PH 312: Topics in Public Health (Online) Introduction to Public Health Preparedness 1.0 Credit Spring Quarter 2015 March 31, 2015 June 9, 2015

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1 PH 312: Topics in Public Health (Online) Introduction to Public Health Preparedness 1.0 Credit Spring Quarter 2015 March 31, 2015 June 9, 2015 Instructors/TAs: Role: Contact information: Office hours: Laura Carlin Cochran, MPH. Michael Fagen, PhD, MPH. Dan Finn Annie Vulpas Course Director Course Director Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant (630) (312) By appointment By appointment - - Course Learning Objectives After successfully completing this course, in the context of a specific public health emergency or threat, learners will successfully: Describe the roles of public health workers and public health organizations in emergency preparedness activities (Module 1) Characterize the interrelationship between offices, organizations, and policies that frame public health preparedness (Module 2) Apply local, state, and federal level public health preparedness planning and communication principles (Module 3) Analyze key legal issues and ethical challenges faced by public health workers and organizations (Module 4) Develop strategies to promote community resilience (Module 5) Course Description This course provides an introduction to public health emergency preparedness concepts by examining historical context and the roles and responsibilities of local, state, and national preparedness partners. The course also addresses the ethical and legal frameworks of emergency preparedness and introduces the concept of community resilience. Training exercises and the team project will facilitate learner participation in real world preparedness activities. Discussions and individual written assignments provide opportunities for critical analysis and demonstration of preparedness-related core competencies. PH 312 is facilitated completely online using the Blackboard online learn system. This course utilizes five modules to organize course learning activities and discussions within Blackboard. Modules 1-4 are two-weeks in length and begin Mondays at 12:00 am (CST) and end on Sunday nights 11:59 pm (CST). Module 5 ends on the final day of spring quarter which is Saturday June 6 th. The course does not include a final examination. Assignments will not be due on University holidays (e.g. Memorial Day). Each learning module will follow a similar structure; students will complete required reading assignments, post a discussion answer and reply, and 1

2 complete individual or team assignments according to the course schedule. In addition, teams will communicate weekly through virtual (online, video, or phone) meetings. With Dr. Michael Fagen, Co-Director Laura Carlin Cochran will administer the course while facilitating learning opportunities among students through use of individual, team, and classwide assignments. The course TAs will support course administration through monitoring team forums, discussion participation, and grading support. Students are expected to participate on a regular and consistent basis and to be responsive and respectful members of the course and their respective teams. It is recommended that students log in to the course Blackboard page 3-4 days per week to submit assignments, post to the discussion boards, check announcements and the team forum, and review assignment feedback. Course announcements will be posted at least twice per week and important messages will be ed. To receive a satisfactory grade, all students must contribute substantially to the work of a team. Much of public health work is done in teams, often to which one is assigned rather than volunteered. Thus, the group work built into the course reflects real world public health practice and provides an opportunity to build collaborative skills. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate each team member s level of participation and quality of work within the Team Evaluation Survey. Note: requests for team re-assignment or separation from a team will not be granted. Required Course Text: Landesman, Linda Y. Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide, (3rd ed.) American Public Health Association (APHA) Press, ISBN 13: Blackboard Blackboard will be used extensively throughout the quarter. The discussion forums used for this course include the General Discussion forum (Office Hours and Student Chat) and the Module Discussion forums. The syllabus and assigned readings will be posted on the course s Blackboard site, available at: if you are registered for the course. Course Assignments: Individual Course Discussions (40% of final grade). Class participation will take the form of five asynchronous discussions using designated discussion boards at the course Blackboard site. A specific case study or public health problem will be explored during each discussion. Students are required to submit two posts (one discussion answer and one reply to another student or a TA/Instructor) per discussion. Each discussion is worth 8 points. Grading of Discussions: Discussion posts will be evaluated to determine the extent to which content is timely, complete, germane, concise, and clean. Excellent posts feature advanced critical analysis and text-concept synthesis, are approximately 200 words in 2

