Theory is an invaluable tool for public health practitioners and researchers, to ensure that interventions build upon existing knowledge for maximal public health impact. The goal of this course is to provide students with a strong foundation in the primary theoretical perspectives that inform current research and practice in relation to health promotion and public health intervention. The focus will be on critical examination of the strengths and limitations of theories operating at the individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and system levels. The course will equip students with a theoretical ‘toolbox’ to ground their future work in health promotion and public health intervention.

This is an introductory course intended for master's students in public health with limited prior exposure to qualitative research. Students will acquire an introductory-level understanding of qualitative research; it will provide students with an understanding of the foundations, approaches, and methods associated with qualitative inquiry to become informed consumers of qualitative research, and begin to plan and implement qualitative approaches to public health inquiry. This course covers a range of issues including the theoretical grounding of qualitative research, selected approaches, methods of data collection and analysis, and the application of qualitative research to the exploration of public health issues.

This graduate seminar serves as the core course for the Collaborative Specialization in Women’s Health. In this course, we will examine women’s health issues from multiple standpoints, theories, and methods, drawing upon perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, and sciences. Students will have the opportunity to meet and engage with subject experts from across the University and beyond. Together, we will investigate, interrogate, and critique research and research methodologies related to specific health issues experienced primarily by women. Through dialogue and debate, critical thinking skills will be enhanced as dominant lines of scholarship and innovative methodologies are considered across disciplinary domains and epistemologies. This course begins with an historical summary of the women’s health movement within the context of dominant medical discourse and practice. This is followed by an overview of sex and gender and their importance to health research and health promotion. Subsequent lectures focus on theories (e.g., feminism, intersectionality, masculinities, critical disability, biomedicalization, Foucault) that have interrupted the dominant view and contributed to new understandings of women and their bodies, and methodologies that are cutting edge (e.g., Indigenous arts-based approaches, story-telling), as applied to better understanding local and global health issues (e.g., LGBTQ+ health, mental health, autoimmune disorders, HIV, body image, and gender-based violence).

Program evaluation is a core competency in public health. This course will introduce students to the theories, approaches, methods, innovations and related to program evaluation. Designed as a practice-oriented course, this course will assist learners to develop evaluation and professional skills necessary to design and procure program evaluations.

Over the past few decades, the reorganization of production and labour markets resulting from economic globalization, widening socio-economic inequities, conflict, natural disasters, environmental degradation and, more recently, climate change have combined to become increasingly significant forces shaping international migratory fluxes. Migration impacts the health status of those who move and of individuals, communities and entire societies in countries of origin, transit, arrival and resettlement. Given the significance of international migration, it is important to understand the role this phenomenon plays as a social determinant of health, its interactions with other determinants, as well as the implications migration presents in terms of health care delivery and policies. This course adopts an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating scholarly work from the fields of public health, the social sciences, law, and human rights to help students achieve the course learning goals.

This is a graduate course that explores different ways of communicating about health. It covers a wide range of topics, including how our behaviour, society, politics, and culture all play a role in health communication. Throughout the course, we’ll be engaging with various materials and activities. We’ll be watching videos, reading articles, listening to podcasts, writing papers, and even creating our own content. These activities will help us understand why communication is so important in personal, interpersonal, AI-supported, and collaborative institutional contexts. We’ll also explore how messages are created, shared, and sometimes distorted. By studying the work of health promoters and looking at the framing, frequency, and fun of different forms of health communication in social media, in campaigns, in knowledge mobilization of health research evidence and even in misinformation (infodemics), we’ll gain insights into the impact of health communication. We’ll learn how they can be used on their own or together to inform, educate, and engage different individuals, groups, and networks within organizations.

