This course explores key concepts and applications of empirical approaches in bioethics. The course aims to produce educated consumers of empirical literature — with the skills to assess and critique it from a methodological perspective — and provide foundational skills to contribute to the empirical bioethics literature. Students will be introduced to fundamental conceptual and methodological considerations in the empirical creation of bioethics knowledge, explore the relationships between descriptive empirical data and normative ethical reasoning, examine and assess a broad range of empirical methods employed in contemporary bioethics (including but not limited to quantitative methods such as randomized control trials and cross-sectional surveys, and qualitative methods such as phenomenology and ethnography), and develop skills in the critical appraisal of empirical literature.

The purpose of introductory course is to explore the law as a discipline within the interdisciplinary field of bioethics, the nature and orientation of legal reasoning on bioethics topics in healthcare, health research and public health, and the impact of the law and human rights on bioethics practice. Students will be introduced to seminal Canadian legal cases and court rulings influencing health practices, read and critically assess the ethical underpinnings of key federal and provincial legislation enabling and constraining practices in health, and explore the role and limits of current health law and regulation in addressing emerging bioethics issues and challenges in an evolving health landscape. A cross-cutting theme will be the concept of ethical justice (or fairness) in law and human rights, including substantive, procedural, and distributive aspects.

This is an independent study course in the sense that there are no in-class lectures.

This introductory course focuses on the history and foundations of bioethics as a field of inquiry and practice, including key bioethics concepts, theories, methods of ethical reasoning, and applications in healthcare, health research, and public health. Key theoretical approaches to be examined in this course include: utilitarianism (consequence-based theory), Kantianism (duty-based theory), virtue ethics, casuistry, principle-based approaches, and critical epistemologies in bioethics. Students will also explore the nature of ethical judgment, the basis of moral authority, the fundamentals of ethical argumentation and justification, critical thinking in bioethics analysis and inquiry, and the role and limits of theory in applied bioethics practice.

This intermediate course focuses on the history and foundations of bioethics as a field of inquiry and practice, including key bioethics concepts, theories, methods of ethical reasoning, and applications in health care, health research, and public health. Key theoretical approaches to be examined in this course include: utilitarianism (consequence-based theory), Kantianism (duty-based theory), virtue ethics, casuistry, principle-based approaches, and critical epistemologies in bioethics. Students will also explore the nature of ethical judgment, the basis of moral authority, the fundamentals of ethical argumentation and justification, critical thinking in bioethics analysis and inquiry, and the role and limits of theory in applied bioethics practice.

This is an intermediate course that explores the theory and practice of clinical bioethics. It aims to deepen students' insight into the role and attributes of the ethical practitioner; the normative ethical features of clinical care; the interplay of biomedical science, health technology, health law and policy, and professional standards in creating and shaping ethical issues in clinical settings; and the application of practical ethical reasoning in addressing ethical issues in clinical care.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been described as the 'fourth industrial revolution' with wide-reaching implications globally, including in health. AI methods and applications hold promise for aiding in the promotion of health behaviours, the detection of and early intervention in addressing communicable and non-communicable diseases, the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and the development of equitable public health and health systems policies. However, AI also raises important ethical issues and questions. With increasing scale and spread of AI methods and technologies in health, it is imperative to identify and address these ethical issues and questions early, systematically and by design. The goal of this introductory course on ethics and AI for health is to orient students to the core ethical issues relevant to AI research and practice in contemporary health systems.

This seminar course focuses on learner development of professional skills for the successful application of bioethics knowledge in their professional setting. Professional skills addressed in this course include: i) communication skills (e.g., effective writing, effective presentations, giving feedback), ii) facilitation skills (e.g., crucial conversations, conflict resolution), iii) influencing skills (e.g., making a case for support, advising decision-makers, engaging media), iv) skills in fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion, and v) reflective practice skills. Learning modalities will emphasize active learning including workshops, interactive sessions with thought leaders in the field, and peer co-consulting. This continuous course is conducted in-person during the 5 residency weeks of the MHSc program.

The Capstone Project is an experiential learning opportunity through which students integrate the bioethics knowledge gained through the MHSc program toward addressing a real-world applied bioethics issue or topic. Students will design, develop, and implement an individual capstone project under the supervision of an approved faculty member with relevant expertise. Capstone Projects must be academically rigorous and feasible to complete within two academic sessions. They may take a number of forms (e.g., a pilot study, a policy development project, an environmental scan, an implementation plan for an ethics initiative). The capstone project provides an opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge on an applied bioethics issue or topic of interest to them, to identify and apply appropriate methods of inquiry, to cultivate professional skills in effective communication and peer mentorship, and to reflect upon the complexities and ambiguities of applied bioethics practice in real-world contexts.

