care in the coming decades. Potential applications include implantable sensors and monitoring devices for preventive and post-surgery monitoring; drug delivery systems that can be placed closer to cancer cells and are able to administer dosage automatically; medical robots that perform surgery inside patients with greater precision and less pain; and neural implants for brain-machine interface. Focus is on the analysis and design of remotely-powered, miniature implantable devices for those applications. Prerequisites: EE114 |
| HUMBIO 122S: Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, Health | 4 | WIN | Examines health disparities in the U.S., looking at the patterns of those disparities and their root causes. Explores the intersection of lower social class and ethnic minority status in affecting health status and access to health care. Compares social and biological conceptualizations of race and ethnicity. |
| HUMBIO 123: Obesity in America: Clinical and Public Health Implications | 3 | WIN | Interdisciplinary clinical, research, and policy approaches. The prevalence, predictors, and consequences of obesity and diabetes; biological and physiological mechanisms; clinical treatments including medications and surgery; and the relevance of behavioral, environmental, economic, and policy approaches to obesity prevention and control. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 127A: Community Health: Assessment and Planning I | 4 | WIN | Major determinants of health in a community. Working with community partners to identify health issues and plan programs and policies to prevent disease and promote health. Service learning component involving students in community health assessment techniques. Final grade given upon completion of HUMBIO 127B. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center). Prerequisite: 4B or equivalent, or consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 128: Community Health Psychology (PSYCH 101) | 4 | WIN | Social ecological perspective on health emphasizing how individual health behavior is shaped by social forces. Topics include: biobehavioral factors in health; health behavior change; community health promotion; and psychological aspects of illness, patient care, and chronic disease management. Prerequisites: HUMBIO 3B or PSYCH 1, or equivalent. |
| HUMBIO 129S: Global Public Health | 4 | WIN | The class is an introduction to the fields of international public health and global medicine. It focuses on resource poor areas of the world and explores major global health problems and their relation to policy, economic development and human rights. The course is intended for students interested in global health, development studies, or international relations, and provides opportunities for in-depth discussion and interaction with experts in the field. |
| MI 118: The Human Virosphere | 5 | WIN | ocus on interaction of humans and viruses from a number of perspectives: historical, cultural, political, and demographic. Organismal, molecular biological, biochemical, human and viral interactions; clinical aspects of viral disease, epidemiology and risk factors, public and international health, aspects of virology including emerging viruses and biological weapons. Case studies involving particular viruses: human herpes viruses, retroviruses, oncogenic viruses; vaccination and disease eradication, evolution of viruses as tools for research and therapy. Emphasis on general principles of biology and matters of decision making policy. Prerequisite: Biology core, Human Biology core, or consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 146D: Developmental Disabilities: From Biology to Policy | 2-3 | WIN | Changes in science and societal attitudes have resulted in an increased prevalence of individuals with disabilities in our communities. This course focuses on Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Fragile X, and autism. Topics include medical and social definitions of disability; the impact of attitudes, beliefs, and values; advances in biological sciences that may lead to novel therapies to improve functioning; and federal policies, laws, and regulations such as IDEA that increase opportunities for community participation. A field experience complements classroom discussion. Prerequisite: HUMBIO core or equivalent, and consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 153: Parasites and Pestilence: Infectious Public Health Challenges | 4 | WIN | Parasitic and other pestilence of public health importance. Pathogenesis, clinical syndromes, complex life cycles, and the interplay among environment, vectors, hosts, and reservoirs in historical context. Public health policy initiatives aimed at halting disease transmission. World Health Organization tropical disease targets including river blindness, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, mycobacterial disease (tuberculosis and leprosy), malaria, toxoplasmosis, dracunculiais, and intestinal helminthes. Guest lecturers with expertise in disease control. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor. |
