Overview - PH 411: What Is Public Health?

After completing PH 411, learners will be proficient in describing what public health is, including its unique and important features, to general audiences. Key aspects of this competency expectation include:

• articulating several different definitions of public health
• describing the origins and content of public heath responses over history
• tracing the development of the public health system in the U.S.
• broadly characterizing the contributions and value of public health
• describing the role and responsibilities of public health professionals in disaster preparedness and response
• identifying 3 or more distinguishing features of public health
• describing public health as a system with inputs, processes, outputs, and results, including the role of core functions and essential public health services in the public health system
• identifying 5 or more Internet web sites that provide useful information on the U.S. public health system
  

This course involves several learning activities; see the PH 411 Exercises document for detailed instructions.

• Content: the content for this course is provided in the specific readings and other resources identified in the PH 411 Exercises document.
• Office Hours: This messaging system was created to handle questions and announcements. Visit this site to introduce yourself to the course as well as to help you get familiar with the workings of the system.
• Exercises:
  1. Individual Exercise: submit the completed individual exercise under the link "Submit Assignments". Your instructor will provide feedback by replying to your posting.
  2. Conferencing Exercise: add your contribution to this multi-learner conferencing exercise.
  3. Assessment Quiz: complete and submit the multiple choice assessment quiz for PH 411.

The instructor will evaluate your responses to the various exercises and indicate when you have successfully completed PH 411. For learners interested in going beyond the basics, a list of additional resources, including readings and other materials, is available through the Additional Resources link. This list emphasizes the most up-to-date materials. Information on related courses is provided in the PH 410 Course Series Syllabus. PH 412 (or any other course) can begin whenever you wish, so feel free to begin the readings that are identified for the course that you plan to take next.

PH 411 Overview last revised July 1, 2004 (bturnock)