Science and Health Program
3641 Watt Way, HNB 120
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520
Summer 2016
BISC-428: The Biology of Health and Disease from an International Perspective
Dr. Erin A. Quinn
Phone: (213) 740-8614
Email:
Office: HNB 120
Class Meetings Pre-trip: multiple Friday afternoons in Spring 2016
Course Description: This Problems without Passport course studies illness and disease burdens that affects millions of people across the world. Students will have the opportunity to learn in depth about health issues from practitioners in the field, who throughout the course of their careers have worked in various countries of Africa, South America, India, South East Asia, etc. We also hear from researchers and clinicians active in vaccine development, disease burden abatement, chronic disease prevention and international research trials. Together the class will learn about the nuances and complexities that are woven into disease prevention and health care delivery around the world. A component of the course, is developing the idea for a sustainable solution to a current international issue.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES of PWP COURSES IN HEALTH
The learning objectives include gaining a base of knowledge in the four themes outlined below:
Challenges in global health: The aim is to introduce students to the major diseases and risks to health in the developing world. The objectives are:
· Gain an understanding of the major public health challenges in developing countries
· Understand the risk factors for premature death
· Learn about the major prevention strategies and challenges for control of these diseases
Health policy and public health: The aim is to examine policy issues, including health policy and determinants of public health. The objectives are:
· Understand major principles of public health
· Understand principles of health promotion and behavior change in relation to health
· Understand the role of values, ethics, culture with regards to health
· Understand the issues regarding available resources and the development of sustainable medical interventions
Infectious Diseases and Chronic Diseases: The aim is to give students an introduction to infectious diseases and chronic diseases. The objectives are:
· Understand the clinical aspects of the most common tropical diseases, with an emphasis on infectious diseases
· Appreciate the strategies used to deliver care, diagnose and treat these diseases in resource-limited settings
· Understand the burden of chronic diseases in developing countries
International development and health: The aim is to situate health in its wider social, economic and political context and provide a basic understanding of the intimate, bi-directional relationship between health and development processes. The objectives are:
· To understand the main theories relating health and development, and identify their strengths and weaknesses
· To understand a range of paradigms and narratives in development studies
· To appreciate the intended and unintended consequences of development interventions for health
· To understand the role policy processes play in realizing development objectives
· To understand the reasons for immigration and the effects on immigrants and their families
Assessments
Attendance/Participation
Students are expected to attend every class and stay for the duration of the class. Discussion sessions will be held 3 times per week, these sessions are a required component of the course. Field trips are an integral component of the class. Failure to attend class, arriving late or lack of active participation will have a negative impact on the student’s grade. (25% of final grade)
Research Paper
Student pairs/groups will sign up for a research topic/situation from a list of suggestions provided by the USC course faculty. The work is on a Problem Based Research format. Students are also encouraged to identify an issue independently. Each problem group will conduct research on their topic to include an introduction to the topic or situation and why it is important.
The paper will be problem-based, resulting from the identification of an unmet clinical, educational, societal or scientific need. Your paper will be evaluated, in part, on its innovation, practicality, ease of adoption and potential impact on improving health status or healthcare.
Any information relevant to the topic, including key players, should be discussed. Discuss empirical evidence and interpret information in any tables or graphs that you include. Outline alternative actions for addressing the problem and discuss the one your partner team would choose. Include in this discussion the feasibility of the solution given political, economic, cultural and biologic factors. Also, how does budgeting and monetary issues effect your proposed action? Be sure to explain how you would evaluate and determine the success or failure of your actions.
The next part of your paper should focus on any arguments to your plan and how you would address these arguments. Then your conclusion should summarize the problem/situation, your action/solution and foreseeable future challenges.
Remember to:
1. Describe the current status of the health issue/concern in Guatemala (or other country or region, identify a specific area (i.e. rural, coastal, urban)
2. Chronicle the existing resources, including clinics, food access, transportation, education etc.
3. Describe a sustainable solution to an issue, and a step-by-step process for addressing the problem.
Submission schedule as follows:
Paper outline containing a good start on your final bibliography formatted according to APA style guidelines. (NOTE: All references must be scholarly publications or online references – such as journals, periodicals, newspapers, and books. Wikipedia references or similar online sources are not acceptable.)
A rough draft of your paper is due electronically July 1, 2016.
The final paper should be 20-25 papers typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, pages numbered, and stapled in upper left-hand corner. The paper must include 20-30 references from which information is integrated into the paper and in-text citations as necessary. Final bibliography must also be appropriately formatted in APA style. The final paper will be due on August 11, 2016. (50% of final grade)
Research Presentation
Student groups will present their research finding to the class during the last two class periods in. The presentations will be approximately 25 minutes in duration. The presentations will be made using PowerPoint, video, social media, or some relevant audiovisual interactive activity. The class presentation will inform, educate, and engage classroom peers in the issues, status, affected populations, alternative solutions, as related to their chosen topic. The group presentation will be followed by a 5-10 minute period for questions from the class. Each group’s individual members will actively participate in the preparation and presentation of the project, and each individual will be graded based on the proportional merits of their contributions, as well as on the synergistic coherence of the combined group presentation. (25% of final grade)
Readings
A number of readings will be distributed to you as PDFs. One suggested book of interest, that we recommend before the trip is:
Moore, Wendy
2005, The Knife Man, Broadway Books, Random House, New York
Statement for Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to your course instructor prior to the trip. DSP is located in STU 301.
