PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS

The Public Health Interventions studio provides an integrated approach to the theory and practice of designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to improve health in the context of a complex real world. The studio will expose students to major theories of public health intervention, how to integrate understanding of these theories in the planning and evaluation of public health interventions and programs, and how these interventions and programs can be effective given the complexity of social and health systems. The studio introduces frameworks to address the complexity inherent in improving the health and quality of life of individuals and populations. 

Individual concentrations in the studio explore multiple dimensions of how interventions can improve health and quality of life, including how: (a) individuals’ interpretations of and interactions with the social environment affect their behaviors and well-being; (b) interventions and programs can be designed to improve knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and achieve population impact – and evaluate if, in fact, they do have impact; and (c) systems thinking can be used as a tool to evaluate and understand the complex systems that interact to affect health and quality of life. Students will complete this studio with a solid understanding of the inter-relationship among theory, program planning, implementation and evaluation, and with the skills to apply these insights to the practice of service delivery, policy advocacy, and research. 

This studio is being offered via face-to-face instruction, supplemented with asynchronous work for the Fall 2022 semester. Asynchronous content consists of elements such as recorded lectures accessed through CourseWorks and interactive modules. Students will be provided with a timeframe within which the asynchronous content must be completed. Live sessions will be offered on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Whether content will be asynchronous or live is indicated throughout the syllabus. All times and due dates listed are in Eastern Daylight Time. Students are expected to complete the readings, surveys, labs, and watch recorded lectures by the stated deadlines.