Course: Sexually Transmitted Infections an Exercise in Public Health

Winter Intersession 2017 Course: Sexually Transmitted Infections – An Exercise in Public Health Section number: AS.280.208 Credits: 2 units Instructor: Kenny Mok, MD, MPH Email: [email protected] Cell: (415) 794-9144 Pager: (415) 201-2415

Course Syllabus (revised 8/28/16)

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to an overview of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with a focus on upstream intervention by applying the Public Health problem-solving paradigm. To simulate the real world, students will be divided into small groups to tackle a sexually transmitted infection of their choice. This course will teach students problem solving techniques, provide them the opportunity to work in a team and demonstrate the mastery of the concepts by successfully collaborating on a final paper with a descriptive analysis of an STI, its magnitude and description of the determinants, exploration of the different intervention strategies and a defense of the students’ intervention of choice.

Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) Understand the pathophysiology, transmission and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. 2) Describe the determinants (biological, environmental, socio-economical, and cultural, etc.) that influence sexually transmitted infections. 3) Explain the relevance of human rights to health and the various dimensions of access to healthcare. 4) Describe the principles and basic theories of health behavior change. 5) Utilize the PRECEDE/PROCEED model in conducting a needs assessment for designing and evaluating a health promotion program. 6) Understand the importance of community involvement and partnership. 7) Understand and apply the Bardach framework for policy analysis. 8) Understand and apply the key concepts of program design and evaluation.

The students will be divided into small groups to work on a particular sexually transmitted infection of their choosing. The course will culminate with a collaborative final paper to be written by each team of students that analyses a public health problem: its magnitude and description of the determinants, exploration of the different intervention strategies and a defense of the students’ intervention of choice. Grading Format: Pass/Fail 1) Class attendance (100%, unless with instructor’s approval) 2) Active participation 3) Quizzes (not administered on the first day of class or the last day of class; must have a cumulative score of 70% or abov) 4) Group term paper and presentation 5) Self and peer assessment (must be fully contributory)

Paper Format: 1) Cover page 2) Font 12, double spacing, 1-inch margin 3) Proper citation of references used for paper

Recommended but NOT REQUIRED textbooks: 1) Bardach, E. (2000). A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, Part 1, New York, Chatham House. 2) Glanz, K., Rimer, B., and Viswanath, K. (4th Edition). Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice, San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass Publishers. 3) Aral, S., Doughlas, J., Lipshitz, J. (2007). Behavioral Interventions for Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, New York, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 4) Grodin, M., Tarantola, D., Annas, G., Gruskin, S. (2013, 3rd Edition). Health and Human Rights in a Changing World, Routledge. 5) Murphy, T. (2013). Health and Human Rights, hart Publishing.