Academics
SPHG 352H: Public Health Systems and Solutions, 4 credits
Professor Liz Chen, PhD, MPH
This course introduces students to systems thinking and solution development as tools for understanding and improving public health systems. Students will learn how health, social, political, and economic systems interact and influence population health outcomes.
Key course topics include:
- Systems thinking and causal loop mapping
- Social determinants of health
- Global and U.S. health systems
- Public health policy and governance
- Leverage points and intervention design
- Public health innovation and solution development
- Health equity and structural determinants
- Community and state-level public health systems
Students will complete:
- Determinants tables
- Systems maps and reflections
- Group leverage point analyses
- Collaborative intervention presentations
This course fulfills a required BSPH course for UNC Gillings students while also being highly relevant for students interested in:
- Global health
- Public policy
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Human-centered design
- Political science
- Data science
- Social innovation
- Health communication
- Urban studies
No prior public health coursework or perquisites required.