Statement on Academic Integrity
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of other, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus , the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in the Appendix.
Course Outline (Subject to change)
LONDON
Friday, 8 July
10.00 – 12.00 conducted tour of Hunterian Museum (Royal College of Surgeons)
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 4.00 conducted tour of Guy’s Hospital (Museum and Herb Garret)
OXFORD
Monday 11 July
9.30 – 10.30 Welcome and introduction to course - Dr. Brian Angus
11.00 – 12.00 - Development & Health – Dr. Proochista Ariana
12.00 - 2.00 Lunch
3.00 - 5.00 Project preparation
Tuesday 12 July
9.30 – 12.00 Lymphoedema; Healthcard & the Environment; Osler
Library Dr. Terence Ryan
12.00 - 1.00 Picnic in the Park
3.00 – 5.00 Project preparation
Wednesday 13 July
9.30 – 10.30 Interventions to Improve Health in Sub-Saharan Africa Dr.
Merlin Wilcox
11.00-12.00 Maternal and Child Mortality Dr. Merlin Wilcox
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 4.00 Meet at Botanical Gardens: Traditional Medicine Dr. Merlin
Wilcox
Thursday 14 July
9.30 – 10.30 Ebola – Prof Adrain Hill
11.00 – 12.00 Health Vectors - Dr. Brian Angus
Friday 15 July
8.30 – 9.30 Global Burden of Disease - Dr. Ruchi Baxi
10.00-11.00 Vaccinology and Travel Medicines – Dr. Susie Dunachie
12.00 – Departure for Stratford-upon-Avon
Monday 18 July
Visit Berkeley, Gloucestershire
10.00 – 4.00 conducted tour of Edward Jenner Museum, inc film and discussion with researchers; lunch at museum
Tuesday 19 July
9.30 – 10.30 Malaria - Dr. Georgina Humphreys
11.00-12.00 Corruption in Medicines – Prof Phillipe Guerin
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
4.00 – 5.00 Project preparation
Wednesday 20 July
9.30 – 10.30 Global
11.00-12.00 Venomous Animals - Prof David Warrell
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 5.00 Project preparation
Thursday 21 July
9.30 – 10.30 Health Inequalies in England Prof Lucy Huber
11.00-12.00 Tuberculosis – Dr. Andrew Brent
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 5.00 Project preparation
Friday, 22 July
Free Weekend
Monday 25 July
1.00 – 3.30 Global Health Network Dr. Francois Van Loggerenberg
4.00 – 5.00 Project preparation
Tuesday 26 July
9.30 – 10.30 Typhoid – Dr. Malick Gibani
11.00-12.00 Diseases of Neglected Populations Dr. Anna Cruz
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
Wednesday 27 July
9.30 – 10.30 Mental Health in Developing Countries – Prof Olaa
Mohamed-Ahmed
11.00-12.00 Cholera; Dr. Tom Rawlinson
Thursday 28 July
9.30 – 1.30 Project presentations
Friday 29 July
9.30 – 1.30 Project presentations
LONDON
Saturday 30 July
Return to London
10.30 – 12.30 conducted tour of Wellcome Collection (medicine
exhibitions)
12.30 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 3.30 conducted tour of British Museum (Egyptian and other
medical exhibits)
Monday 1 August
10.30 – 12.00 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
discussion with tutors
12.00 – 2.00 Lunch
In addition to the course trips to London and Berkeley (Gloucestershire), private trips to places of interest in the vicinity, such as Blenheim Palace, Woodstock (home of Duke of Marlborough and birthplace of Winston Churchill), Stratford upon Avon (Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre and birthplace of William Shakespeare), will be arranged.
OIBC staff in Oxford
Mrs Kasia LEWIS, Projects Manager (MSc Warsaw U)
Dr Alan MALCOLM, Director (MA, DPhil Oxford U; Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, London U; http://www.oibc.org.uk/director.html)
Dr Charles PASTERNAK, President (MA, DPhil, DSc, Oxford U; Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, London U; http://www.oibc.org.uk/founder.html)
Teaching staff
Organiser
Dr Brian ANGUS, Director of the Wellcome Trust UK Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford U
Tutors
Dr Brian ANGUS
Dr Proochista ARIANA, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, and Queen Elizabeth House (International Development), Oxford U
Dr Lucy DORRELL, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Experimental Medicine, and Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford U
Dr Ray FITZPATRICK, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, Oxford U
Dr Alastair GRAY, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, Oxford U
Dr Simon HAY, Department of Zoology, Oxford U
Dr Helen McSHANE, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Experimental Medicine, Oxford U
Dr Ed MORAN, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford U
Dr Emma PLUGGE, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, Oxford U
Dr Terence RYAN, Professor Emeritus of Dermatology, Oxford U
Dr Matthew SCARBOROUGH, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Oxford U
Dr Susanne SHEEHY, Jenner Institute, Oxford U
Dr Sasha SHEPPERD, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, Oxford U
Dr Adrian SMITH, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, Oxford U
Dr David WARRELL, Nuffield Professor Emeritus of Clinical Medicine, Oxford U
Dr Merlin WILLCOX, Division of Public Health & Primary Health Care, Oxford U