The Health Policy Concentration prepares students to understand the various mechanisms and processes that can be utilized to formulate public and social policy. Further, they learn to understand how policy agendas are initiated and transformed by various stakeholders, and the potential role(s) played by bioethics and medical humanities in the formulation and analysis of policy.
Graduates of this concentration will be able to:
- Define public and social policy, operations for their formulation, and frameworks for policy analysis
- Describe the historical and future role of bioethics and medical humanities in the formulation and analysis of policy, including the pros and cons of involvement.
- Explain the relationship between policy, health, and bioethics and medical humanities across numerous domains of interest including, but not limited to, environment, healthcare, immigration, welfare.
This concentration consists of a 1.5 credit hour course (Formulation and Analysis of Health Policy), completed in the fall semester, and a 3-credit course (Case Studies of Health Policy) completed in the spring semester. A 1.5-credit health policy practicum will be taken concurrently with the 3-credit course in the spring semester.
Formulation and Analysis of Health Policy, focuses on the processes for the development, implementation, and analysis of public and social policy– and the roles that can be played by bioethics and medical humanities in policy deliberation and analysis.
Case Studies of Health Policy, utilizes a case study approach to examine the substance of policies across a variety of domains, such as housing, public health, immigration, and end-of-life care; the processes utilized to formulate them; and the health implications of their implementation.
The practicum offers students an opportunity to apply their knowledge of policy development and analysis to a specific situation. Practicum assignments are designed to be flexible and aligned with the interests of each individual student.