Courses

This course will introduce students to the concept of healthcare inequity and will provide a broad overview of healthcare disparities in the United States with special emphasis on the three-county Northwest Indiana region. Students will examine relevant historical issues, theories, and empirical data, while stressing the importance of critical analysis and application of knowledge. Students will gain a better understanding of research on healthcare disparities and interventions to promote health equity through a combination of readings, seminars, reflection papers, and a case presentation.

Course Director: Amy Han, PhD and Tim Ames, MD
Email: amyhan@iu.edu
Phone: (219) 980-6561
Primary contact for Adds/Drops: Amy Han, PhD; amyhan@iu.edu
Home campus: Northwest-Gary
Type of course: Online

Learning objectives:
By the end of this course, a student will be able to:

1. identify the contributors and root causes of healthcare inequalities in an urban setting (SBP2)
2. articulate the populations most affected by healthcare inequities and what makes them vulnerable (SBP2)
3. discuss the mechanisms of how the root causes are manifested to create adverse health effects in some populations (SBP 2 & SBP 3)
4. communicate about the challenges in overcoming healthcare inequalities using existing public health resources and suggest solutions or improvements to provide better health outcomes (SBP 4 & SBP5)

Course activities:
Participation in 6-8 seminars that delve into issues related to Healthcare disparities. Guest speakers/discussion leaders, who are experts in the seminar or discussion topic, will be invited for each of the seminars/discussions. Key themes include:

• Social Epidemiology
• Disparities in Patient Interaction
• Cultural Competence
• Policy and Advocacy

Estimated time distribution: 100% online

Assessments: Student's performance in this elective will be evaluated via participation in group discussions with faculty (50%); reflection paper(s) (25%); and a formal case presentation (25%).

Faculty will use the Professional Development Evaluation

Prerequisites: Scholarly Concentration enrollment
Interprofessional collaboration: Students will have opportunities to collaborate with other health professions through their projects.

This course continues to introduce students to the concept of healthcare inequities and provides a broad overview of healthcare disparities in the United States with more emphasis on the three-county Northwest Indiana region. As the advanced course in the Urban Medicine and Healthcare Disparities Scholarly Concentration Program, it is intended to provide a deeper foundation in health disparities research and interventions to promote health equity in the community. Students continue to apply their understanding of relevant historical issues, theories, and empirical data to design health disparities research and interventions, while stressing the importance of critical analysis, knowledge application, and community engagement. Students will gain a deeper understanding of research on healthcare disparities and interventions to promote health equity through a combination of readings, seminars, discussions, case presentations, experiential learning, and community engaged activities.

Course Director: Amy Han, PhD and Tim Ames, MD
Email: amyhan@iu.edu
Phone: (219) 980-6561
Primary contact for Adds/Drops: Amy Han, PhD; amyhan@iu.edu
Home campus: Northwest-Gary
Type of course: In-person and Online

Learning objectives:
By the end of this course, a student will be able to:

1. analyze urban health disparities and contributors from a socio-ecological perspective (SBP2 & SBP3)
2. engage in community or organizational stakeholders in implementing a health equity project addressing an urban health disparity (SBP2)
3. articulate evidence-based recommendations for improving systems, policies, or practices to address urban health disparities (SBP3, SBP4, SBP5)
4. disseminate health equity research findings to diverse stakeholders (SBP3, SBP4, SBP5)

Course activities:
This course combines assigned readings (approximately 6 hours), 6 in-person class discussions and online modules (approximately 9 hours), 6 1-hour seminars, 9 applied assignments (approximately 9 hours), and approximately 15 hours of community engagement and service activities.

Estimated time distribution: 60% scholarly research, 30% lecture/seminar and 10% online

Assessments: Student's performance in this elective will be evaluated via discussions (15%); reflection papers (10%); philosophy of health statement (2%), root cause analysis (1%), advocacy intervention (5%), e-portfolio (12%), community engagement and service 10%), health equity project (25%), student presentations (15%), and community dissemination (5%).

Faculty will use the Research Evaluation form

Prerequisites: Scholarly Concentration enrollment
Interprofessional collaboration: Students will engage multidisciplinary faculty, organizational, and community partners throughout the design and implementation of their health equity project.