This course examines the field of population health sciences. Starting with a review of the concepts of Geoffrey Rose, students will examine foundational theories and methods used in population health studies. Through course assignments and discussion, students will critically appraise these concepts, as well as the various factors that shape population health and the fundamentals of prevention science at both the individual and population level. This course will also focus on the constitutive importance of health equity in theories of population health sciences. This will enable equitable health promotion and governance, and identifying contextual factors that influence health equity deliberations in contemporary approaches to public health practice. Students will further explore the future of this discipline and the importance of what Keyes & Galea describe as humility in population health sciences.

Critical appraisal is an important responsibility of all public health leaders and health care professionals undertaking research or evidence-informed practice. This course will focus on learning how to assess evidence. This course will also help students develop the ability to critically and effectively synthesize findings to generate evidence-informed practice that advances programs, policies, services and/or systems. The course will help students distinguish the different types of evidence and how they can be summarized. The methods, reporting, and critical appraisal of different types of knowledge synthesis that are often used in public health decision-making will be explored (e.g., scoping reviews, rapid reviews, overviews, network meta-analysis). Through developing a knowledge synthesis question, students will explore a broad range of disciplines and health related data sources, learn how to formulate critical questions, and will gain practice with developing a knowledge synthesis protocol.

In this seminar course, students will explore concepts related to personal mastery of leadership skills required to lead health transformation at the systems level. The objective of this course is to ensure that learners appreciate the individual, organizational, and systems level factors that shape a leader's success. Each course module is designed to provide a set of evidence-informed learning experiences that will facilitate the learner’s leadership development through reflection, practice, and the formation of action goals. Upon completion, students will be prepared to lead high-performing teams and organizations.

This course will explore the global health policy landscape, including how policy is developed, implemented and governed, and which critical policy agendas and issues (e.g., Sustainable Development Goals) shape this policy arena. Students will also learn about the roles and power dynamics (i.e., global health governance) between global state and non-state actors, as well as international agencies, non-governmental organizations and foundations. Through the use of specific policy issues, students will learn how to apply policy theories and policy analysis tools to assess contested and polarizing policy debates, including their impacts on health and/or health equity. Upon completion, students will understand the sociocultural, environmental, and political factors that influence global health policy, and by extension, competing global health objectives.

This course will provide a foundation in governance and accountability, key financial concepts (e.g., budgeting, costing), financial reporting, and enterprise risk and control frameworks. Consequently, this course also covers best practice financial management concepts that are fundamental to organizational leadership. Students will apply their knowledge and understanding of concepts to review governance and accountability for strong financial stewardship, financial documents and statements, conduct basic financial analyses, identify risks, and learn how to resolve performance issues. This course will be pivotal in training DrPH students to be comfortable with financial analysis concepts for decision-making and be able to successfully lead organizations through the lens of governance, accountability and transparency.

This is a continuous enrolment course conducted over 9 in-person sessions in Years 1 to 3 of the DrPH program. The seminar includes sessions on basic skills utilized in a professional doctorate journey – e.g., library and search techniques, media training, ethics board – as well as special lectures, case studies, and public health site visits. This seminar balances the high portion of remote or hybrid classes in the DrPH program through in-person dialogue and interactive learning that explores a diversity of current public health issues.

Smart ideas don't sell themselves. Once you've developed strong evidence-based policy, your next step as a public health leader is to spark political and public change. This course will focus on impact: You'll learn how to change the public and political discussions around your field, whatever your field is. This course will mentor you as a current public health leader, already facing an urgent need to create change in your field. We'll teach using frameworks, but with a heavy emphasis on application; you'll learn these skills in the context of the very issues that are your day-to-day focus, at work or in your DrPH.

This seminar series is for Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) students. It is intended to catalyze the implementation science component of the DrPH thesis. It will give the students an understanding of the spectrum of implementation science and its components, familiarize them with methodologies, and guide them in utilizing it to maximize the impact of their thesis and real-world environments. The focus is on the application of implementation science in practice. Students will be able to plan the implementation methods component for their research study. Students should be at a stage where they have a sufficiently drafted dissertation; the proposal defense will have ideally been passed.

