Doctor of Health Science

DHS 8045: The Influence of Ethics and Culture on Global Health

Technology, research, and advancement of health care interventions have produced impressive improvements in health outcomes for many. Unfortunately, these advancements have also lead to inequalities in health status within and between countries, creating growing global ethical dilemmas. The world is faced with new challenges such as the potential for pandemics, an aging population, a diminishing healthcare workforce, and the stresses of determining resource allocation. With these challenges comes a need to better understand the process of ethical reasoning and resolution as this will be paramount for the development and maintenance of global health. Another dimension that must be considered in ethical decision-making is the influencing factors of culture. Culture comprises the political, social, economic, religious, and ethnic norms and values of a society. Culture is instrumental in shaping bioethical policy worldwide, which necessitates its inclusion and consideration in all global ethic discussions. The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the principles and theory of ethics as applied to global health, and how culture influences ethical decision-making. The course will examine some of the primary theories and principles in healthcare ethics including virtue, deontology, utilitarian, autonomy, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. The course will explore many prominent global health issues and exemplify how greater knowledge and understanding of global ethics and culture is vital to effective and sound decision-making. Topics that will be discussed in the course include ethical issues related to: pandemic preparedness, end of life, human organ transplantation, clinical research in developing countries, human rights, resource allocation, and the effects of globalization on world health. It is anticipated that students will bring their own ethical dilemmas arising from their own experiences, culture, and practice.

DHS 8095: Global Health Policy

Globalization affects all sectors including health care and understanding the key policy issues is essential in the study of global health. This course, taught from a clinical perspective, examines the health policy issues confronting international health organizations, governments and specific populations. It reviews the processes that influence the development and implementation of policies, and examines specific topics related to HIV/AIDS, poverty/nutrition, infectious disease, smoking, concerns of women and children and other global major health concerns. 

DHS 8000: Professional Competencies in the Clinical Care of Diverse Populations

This course focuses on issues and information relating to the general epidemiological concerns, health care disparities and specific health and disease issues involved in the care of both culturally-based diverse populations (African American, Native America, Asian and Asian sub-populations, and Latino-Hispanic populations); and other non-ethnic special populations (homeless, uninsured, indigent, disabled, incarcerated, rural, inner-city, GLBT, geriatric, pediatric and others. 

DHS 8030: Community Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

This course develops the knowledge and skills needed to work with communities to improve health status of the community. Major topics will include health promotion and disease prevention. Special emphasis will be placed on the "Healthy People 2020" initiatives.  

DHS 8040: Professionalism and Health Care Ethics

This course is an in depth study of the concepts of health care ethics. The course of study analyzes the differences between ethics and law and examines the core values and beliefs of medical professionalism. Methods of ethical analysis and review of current case studies will be used in critical discussions of ethical dilemmas faced by health care personnel in areas such as cloning, organ transplantation, and the implications of the Human Genome Project. The student will explore the personal values, professional standards, and institutional guidelines which define the roles and responsibilities of the health care practitioner. 

DHS 8090: Health Policy, Planning and Management

This course critically examines the dynamics of healthcare in the U.S. The student is expected to analyze the healthcare industry and contrast non-profit and for-profit healthcare delivery systems. A critical exploration of the ramifications of healthcare reform and the impact on institutions and individuals will be undertaken. The concepts of cost containment, and long-term care will be analyzed. 

DHS 8110: Community Environmental and Occupational Health

Issues such as air and water quality and waste management will be examined. OSHA will be examined and analyzed for its impact on health and health care. Trends in environmental and occupational health legislation will be examined for their impact potential. 

DHS 8400: Global Health Issues 

Global healthcare is an emerging priority for health professional education programs, and clinical practice. It is essential for all healthcare professionals to understand the impact of global health issues on health care and international economic stability. This course explores the many facets of global health to expose the student to the complexity of the concepts that impact healthcare in developing and developed countries. 

DHS 8810: Global Epidemiology

This course emphasizes the underlying concepts of the epidemiologic approach as it relates to pertinent global health issues. The student will be introduced to principles and methods of epidemiologic research. These include study designs, measures of frequency, association, impact and sources of error. Application to global health and public health strategies for disease prevention, surveillance and controls are discussed. 

HSP 9006: Evidence-Based Medical Practice

This course provides a working knowledge of evidence based medicine. Cases will be used as the backbone of this course to assist the student in analyzing data to justify the treatments used in clinical practice. Students will also learn how to critically appraise the literature, evaluate diagnostic test performance, design clinical pathways and standards of care, and implement evidenced based medicine findings in their own clinical or administrative setting. 

DHS 8750: Patient Safety

Leadership plays a key role in adopting practices to promote patient safety and leaders should have the skills necessary to be effective in the implementation of these practices. This course will focus on patient safety through a study of safety-oriented leadership, organizational culture, human factors, decision making science, communication, and a systems approach to health care delivery. Current best practice models and the latest professional literature emphasizing patient safety will be featured. 

DHS 8190: Health Care Education

This course explores the various theories and applications of adult education in the practice of training, pre-professional education, and post-professional education of medical personnel. Critical analysis of the different methods of teaching and training healthcare professionals is accomplished through discussion, research, investigation, journal development and assignments. 

