HSERV 572: Planning, Advocacy and Leadership Skills (4 credits)
Tue/Thu. 11:30 to 12:50, Fri, 1:00 to 1:50 (Friday sessions are completely flexible, can be rescheduled)
Offered remotely; SLN #15149
This class is an opportunity to master basic concepts, analytic tools, and skills for program and policy planning, advocacy, evaluation and leadership skills under the close mentorship of faculty and teaching staff. You’ll also learn from your peers as you work in pairs or teams of three. This unique course engages MPH and other graduate students with real-world public health problems, partnering with local community health organization clients. We offer coursework to address topics, skills, and processes to help you complete your project.
The course is suitable for graduate students from any school or college who want to deepen their understanding of how public health professionals lead program development, program evaluation and policy advocacy projects to advance population health. It is not open to undergraduate students.
Projects are still being finalized, but here’s a preview (we’ll ask you to rank your preferences):
1- Economic Opportunity Institute, monitor key pieces of legislation through the legislative session (file weekly briefs on the hearings, amendments, votes, etc, with a webinar at the end of the quarter for EOI’s website)
2- Hanford Challenge, a nuclear waste watchdog group, considering a project on DOE (U.S. Dept of Energy) proposed radiation/hazard exposure scenarios in relation to whether we have a “right to uncontaminated bodies”
3- UW Hall Health, assess vaccine confidence among UW Seattle students
4- With UW’s Health Alliance International, draft an American Public Health Association policy position statement on debt relief for low income countries (for a vote by the APHA governing council in October, 2021)
5-Budget & Policy Center/Poverty Action Network on improving Washington state’s temporary financial assistance programs for adults with mental illnesses or physical disabilities.
6-Work with Pike Market Food Bank to explore the food security problems in the Food Bank’s service area, and conduct a needs/assets survey with key informant interviews/focus groups (online)