This is an advanced graduate-level course in qualitative research methodology that focuses on the theory, techniques and issues of data analysis and interpretation. The course is designed for students taking qualitative approaches to their thesis research, i.e., using both qualitative forms of data and qualitative (non-numeric, interpretive) forms of analysis. Ideally students should be in the late data gathering and analysis phase of their research, although students at the proposal writing and pre-data collection stage also benefit from the course. The course aims to give students knowledge and experience in concrete analysis practices, but also to enhance their ability to articulate and address the core theoretical and methodological issues of qualitative inquiry. Although the topics discussed are generic to qualitative methodology, the literature and class instruction draw heavily on the field of health, and on the instructor’s own disciplinary background in the sociology of health and illness and childhood, and substantive topic area of mental health.

The health of women, children, and adolescents (WCA) globally is acknowledged to be inextricably linked to societal well-being and prosperity. Nevertheless, they remain underserved and disproportionately affected by illness, economic poverty, and political instability. These are reflected in high morbidity and mortality rates as well as in diminished access to health and social services. There are also within-group inequities such as racism, migration, conflict, and socio-economic differences, amongst other determinants, that have an effect on women, children, and adolescent health. This course will provide an overview of several pressing issues related to women, children, and adolescents' health drawing on global and Canadian contexts (i.e., a glocal perspective). Using a critical lens that draws from intersectionality, decolonialism, and black feminist theory, our course will consider key dimensions (including equity, gender) and social, political, and economic determinants of health. We will discuss policies, programs, and strategic events that have shaped (in)action in WCA health. By mapping the role of local and international agendas on pre-defined priority issues (e.g., sexual rights and reproductive health, gender based violence), each week will encourage students to question how health priorities for women, children, and adolescents are determined.

This course will draw on the expertise of researchers affiliated with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto, and in some instance special guests from other institutions, to present an overview of issues related to mental health and addictions. Using a population health framework that situates mental health/mental illness and addictions in a complex web of social determinants and societal response, it will examine the epidemiology of these disorders, the philosophies and practices of treatment and prevention services, and the design of service delivery systems, including recent attention to the reform of such systems in Ontario.

Genomics is expected to have a major impact on the way we conceptualize, prevent, diagnose and manage diseases, and promote health. Research and development of genome-related biotechnologies for health are accompanied by massive investments not only by industries but also by national governments as part of their strategies to promote innovation. As this field evolves there is a need for society to develop appropriate norms and frameworks to ensure that the complex social, ethical and economic issues of genomics are addressed. This should be done as early as possible, ideally as the technologies develop, and before applications based on the technologies have been marketed and introduced into health care systems. The course will address the main bioethical and public policy issues associated with genomics and health biotechnology development. It will discuss the current status of genomics science, genomics and biotechnology innovation systems, intellectual property rights, law and policy issues relating to genomics development, genomics and public health, public engagements, genomics and diversity, regenerative medicine, genomics databases, and the ethics of genomics in global context where important emerging principles such as benefit sharing will be discussed.

This course provides a structured opportunity for PhD students to talk about their own doctoral work and to receive feedback from the instructors and other students. It is intended that the course topics will meet the practical needs and interests of individual students completing their dissertation, yet stretch them beyond where they might otherwise go on their own. It will help prepare students for some key research and career challenges and the debates that await them after graduation, particularly as health researchers using qualitative and post-qualitative methodologies. The course will counter the isolation and potential stalling of thesis work at this stage, aggravated by the pandemic, and provide mentorship to address the particular challenges of qualitative inquiry and scholarship in the health sciences and in other settings in times of change. This course also facilitates the formation of networks that can serve as resources to students as they complete their theses and move out into professional careers. The structure of the sessions will include guest lecturers, discussions, presentations, and creative exercises to connect with our creativity and imagination.

