About this course: In this course, learners will become familiar with principles and theories of global health problems, and major challenges and controversies in improving global population health as well as practical applications of quantitative methods to analyze and interpret issues and challenges for policy. Topics will include health and foreign policy, health governance, acute disease surveillance, non-communicable diseases, burden of disease, universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, health financing, and human resources for health and ageing.
Who is this class for: Both undergraduate and graduate students aiming to learn basics of global health policy. No background is necessary, though basic medical knowledge is helpful.
Created by: The University of Tokyo
Taught by: Hiroshi Nishiura, (Former Affiliation) Associate Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
(Current Affiliation) Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University
Taught by: Stuart Gilmour, Associate Professor
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine
Taught by: Kenji Shibuya, Professor and Chair
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 2-3 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Global Health Policy and Governance
There are four modules in this lecture series. We will start with key issues in current global health policy and governance. The year 2015 reminded political leaders and the public that people’s safety is a genuine challenge at a time of disease epidemics, ter...
9 videos, 1 reading, 3 practice quizzes
Graded: Graded Quiz 1
WEEK 2
Pandemics and Health Security Responses
In this module, we will explore the relationship between universal health coverage, disasters and pandemics. We will learn how to measure and understand the spread of infectious diseases, and how to respond to them. We will also consider the conditions necessa...
11 videos, 6 practice quizzes
Graded: Graded Quiz 2
WEEK 3
Universal Health Coverage in the Context of Aging
In Module 3, we will introduce the basic concept of universal health coverage (UHC), some technical aspects of health financing, and methods for measuring and improving UHC systems. We will also discuss the challenges to UHC posed by aging and development, inc...
9 videos, 5 practice quizzes
Graded: Graded Quiz 3
WEEK 4
The Future of Japan's Health System: Sustaining Good Health with Equity at Low Cost
One of the central themes in today’s global health policy is the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC). The recent Ebola crisis has indicated that not only responses, but preparedness is key to tackling health emergencies. There is a growing consensus...
8 videos, 3 practice quizzes
Graded: Graded Quiz 4
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The University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo was established in 1877 as the first national university in Japan. As a leading research university, UTokyo offers courses in essentially all academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels and conducts research across the full spectrum of academic activity.
Ratings and Reviews
Excellent course and great materials on UHC, epidemiological transition and the impact of population ageing on sustainably financing and delivering quality health services for all. I also very much appreciated the very informative sessions presenting the experience of Japan.
Very good course..
Extremely clear and comprehensive explanations of the latest developments of global health. The insights on the Japanese public health experiences that the rest of the world should learn from were very interesting. Thank you very much for offering this Public Health Policy course.
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This was a great introduction to global health, with a focus on the Japanese health care system. The first half of the course covers the more traditional conception of global health, going into financing mechanisms and pandemic/catastrophe responses. The second half covers universal health care, especially the current Japanese system. The three professors who teach this course are truly experts in their field and have a wealth of knowledge on these topics, and hearing their thoughts on these contemporary issues was refreshing. In fact, a lot of the literature relevant to this course is authored by these very same professors, so the expertise is definitely there. I only wish that there were more lectures to cover some of the advanced topics more throughly because I think the professors definitely had more to say about these topics and their respective fields. All in all, an excellent series of lectures.