3 length (excluding citations/references), and have zero spelling, grammatical, or formatting or APA citation style errors. Individual Written Assignments, Training Exercises, and Tasks (30% of final grade) Written Assignments: Two individual written assignments will evaluate 2 each student s ability to apply core preparedness concepts to actual emergency/disaster events and case examples. Written assignments will be prepared by each student and submitted during Modules 3 and 5. Specific written assignment requirements will be posted within the respective Module folders. Grading of Written Assignments: Written assignments will be evaluated based on the extent to which content is a) germane to the module readings, b) complete with all question elements addressed, c) clear and organized, and d) concise and clean. All paraphrased or quoted content must be cited and referenced in adherence with APA citation style requirements. Numerical, footnote, endnote citation formatting is not acceptable. Training Exercises: Students will complete FEMA preparedness training exercises within specified modules. Trainings will be completed as independent studies. Successful completion of training exercises will be determined through submission of earned training certificates. Individual Tasks: Students will complete graded tasks including posting a biography and completing the orientation quiz during the first module of the course. Additional non-graded enrichment activities will also be offered during the quarter. Team Project Assignments (30% of final grade) Students will work within work teams called - Preparedness Committees - to prepare a two-part Team Project titled: The University Preparedness Initiative. Preparedness Committees will be developed during Week 01 within the team formation area of the course Blackboard site. Preparedness Committees will be organized according to virtual meeting availability (e.g. weekday mornings). Each student will enroll in one virtual team. As this is an online course, all meetings will be held virtually online using Blackboard IM or using video/telephone conferencing. Teams will prepare two work products to demonstrate collaborative efforts at public health preparedness planning. Team Project submissions are a required component of Modules 2 and 4. The complete Team Project Overview will be posted on the first day of the course. Grading of Team Project Assignments: Team assignments will be evaluated based on the extent to which content is a) germane to the module readings, b) complete with all assignment elements addressed, c) cohesive and organized, and d) concise and clean. All paraphrased or quoted content must be cited and referenced in adherence with APA citation style requirements. Numerical, footnote, endnote citation formatting is not acceptable. Team Member Evaluation: At the end of the quarter, students will complete the required Team Member Evaluation Survey. Results of this survey will be factored into the final grade for the PH

4 Student Evaluation Final grades are based on completion of the assignments detailed for each module of the course. Discussion answers are due on Tuesdays and discussion replies are due on Thursdays. Written assignments and exercises will be due by 11:59:00 pm (CST) during specified Modules. See the Course Schedule (last page of syllabus) for specific due dates for each required assignment. Late submission policy: Late submissions are discouraged. Late work, accepted at the discretion of the Course Director(s), will be subject to a 10% deduction per day late calculated from the official submission deadline (11:59:00 pm CST). Late work will be accepted up to two days late. After this point, a zero will be issued for the assignment. In the event of a documented medical emergency, please contact the Course Director(s) at the earliest available opportunity. Students are directed to verify successful posting of all assignments for the course to avoid loss of points due to technical or submission errors. In the event that Blackboard is down, students may submit assignments via to the Course Director(s) to obtain an on time date stamp until the assignment can be submitted to Blackboard. Assignments and Point Values: 100 points possible Categories: Description: Overall Points/Percentage: Individual Discussion Participation (40%) Modules 1-5 Discussions 8 points possible each) 40 points possible Individual Written Assignments, Exercises, Tasks (30%) Team Assignments: 30 points possible (30%) Individual Tasks (Biography, Orientation Quiz (2 1 point each) Module 2 and 4 Training Exercises (4 points per Module) Module 3 and 5 Written Assignments 10 points each) Module 2: Team Project Part 1 Module 4: Team Project Part 2 2 points possible 8 points possible 20 points possible 15 points possible 15 points possible Determination of Final Grades: Grades for this course will issued using the above noted grading criteria. The cumulative and final grade for PH 312: Special Topics in Public Health will be determined after review of fall and winter quarter PH 312 grades and Course Director feedback. 4