The world, and North America in particular, is entering a period of unprecedented change. There is mounting evidence of the potential for (and pressure for action to avoid) runaway climate change, unprecedented species extinctions and environmental degradation, the persistence (and growth) of alarming inequities in health, and accelerated resource depletion. By many estimates we currently possess most of the technological know-how to solve the world’s fiscal, economic, environmental, social justice, and climatological crises. Consensus is emerging that building resilience at three nested levels (psychological/personal, community, systems level) is or must be at the centre of convergent social justice and environmental social change movements. This course is designed to assist students working in the area of public health, environment, social work, adult education, community development, public health, and/or cognate fields (in research, practice, and policy) to understand and apply concepts of resilience (from systems theory and complexity science) to building the capacity of communities to: a) successfully weather predicted disruptions/shocks associated with climate change, global pandemics, interruptions in global trade and food supply, sharp increases in the cost of energy, and environmental degradation; and b) nurture the development of alternative spaces (economic arrangements, networks, etc.) that support the emergence of life — sustaining structures and practices (economic, social, etc.) to replace the unsustainable industrial growth society whose accelerated unravelling we are currently witnessing on many levels.

Intersectionality researchers emphasize the need to consider complex interactions between structures of power and oppression and interconnected aspects of individual and group identity and social location. In this course, students will be introduced to the historical and theoretical underpinnings of intersectionality scholarship. Key areas of health inequity research informed by intersectionality will be critically discussed. Students will also be exposed to key methods literature and learn about different ways of 'doing' intersectionality in public health research and practice.

The goal of this course is to introduce the use of mixed methods public health research. Mixed methods approaches are becoming increasingly common in research across areas of public health. However, most research methods courses focus on either qualitative or quantitative methods, and rarely address how to meaningfully integrate the two. In this course, students will explore the epistemological and methodological issues involved in conducting mixed methods research in public health. Students will acquire the skills to critique mixed-method research designs and will design their own mixed methods study in an area of public health of interest to them. Both students who are primarily trained in quantitative methods (e.g., epidemiology) and students primarily trained in qualitative methods (e.g., social sciences) will benefit from this course, and opportunities will be provided for students to learn from one another’s expertise. By the end of the course, students can expect to be able to: a) identify whether a mixed methods design is appropriate for their research problem; and b) identify learning gaps to be addressed through future advanced qualitative, quantitative, and/or mixed methods courses.

The purpose of this course is to support the development of Indigenous health research that meets and/or exceeds the dual criteria of Indigenous community relevance and scientific excellence. This course will expose students to advanced Indigenous community-based health knowledge and expertise. Students will learn how to practically implement applied Indigenous health research in partnership with Indigenous organizations and communities through demonstrations, discussion, and reflection.

This course examines the paradigmatic bases of qualitative research. In a series of seminars, instructor, and students will explore the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of specific theoretical frameworks and consider the methodological implications that emanate from these foundations. Specific debates related to theories employed in the field of health, research questions, designs, the positionality of the researcher, epistemological rigour, and ethics will be discussed. This course addresses current debates, which are relevant to students in all health science disciplines and includes examples of qualitative research developed in many countries.

This course examines different theoretical and methodological foundations related to the study of population health interventions and their health equity impacts. These interventions include, for example: policies, programs, events and other phenomena that impact a number of people by tackling the socio-structural, cultural, and environmental determinants of health within and outside of Canada. The course will provide students with an opportunity to grapple with the different concepts and terms that are in use to study these interventions, including but not limited to implementation science, program science, public health policy evaluation and health impact assessment. It will address knowledge translation and exchange and partnership approaches as they relate to the implementation and to the scale-up of interventions. The course will also address this material through the lens of current topics related to, for example, healthy cities, global health, clinical public health, etc.

Evidence-based decision making is central to both public health policy and practice, and scientific evidence relevant to public health spans a wide array of disciplines. Public health scientists, policymakers, and practitioners are thus often required to assess research outside their areas of expertise. The contexts in which these assessments are necessary may vary: in interdisciplinary collaborations, in the course of policymaking, and in public health practice. This course serves as an introduction to the evaluation of quantitative public health research for non-specialists. It assumes limited prior knowledge of quantitative health research methodologies The course focuses on critical appraisal of epidemiological research. Students will learn how to systematically and critically examine epidemiological research design, conduct and analysis, and to judge the validity and relevance of research findings. We will work through a range of examples from the current literature in class, and students will also be afforded the opportunity to critically appraise an article/s of their choosing, relevant to their area of interest. We will also consider current internal criticisms of quantitative health research. Amidst mounting concern about poor reliability and non-reproducibility of quantitative research findings, many biomedical scientists, research funders, and publishers have turned critical attention to quantitative research practices. We will examine some of their core concerns from both epistemic and social perspectives.

