Reducing disparities in health
Have you seen families struggle with diabetes, health care systems fail young mothers with postpartum depression, or low-income communities become ravaged by communicable diseases? Population health aims to overcome issues like these and other health disparities affecting groups of people large and small. And it’s a career field in high demand — jobs in population health have increased as the overall population ages and the focus on health equity sharpens.
In our population health degree programs, students learn how social determinants of health, infrastructure and access to care influence the health of defined groups. They also learn the roles stakeholders play and how to work across systems to improve public health in communities of all sizes. Coursework includes biomedical informatics, economics, social determinants of health, international public health, program and community assessment, health education, program planning, and health care delivery.
Through population health courses and public health research opportunities, students gain hands-on experiential learning that prepares them to work in health care settings, government programs, research institutions and community health organizations.