Public Health Advocacy Certificate Program
OVERVIEW
Advocacy—working for policy change and better implementation of existing policies—is crucial to public health. As research and discovery are translated into policies and programs, the accurate interpretation and use of evidence are essential to political leaders, healthcare providers, potential clients, and the public at large.
Certificate program coursework will allow students to engage deeply with core theories and skills in public health advocacy, and to augment these with an understanding of how to apply these in a variety of policy and geographic settings. The certificate program will complement students’ options for training in public health policy making with theoretical and practical insights into the role of advocacy in this process.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
The primary goal of the certificate program is to develop students’ abilities to translate research into practice, use evidence to inform public health policy, shift social norms and attitudes, and improve public health. The curriculum enables students to understand advocacy methods and apply evidence. Additionally, the program offers practical experience in public health advocacy.
Upon successful completion of the certificate program, students will be able to:
1. Discuss the role of political actors inside and outside governments in developing and implementing health policy
2. Identify other actors in the policymaking process and how actors such as the media help shape policy
3. Improve policies and laws and their development, adoption, and implementation
4. Increase and influence better use of resources for interventions and scientific inquiry
5. Set agendas in policy circles and the media environment through higher visibility and understanding of issues
6. Shift public attitudes, behaviors, and social norms toward better public health
ADMISSIONS
Contact information and complete certificate program admissions information are available on the certificate program page on the Bloomberg School of Public Health website.
Sponsoring Departments
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
The certificate requires a minimum of 18 term credits. All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade; a minimum grade of C is required in all certificate coursework and students must maintain a 2.75 or better overall GPA for all certificate coursework. The certificate program length is flexible and varies from student to student; however, the certificate must be completed within three years.
The student should review the section of the website that addresses completion before completing the certificate program requirements. The student's transcript will not indicate that the certificate was earned until the Notification of Completion has been submitted, verified by the certificate program, and processed by the Registrar.
COURSE OF STUDY
Students should check the BSPH course directory to confirm when courses are offered. Students should also check for prerequisites and whether instructor consent is required.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PH.550.860 | Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH (All students are required to complete this noncredit online course in their first term of study) | |
| Required Core Courses: Students must complete 301.645 and 410.663; students must select either 301.644, 380.620 or 410.672 | ||
| PH.301.645 | Health Advocacy (typically offered online in 2nd and 3rd terms, and onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.410.663 | Media Advocacy and Public Health: Theory and Practice (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.301.644 | Public Health Advocacy: Grassroots Organizing for Policy Change (typically offered online in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.380.620 | A Coalition-based SMART Approach to Public Health Advocacy (typically offered online in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.410.672 | Organizing for Public Health with the Six Steps to Effective Advocacy: Turning Public Will into Public Policy (typically offered onsite in 3rd term and online in 3rd and Summer terms) | 3 |
| Elective Courses: Students must complete a minimum of 9 credits | ||
| PH.180.628 | Introduction To Environmental and Occupational Health Law (typically offered online 4th term) | 4 |
| PH.221.633 | Policy Advocacy in Low and Middle-income Countries: Application for Real World Challenges (typically offered onsite in Summer Institute) | 2 |
| PH.221.650 | Health Policy Analysis in Low and Middle income Countries (typically offered onsite in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.260.720 | Communications Primer for the Public Health Sciences (typically offered 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Summer and Winter Institute) | 1 |
| PH.300.600 | Introduction to Health Policy (typically offered online in 1st term) | 4 |
| PH.300.610 | Public Health Policy (typically offered onsite in Summer term) | 4 |
| PH.300.650 | Crisis and Response in Public Health Policy and Practice (typically offered onsite and online in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.300.712 | Formulating Policy: Strategies and Systems of Policymaking in the 21st Century (typically offered online in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.301.627 | Understanding and Preventing Violence (typically offered onsite in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.301.660 | Connecting Public Health Research with the U.S. Policymaking Process (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.306.650 | Public Health and the Law (typically offered onsite in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.308.604 | Effective Writing for Public Health Change (typically offered virtually in Summer and Winter Institute and onsite in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.308.701 | Media Interviews and Applied Public Health Communications (typically offered virtually in Summer and Winter Institute and onsite 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.317.610 | Risk Policy, Management and Communication (typically offered onsite in 2nd term and online in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.330.667 | Mental Health and the Law (typically offered onsite in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.380.707 | Advocating for Global Reproductive Health (typically offered onsite in Summer Institute) | 2 |
| PH.380.771 | Understanding and Changing International Reproductive Health Policy (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.410.622 | Strategic Leadership Principles and Tools for Health System Transformation in Developing Countries (typically offered onsite in 2nd term) | 4 |
| PH.410.653 | Contemporary Issues in Health Communication (typically offered onsite in 1st term) | 1 |
| PH.410.668 | Policy Interventions for Health Behavior Change (typically offered onsite in 2nd term) | 4 |
| PH.410.721 | Translating Research into Public Health Programs and Policy (typically offered online 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.550.608 | Problem Solving in Public Health (typically offered onsite in Fall and Winter Institutes, and online in 3rd term ) | 4 |