As a method of inquiry, Institutional ethnography (IE) provides an analytic tool box to help researchers map social relations and explicate how individuals are governed. IE, at its heart, is about working towards a more equitable society and is analytically concerned with exploring the ways in which power is exerted in practices of ruling. Developed by Canadian feminist scholar Dorothy Smith, this alternative sociology provides a research strategy that allows for an understanding of the socially organized nature of everyday life. IE is committed to discovery and is a highly empirically driven form of social research which draws principally from primary interview, observational, and text-based data sources. This approach to critical social science focuses on the material actualities of people’s lives in order to help develop analytic descriptions of ruling practices.

Ecological public health addresses the complex inter-relationships between health (humans and other species), societies, and ecosystems, unpacking the myriad interconnections between the social and the ecological in the co-creation of conditions for human and ecosystem health and flourishing. In keeping with a political ecology stance, it will address issues of equity, social and environmental justice, governance, scale, meaning-making, and impact. When viewed in global perspective, these dynamics are inevitably tied up with legacies of colonialism and inequities both between and within countries in different regions of the world. In this course, we will ask: What are the key challenges for ecological public health now and into the future? How are these challenges related to historical and ongoing global forces and flows? How do people think about these challenges? What can people do about these challenges? How can we determine if such efforts are effective, while maintaining our integrity and resilience?

The primary goal of this course is to understand mechanisms of racism and health and specifically, how racial health inequities are produced across deep-rooted macro level forces (e.g., social-institutional mechanisms), which shape the experiences of racialized minorities. This course will provide students with the opportunity in an inclusive space to critically think about how racial disparities are created through systemic racism. We will discuss societal advantages and disadvantages based on intersectional identities (e.g., race/ethnicity, immigration status, gender) and how these processes are reproduced through the interactions across multiple levels (e.g., individual, family, community, institutional).

We will examine key dimensions which impact the health of communities of colour. This course will frame our understanding through key historical processes and theoretical frameworks (e.g., critical race theories, theory of fundamental causes), as well as consider methods, interventions, and future directions to address racial health disparities for public health researchers and practitioners. Key topics in our course include understanding the public health discourse on race and racism, and how these dynamics intersect with systems that may indirectly and directly impact health (e.g., criminal justice system/ policing, immigration detention, education).

This is a survey course on the philosophy, theory, and practice of community-based research (CBR) in public health that has an explicit social justice agenda. The course focuses on key aspects of community based research such as anti-oppressive practices, ethics, intersectionality and inclusion in research methods and activities, CBR with marginalized communities, quantitative participatory research, the practice of CBR proposal writing, arts-based CBR, and Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) in CBR.

This graduate-level course is designed to provide learners with skills to undertake qualitative health research that moves beyond self-evident meanings and superficial explanations. There is added emphasis on conducting qualitative research through the lenses of health (in)equity, social justice, and critical theory.

This course is part of the Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research (CQ) Essentials of Qualitative Research curriculum. The term "value-adding" in the proposed title was inspired by the Eakin & Gladstone (2020) paper, "Value-adding" Analysis: Doing More With Qualitative Data.

The goals of this course are a) to introduce students to critical approaches to understanding mental health, with a particular focus on learnings from Mad Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Crip Theory, and Disability Justice theoretical and activist work; and b) to examine how these critical approaches might be applied in the field of health promotion (and public health more broadly).

Throughout the course, we will centre the critical knowledges, experiences, and scholarship of those with lived experience of the mental health system. We will start by critically examining dominant biomedical conceptualizations of mental health and mental illness, as well as the disciplines and institutions that uphold them (collectively known as the psy complex).

