Course Schedule

Fall Spring
PUBH 5501 - Foundations of Public Health and Disability X
PUBH 5502 - Epidemiology of Disability X
PUBH 5503 - Disability Law, Policy, Ethics, and Advocacy X
PUBH 5504 - Public Health Interventions in Disability X

These four courses are also electives for UConn’s MPH program.

Certificate Structure

  • PUBH 5501: Foundations of Public Health and Disability
    This course is a pre-requisite for enrollment in subsequent courses.
  • PUBH 5502: Epidemiology of Disability
    This course may be taken immediately following PUBH 5501 or after PUBH 5503.
  • PUBH 5503: Disability Law, Policy, Ethics, and Advocacy
    This course may be taken immediately following PUBH 5501 or after PUBH 5502.
  • PUBH 5504: Public Health Interventions in Disability
    This course is the final course in the sequence and may only be taken after the other three are successfully completed.

PUBH 5501 - Foundations of Public Health and Disability (3-credits)

The course is an introductory survey of the ways in which disability, both developmental and acquired, is affected by, and interacts with, public health policy and practice. Upon completion of this course students will have a foundational understanding of a comprehensive set of issues of both acquired and developmental disability as related to the core elements of public health as framed by the 10 Essential Public Health Services.

Prerequisites: None

PUBH 5502 - Epidemiology of Disability (3-credits)

This course introduces epidemiologic research design and delves deeply into epidemiology as it applies to monitoring the health status of people with disabilities, diagnosing and investigating health problems, evaluating personal and population-based interventions, and conduct of research as uniquely affecting and affected by disability. It also critically examines sources of public health and epidemiologic data that exist. As part of the Certificate of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies in Public Health (Disability Certificate), the course aligns with the 10 Essential Public Health Services.

Prerequisites: PUBH 5501 (waived with instructor permission)

PUBH 5503 - Disability Law, Policy, Ethics, and Advocacy (3-credits)

This course provides an introduction to policy and law affecting people with disabilities and public health approaches to meeting their individual needs as well as the needs of broader populations. Federal disability laws are reviewed in detail and discussed in terms of both their implications and the implications of public health ethics on people with disabilities. The role courts have played in further shaping disability policy and the influence of public health ethics and the disability rights movement on decision-making in public health are also reviewed. Additionally, the policy, legal and advocacy implications for public health at the international level is discussed. Students will learn the essential tools for enforcing laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety and for developing new policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts inclusive of people with disabilities.

Prerequisites: PUBH 5501 (waived with instructor permission)

PUBH 5504 - Public Health Interventions in Disability (3-credits)

This course is the final course in the Certificate of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies in Public Health (Disability Certificate). It aligns with the 10 Essential Public Health Services. It critically examines public health systems and programs across the lifespan available to people with disabilities that impact health. It extends on foundational principles that are evidence-based and driven by epidemiologic studies of disability within the context of existing laws and policies.

Prerequisites: PUBH 5501, 5502, & 5503 (waived with instructor permission)