| HUMBIO 154: Cancer Epidemiology | 4 | WIN | Epidemiological methods relevant to human research in cancer. The concepts of risk; case control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies; clinical trials; bias; confounding; interaction; screening; and causal inference. Social, political, economic, and ethical controversies surrounding cancer screening, prevention, and research. Prerequisite: Human Biology core or equivalent, or consent of instructor. |
| CEE 265D: Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries | 1-3 | WIN | Economic, social, political, and technical aspects of sustainable water supply and sanitation service provision in developing countries. Case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Service pricing, alternative institutional structures including privatization, and the role of consumer demand and community participation in the planning process. Environmental and public health considerations, and strategies for serving low-income households. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. |
| CSRE 28N: The Cultural Shaping of Mental Health and Illness (PSYCH 28N) | 3 | WIN | This seminar examines how our cultural ideas and practices shape our conceptions,\n\nperceptions, experiences, and treatment of emotional wellness and distress. We will read and discuss empirical research and case studies from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and medicine. Course requirements include weekly reading and thought papers, weekly discussion, and a final research project and presentation. |
| EASTASN 117: Health and Healthcare Systems in East Asia (EASTASN 217) | 3-5 | WIN | China, Japan, and both Koreas. Healthcare economics as applied to East Asian health policy, including economic development, population aging, infectious disease outbreaks (SARS, avian flu), social health insurance, health service delivery, payment incentives, competition, workforce policy, pharmaceutical industry, and regulation. No prior knowledge of economics or healthcare required. |
| ECON 127: Economics of Health Improvement in Developing Countries (MED 262) | 5 | WIN | Application of economic paradigms and empirical methods to health improvement in developing countries. Emphasis is on unifying analytic frameworks and evaluation of empirical evidence. How economic views differ from public health, medicine, and epidemiology; analytic paradigms for health and population change; the demand for health; the role of health in international development. Prerequisites: ECON 50 and 102B. |
| EDUC 340: Psychology and American Indian Mental Health (NATIVEAM 240) | 3-5 | WIN | Western medicine's definition of health as the absence of sickness, disease, or pathology; Native American cultures' definition of health as the beauty of physical, spiritual, emotional, and social things, and sickness as something out of balance. Topics include: historical trauma; spirituality and healing; cultural identity; values and acculturation; and individual, school, and community-based interventions. Prerequisite: experience working with American Indian communities. |
| HRP 89Q: Introduction to Cross Cultural Issues in Medicine | 3 | WIN | Preference to sophomores. Introduction to social factors that impact health care delivery, such as ethnicity, immigration, language barriers, and patient service expectations. Focus is on developing a framework to understand culturally unique and non-English speaking populations in the health care system. |
| HRP 208: Introduction to Concepts and Methods in Health Services and Policy Research | 2 | WIN | Primarily for medical students in the Health Services and Policy Research scholarly concentration; continuation of 207. Topics include health economics, statistics, decision analysis, study design, quality measurement, cost benefit and effectiveness analysis, and evidence based guidelines. Recommended: 207. |
| MED 242: Physicians and Human Rights | 1 | WIN | Weekly lectures on how human rights violations affect health. Topics include: regional conflict and health, the health status of refugees and internally displaced persons; child labor; trafficking in women and children; HIV/AIDS; torture; poverty, the environment and health; access to clean water; domestic violence and sexual assault; and international availability of drugs. Guest speakers from national and international NGOs including Doctors Without Borders; McMaster University Institute for Peace Studies; UC Berkeley Human Rights Center; Kiva. |
| PEDS 65N: Understanding Children's Health Disparities | 3 | WIN | The social and economic factors that affect children and their health status. The principal sources of disparities in the health of children in the U.S. are not biologic, but social and economic. Topics include ethnic, cultural, and behavioral factors that affect children's health, both directly and indirectly; lack of health insurance; and current proposals for health care reform, focusing specifically on how they will impact existing health disparities among children. |
| BIO 109A: The Human Genome and Disease | 3 | WIN | The variability of the human genome and the role of genomic information in research, drug discovery, and human health. Concepts and interpretations of genomic markers in medical research and real life applications. Human genomes in diverse populations. Original contributions from thought leaders in academia and industry and interaction between students and guest lecturers. |