Through this examination, we will come to understand how sanism — discrimination directed towards those labelled as “mentally ill” — manifests and is upheld by dominant systems. In particular, we will explore how sanism intersects with and is co-produced by other systems of oppression, including colonialism, racism, and anti-Blackness, cisheterosexism, and classism, among others.

In the final part of the course, we will explore applications of critical mental health perspectives, including to mental health research and service provision. Ultimately, students will be encouraged to reflect on their role in moving the field towards a more critical mental health promotion

This course explores the mental health promotion and harm reduction needs of Black individuals, families, and communities in Canada — especially focusing on the mental health status of five key demographic segments of the population: Black women and girls, Black children and youth, Black males, the Black elderly, as well as Black newcomers and refugees. Longstanding disease patterns and illness experiences as well as recent post-pandemic developments will be examined.

Participants will analyze the historic and/or inter-generational influences of African and Diasporic cultures on Black resiliency and protective factors as well as risk factors associated with social determinants of health (SDOH) and systemic anti-Black racism experienced in interactions with health system and structures. Intersections of racial and culturally rooted stigmas and its impact on help-seeking behaviours will be analyzed. Mental health promotion and harm reduction needs, and available options, will be examined along with the essential psychological and cultural resources needed for effective public health and community-based services. Pathways from public stereotypes, microaggressions to diminished self-concept and self-stigmatization will be explored.

Mental health is viewed as an essential resource for effective social functioning and mental health care as a human right. Both are effectively undermined by systemic racism as well as racialized social determinants of health. The meaning of mental health and well-being as well as population-based health, mental illness, and disease patterns will be explored in sessions 1 to 4. Sessions 5 to 7 will examine particular sub-population patterns of addictive and mood disorders, psychosis, and dementia that impact Black communities. Sessions 8 to 10 will explore crisis interventions and prevention, as well as public policies, required to address health needs and reduce the racialized mental health disparities experienced by Black communities across Canada.

The purpose of this course is to prepare graduate students for the collection of quantitative and generation of qualitative data for research and evaluation projects. Using interactive weekly sessions, students will learn how to choose between and implement a variety of methods. Students will also learn how to align their projects to social justice-oriented agendas, assess issues of representation and positionality, and use community-based research approaches. For each method, we will examine common challenges and mistakes, and threats to validity, trustworthiness and fidelity. We will focus on the most used and a few novel methods of data collection and generation.

This course is an introduction to statistical techniques and reasoning and will focus on both the theory and practice of biostatistics as it applies to epidemiology; descriptive and graphical methods, estimation, tests of hypotheses, applied to both means and proportions, in both paired and independent samples; simple linear regression, introduction to analysis of variance.

The goal of this course is to continue development and application of skills in statistical analysis required in epidemiologic and health care research. Students will acquire an understanding and practice in fitting and interpreting linear regression models, logistic regression models and survival analysis models including the use of regression splines to relax assumptions of linear relationships; gain an understanding of model validation, variable selection methods and their implications for model validity and be able to use bootstrapping or cross-validation to perform internal validation; and understand the basic classifications of missing data and learn some approaches to deal with it.

The course provides fundamental public health research skills for both quantitative and qualitative researchers including health professionals to work in both research and applied settings. It focuses on practical issues involved in the design and conduct of surveys in health and social science research. Sessions will focus on acquiring the skills and knowledges to build a survey including articulating objective(s) and research question(s) as well as writing a research protocol to investigate the topic of interest on which the survey is based. This course will not provide students with basic statistical analysis skills and it is highly recommended that students have completed undergraduate statistics courses.

This unique course involves a weekly two-hour lecture and a practicum component of four hours per week. Lectures focus on design issues in term one and analysis issues in term two. The practicum involves delving into one or more projects under the direct supervision of a Division of Biostatistics faculty-appointed biostatistician. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of data and interpretation of results. Student evaluation is based on end-of-term presentations, progress in the practicum component, and an end-of-year final report.