Global Perspectives on Public Health: A Survey of Core Concepts and Applied Practice

While clinical medicine deals with the health of the individual, public health is concerned with the health of the population. The UK Faculty of Public Health defines public health as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.” The recent COVID-19 pandemic acutely underscored the key functions public health professionals play in considering, designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions at the population level. If you are interested in thinking about complex problems touching all aspects of society, or are considering a career in public health, medicine, or public policy, this course can provide a valuable starting point in your journey.

First, students will be introduced to the five core “pillars” of public health practice: biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health policy and management, and social and behavioural sciences. While many public health professionals specialise in one of these areas, a well-rounded understanding across these pillars is seen as essential to public health practice. Lectures and seminars will cover key concepts and real-world examples with seminars focusing on the critical evaluation of real studies within each core area. The second part of the course will focus on applying these skills to case studies covering key public health issues from around the world.

By the end of the course, students should have a basic framework through which to approach, and consider, key issues in public health – issues that are often complex and require balancing of competing priorities, difficult trade-offs, and externalities. We aim for students to leave this course with an understanding of how to approach this complexity, the basic tools at their disposal, and an understanding of how the consideration of real-world examples can help to inform their future practice. We will also ensure students are informed about what they can do in the future to continue to grow and advance their knowledge in the space.

Nick is a postdoctoral researcher and Lead for Research Integrity at the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. He completed his DPhil in Primary Care Health Sciences at Kellogg College, Oxford, in 2022, received a Masters of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration from the Yale School of Public Health in 2012, and his BS in Biology and Society for Cornell University in 2010.

His primary research interest is in approaches to improving the rigour, reliability, reproducibility, and transparency of science. His thesis was on improving transparency and accountability in clinical trial research through the use of clinical trial registries. He is currently a member of the EU-funded OSIRIS Consortium examining strategies to increase reproducibility in research and is PI on a UKRI-funded Metascience grant on code sharing in health in medical research. He regularly lectures on the Practice of Evidence-Based Healthcare Module, is currently developing a module on research integrity, and has given numerous trainings and workshops on open science practice and peer review at Oxford and beyond.