5 Cumulative scores of 90.0% and higher will earn a grade of "A; scores in the % range will earn a grade of "B;" scores in the range of % will earn a grade of C; and scores lower than 70% will earn a grade of F. Course evaluation The MPH Program administers web-based course evaluations to students for each course near the end of the quarter. Your completion of both the unit (course) and faculty evaluation components is required; failure to complete either of the evaluations will result in an incomplete grade until the evaluations are submitted. You will be sent the web link and instructions via later in the quarter. You will have about two weeks to complete the evaluations before grades are submitted. Your evaluation of the course and faculty is anonymous; your identity cannot be linked with your responses. Academic Integrity Every Northwestern faculty member and student 4 belongs to a community of scholars where academic integrity is a fundamental commitment. The Program in Public Health abides by the standards of academic conduct, procedures, and sanctions as set forth by The Graduate School at Northwestern University. Students and faculty are responsible for knowledge of the information provided by The Graduate School on their Web page at: Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to: 1. Receiving or giving unauthorized aid on examinations or homework 2. Plagiarism 3. Fabrication 4. Falsification or manipulation of academic records 5. Aiding or abetting any of the above The PPH follows The Graduate School s procedure for evaluating alleged academic misconduct, as outlined on the TGS website. integrity/dishonesty/index.html Faculty reserve the right to use the Safe Assignment: Plagiarism Detection Tool that is part of the Course Management System to evaluate student assignments. Information about this tool can be found at: support/assessments/safeassignment.html 5

6 Course Schedule and Assignments Spring 2015 Quarter Modules Module 1 What Is Public Health Preparedness? March 30-April 12 Module 2 Structure and Organization of the Preparedness System April 13 April 26 Student Responsibilities (Tasks/Assignments) Access and Review the course text & Blackboard Course Site Read Landesman text chapters 1-2 and Appendices D & E and required Module 1 resources Post Biography by Sunday 4/5 Enroll in one Virtual Team by Sunday 4/5 Complete the Module 1 Discussion: answer due Tuesday 4/7 and replies due Thursday 4/9 Submit the completed Orientation Quiz by Sunday 4/12 Read Landesman text chapters 3, 4, 5 and required Module 2 resources Complete the Module 2 Discussion: answer due Tuesday 4/14 and replies due Thursday 4/16 Submit the completed Module 2 FEMA Preparedness Training Exercise Due Sunday 4/26 Submit the completed Module 2 Team Assignment Due Sun 4/26 Module 3 Preparedness Planning and Communication April 27 May 10 Read Landesman text chapters 6, 7, 8 & Appendices E-F-I and required Module 3 resources Complete the Module 3 Discussion: answer due Tuesday 4/28 and replies due Thursday 4/30 Complete the Module 3 Written Assignment Due Sunday 5/10 Module 4 Legal and Ethical Issues in Public Health Preparedness May 11 May 24 Read Landesman text chapters 11 & 14 and Appendices M and Y and required Module 4 resources Complete the Module 4 Discussion: answer due Tuesday 5/12 and replies due Thursday 5/14 Submit the completed Module 4 FEMA Preparedness Training Due Sunday 5/24 Submit the completed Module 4 Team Assignment Due Sunday 5/24 Module 5 Building Resilient Communities May 25 June 6 Read Landesman text chapters 9-10 and required Module 5 resources Complete the Module 5 Discussion: answer due Tuesday 5/26 and replies due Thursday 5/28 Submit the completed Module 5 Individual Written Assignment Due Saturday 6/6 Complete the Team Member Evaluation survey Final Exam Week June 8 June 12 No final exam Complete Course Evaluation Questionnaire This schedule is subject to revision as necessary 6