This course is designed for DrPH students, as one choice of several options to fulfil the requirement for courses on research methods. It is also a recommended complement to required courses in critical appraisal. The course is learner-centred and invites students to engage with a broad array of distinct research purposes and approaches used in public health evidence. The course provides a comparative assessment of the relative strengths, weaknesses and different approaches for different research questions. Taxonomies of research objectives will be presented (e.g., basic, quantitative, and mixed methods research) although relatively more weight will be given to quantitative or mixed methods designs most commonly seen in applied public health research and on the specific designs of interest to members of the class. The course seeks to foster personal growth in terms of critical awareness of options and distinct risks to validity across research approaches, as well as familiarity with reference materials on from several disciplines. Students will engage with reference and self-directed learning materials from a wide variety of disciplines and sources. Students will demonstrate the cognitive and behavioural skills necessary to develop research proposals.

This course serves as an introduction to Public Health as a field of research and practice at DLSPH, in Canada, and beyond. It aims to provide a common grounding for incoming Public Health Sciences graduate students as they proceed to specialize in their chosen programs and fields of study. Through a series of interactive lectures, small group sessions, and other educational activities, students will gain insight into the diversity and complexity of pressing contemporary public health issues and how various public health disciplines and fields of practice address them.

The course will focus on learner development of professional skills that are key to success within and outside of the academy.

To "do" public health well, we must generate public impact. But the field of public health now faces a historic crisis of mistrust that stymies our ability to generate impact across many of our fields — from epidemiology and addictions to occupational health and policy.

In this course, students will study the dynamics currently undermining public trust in public health and then be introduced to evidence-based models they can apply to generate impact in low trust environments across public health fields. These include: community engagement models, journalism models, political problem-solving models, and crisis management models.

This course is interactive and highly applied; it is designed for graduate students in all fields of public health and health policy, across DLSPH programs, and for those preparing to work in either internal or public-facing roles:

• Each session will include in-class exercises and discussions of students' contributions to prompts in the Quercus discussion forum.

• In three sessions, guests who have shaped Canadian journalism, politics, and public health campaigns will review students' applications of the models they are learning.

• The final session will be an intensive crisis-simulation.

This course is an introduction to social and behavioural theory as it applies to the understanding of health and illness. As such, it is a survey course meant to acquaint you with many of the major areas of inquiry, questions, debates and arguments — and the work of key authors — in the sub-field of the sociology, psychology, and social science of health. Emphasis will be on a critical analysis of competing discourses on health, including those based on health behaviour change, interpretive perspectives, critical political economy, Foucauldian perspectives, indigenous perspectives, critical realism, and more. The focus of discussion will be theoretical interpretations of what it means to be, and what causes us to be, healthy or ill in Western industrialized society.

The underlying premise of this course is that health care systems do not develop in a vacuum, that is, they can only be understood in terms of the (always) historically contingent social, political, and economic context within which they emerge and exist. In other words, health care systems are social systems within larger social systems. The purpose of the course is to explore theoretically some of the major factors and forces influencing the development and nature of health care systems.

Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health and its determinants (Ottawa Charter, WHO 1986; Bangkok Charter, WHO 2005). This course introduces the foundations of health promotion theory, concepts, history, strategies, and practice skills. Within the course, health is defined broadly and the promotion of health is examined at individual, interpersonal, and community levels. The course reflects a critical, socio-ecological approach to health and health promotion, recognizing that health is influenced by a complex interplay of biological and social factors.

This course builds on the foundations of health promotion theory and practice covered in Health Promotion 1 (CHL5103H). Health Promotion 2 will further develop students' understanding and competencies in relation to health promotion principles and strategies, through an advanced, systems-oriented approach. That is, while CHL5103H introduced foundational health promotion concepts and examined their application at the individual and interpersonal levels, in this course we will further explore many of these same concepts, with a focus on their application at the community and systems levels. The course is grounded in a critical social science perspective and anti-oppressive and decolonial lenses.

This course introduces students to the primary areas of research in social determinants of health, the evolution of findings to date, and the relevant public discourses. Throughout the course, three main themes will be emphasized: 1) the phenomenon of health inequalities and the mechanisms through which they arise, 2) the role of social determinants of health in the broader public health landscape and, 3) conceptual and methodological dilemmas in research on social determinants of health, such as those found in the areas of measurement and causality.