DHS 8800: Health Care Informatics

This course will focus on available and future methodologies and technologies for the processing, archiving, analysis and transmission of data, information, and knowledge in the medical and healthcare setting. 

DHS 8125: Preparation Forum

Students should enroll in this course within one to two semesters of matriculation into the DHSc program. 

This is a 1-credit course in which students work closely in a one-on-one fashion with the course instructor/mentor to develop appropriate learning objectives and experiential plans for the internship (8130) and a substantial developmental project for the practicum (8140). Together, the internship and practicum form the capstone of the program. Attention is also paid to appropriate preparation for the form and style of the written deliverables of the internship and practicum and appropriate timelines for completion. Successful completion of 8125 will include the following: completion of APA style quizzes, approval of topic for DHS 8130 at least one semester prior to enrollment, approval of topic for DHS 8140 one to two semesters prior to enrollment, and completion of an error-free proposal for 8140 at least one to two semester prior to enrollment.  Students will be continuously enrolled in 8125 until all three tasks are accomplished

DHS 8130: Internship

This course is the capstone of the program. The student will perform an internship at a community health care institution, clinic, educational facility, etc., which is approved in the DHS 8125 course at least one semester prior to enrolling in DHS 8130. The student should spend a minimum of 80 clock-hours learning skills from a mentor.  Examples of acceptable internship experiences include teaching assistantships to learn on-site or online teaching skills, volunteering at non-profit organizations to learn about particular topics in health promotion and disease prevention, or shadowing an executive to learn leadership and executive skills among other experiences.  Students on the global track must have an internship experience that has an international basis. The student will write a report that describes the institution, defines the population served, and details the health promotion activities observed. A critical evaluation should be made that details strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the institution in order to analyze if the skills delineated were able to be learned. 

NOTE: Must have Global Health Implications

DHS 8140: Practicum

The practicum is a written project that is developmental in nature.  The practicum project must be approved in the DHS 8125 course one to two semesters prior to enrolling in DHS 8140.  Enrollment in the practicum course must be preceded by a proposal that contains the project idea and a preliminary literature review, which will be written in the DHS 8125 course at least one to two semesters prior to enrolling in DHS 8140. The student will be required to choose a health promotion topic and create a health promotion program or educational resource that can be used for a community education program. An implementation and evaluation plan must be included in the final product. Examples of appropriate educational resources include developing a presentation for a national conference, developing a presentation for an in-service, or developing a course curriculum.  Students on the global track must have an international basis for the project.

NOTE: Must have Global Health Implications

DHS 8010: Statistics and Research Methods

This course allows the student to develop an understanding through critical analysis of the basic research methods utilized in healthcare. Students will be taught how to critically analyze medical information and perform effective literature reviews. 

DHS 8080: Conflict Resolution in Health Care

This course examines and analyzes the nature and dynamics of human conflict within civil societies. Emphasis is placed upon conflicts within and among governments and public sector agencies and between the health provider, patients and medical institutions. Students will be expected to take an active role in the course and develop their own strategies for dealing with conflict. A paper will be required that details and analyzes a conflict situation in the student's work or other environment and how the conflict was resolved. 

DHS 8170: Leadership in Health Care

This course explores the various methods of leadership and management, both in and out of healthcare, and their impact on productivity, profitability and employee satisfaction. Critical analysis of the different types of leadership and management theories is given and the need for developing a leadership plan is explored. The student is expected to gain knowledge of the various types of leaders and systems and will be required to research and develop a paper on a specific leadership topic. 

DHS 8700: Comparative International Health Systems

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the principles, structure, and function of international health systems through a comparative analysis of various countries' health care systems. The course will explore how national systems have evolved and how countries confront the emerging issues in healthcare. The course will explore and develop a systematic comparative analysis of the evolution, administrative structures, societal choices, financing, and provision of health care services in underdeveloped, developing, and developed countries. 

DHS 8100: Alternative and Complementary Medicine

This course examines and analyzes alternative and complimentary medicine and their impact on the healthcare industry. The approach to the subject is to present selected alternative and complimentary medicine fields in an informative, non-judgmental format. 

DHS 8200: Independent Study A

The course is a self-directed, faculty-supervised experience for the student. The student will be required to develop a proposal regarding the topic of study, a learning contract with specific objectives and a plan of action to include methods of obtaining the information and the material produced to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the subject areas. A faculty member will be assigned to the student for the supervised study and will follow the approved learning contract for successful completion of the course. The purpose of this course is to allow the student to explore an area of interest in the field of health care or health sciences. The secondary benefit of the course is to allow the student, with the assistance of the faculty, to develop and complete a doctoral level course of study.

DHS 8120: Doctoral Analysis

In this faculty-supervised project, and the capstone of the program, the student will develop a paper using the objectives from the core courses and 1 elective as guidelines and references to form the basis of the paper. This will require research in to teaching and learning methods as well as online and in class comparisons. The outcome or final product will be an in-depth analysis of the information presented and the knowledge gained during the doctoral program. This paper will also include methods for improving the program of study in the DHSc and detailed methods to be used to deliver the proposed changes.