Master of Public Health | Alfaisal University

MPH 500: Principles of Biostatistics

Principles of Biostatistics course is the first in a series of courses designed to provide the students with basic understanding of main biostatistical concepts. This course provides an introduction to the use of biostatistics in the fields of epidemiology and public health. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability distributions, parameter estimation, hypothesis testing, sampling techniques, analysis of variance, and correlation. It provides basic training in statistical analysis using statistical software.

MPH 502: Principles of Epidemiology

Principles of Epidemiology course introduces basic epidemiologic concepts and methods and their use in public health. Specifically, it covers measures of disease occurrence, common sources and types of data, measures of association, bias and confounding, main study designs, and sources of error in epidemiologic studies.

MPH 503: Environmental & Occupational Health

The Environmental & Occupational Health course covers the basic principles of environmental and occupational health and the sources of hazards to human health that exist within the Saudi workplace and environment. This knowledge allows students to develop strategies that effectively intervene to alleviate and potentially, on the long run, prevent adverse health effects caused by environmental agents and conditions prevalent in the Kingdom.

MPH 504: Communicable Diseases

Communicable diseases are illnesses that can be transmitted from person to person or animal to person. There are more than 70 Communicable diseases, such as Tuberculosis, Malaria, Corona Virus, HIV/Aids etc. Socioeconomic, environmental and behavioural factors, as well as international travel and migration, foster and increase the spread of communicable diseases. Vaccine-preventable, foodborne, zoonotic, health care-related and communicable diseases pose significant threats to human health and may sometimes threaten international health security. This course envisions creating public health tools to help physicians implement effective disease prevention and control programs to address their risk factors. The course also addresses the current paradigms and controversies in epidemiology, health systems and policy research related to communicable diseases, equipping participants with the language and skills to progress further in their fields. The objective is to train students in the interdisciplinary approaches to communicable diseases prevention, treatment and care. The course will also expose participants to key theoretical and empirical knowledge in communicable diseases’ research from a range of disciplines, including epidemiology, economics and health systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, surrounding regions and internationally.

MPH 505: Non-Communicable Diseases

Non-Communicable Diseases course addresses the major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease, and their risk factors such as diet, exercise, tobacco, and alcohol, which are responsible for considerable morbidity and premature adult mortality globally and specifically in the KSA. The course is based on an understanding the evidential basis for the cause of NCDs from epidemiological and bio-medical studies, followed by detailed analysis of population health risk factors and the challenges they pose for population approaches to prevention and control of NCDs. The course will address the challenges of different population approaches to NCDs control, and their record of success and failures globally and in the Kingdom.

MPH 506: Social & Behavioural Determinants of Health

Social & Behavioural Determinants of Health course covers the basic principles of the field of social and behavioural determinants of health including the theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of social and behavioural determinants of health, the role of social and behavioural determinants in the health of individuals and society, and present evidence for social and behavioural determinants of health and their relationship to health outcomes.

MPH 507: Advanced Biostatistics

Advanced Biostatistics builds on the material learned in previous biostatistics and epidemiology courses. Specifically, the course will focus on analysis of variance, linear regression, logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards regression, analysis of categorical data, and model building techniques. Emphasis will be placed on the practical implementation of modern biostatistical methods in analyzing public health data.

MPH 508: Advanced Epidemiology

Advanced Epidemiology course builds on material learned in previous Biostatistics and Epidemiology courses. The course will focus on applying that knowledge to the design, implementation, analysis and interpretation of observational epidemiologic studies including cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies. The course addresses issues related to the validity of measures of exposure and disease, and sources of potential errors in interpreting epidemiologic studies. This course also introduces the basic principles of clinical epidemiology.

MPH 509: Regression Analysis

Regression Analysis course covers estimation, and testing hypotheses in linear and logistic regression, regression diagnostics, analysis of variance, and adjusting for covariates. Emphasis is on the application of regression method covered in this course. This is a hands-on, applied course where students will use statistical software to analyze data drawn primarily from the fields of medicine, epidemiology and public health.

MPH 510: Principles of Mass Gatherings Health

The course covers the public health principles of hajj and umra as events of mass gatherings. It discusses the dynamics of the hajj and umra events, their boundaries, dates and available contingencies. It also defines the main elements of the Incident Command System, describes the responsibilities of the various services participating in the preparation, monitoring, and response during Hajj and Umra, and finally summarizing interdependence of various health and safety services related to engineering, and health communications in mass gatherings areas.

MPH 511: Principles of Disaster Management

The course introduces students to the different aspects of natural and industrial disasters, while integrating public health research principles, designs and practices. The course covers recent and historical case studies as a basis for developing the critical thinking and leadership skills needed by public health professionals in crisis situations. The course addresses international, regional, and local settings, as well as the social, economic, and political aspects of disaster planning, preparedness, and alleviation.

MPH 512: Emerging Infections & Infectious Diseases Management

Emerging Infections and Infectious Diseases Management course introduces the concepts of microbes and infection, examines some basic tools to understand infectious diseases and the pathogens, and illustrates the importance of infectious disease in the history of humankind. It covers the emergence of new pathogens, the re-emergence of old pathogens, the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance, and the threat of bioterrorism pose to public health and patient management. It also covers the role of nations in the global control of emerging infectious diseases, with special reference to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Region. Class discussion explores some of the controversial issues in the prevention and management of infectious diseases.

MPH 513: Health Insurance & Health Policy

The course addresses the impact that health insurance & policy development and analysis have on public health. It provides students with the basic skills for collecting, analyzing and communicating information on health insurance & health policy issues. Students will learn what health insurance & health policy are; who the policymakers are in public health; who the actors are that are affected by health care policy; and the major influences in determining what insurances & policy get implemented. It provides students with a framework for understanding, developing and analyzing a range of health care insurance & policy issues. The course begins by introducing an approach for analyzing any public health insurance & policy issues. It explores how insurance & policy formation impact access, quality, costs, as well as medical innovation.

MPH 514: Quality Assurance in Public Health

The Public Health Quality Forum (PHQF) defined public health quality as, “The degree to which policies, programs, services, and research for the population increase desired health outcomes and conditions in which the population can be healthy.” Quality Assurance in Public Health course provides students with an overview of public health quality assurance principles and practices and their role and impact on public health. The course covers the basics of developing, implementing and evaluating measurable indicators of quality for public health medicine.

MPH 515: Health Care Management

The main purpose of this course is to develop the knowledge themes that management of healthcare depends on including leadership perspectives, health care policy, ethics and legal aspects of healthcare. The development of such themes allows the MPH students to apply them in real life situations.

MPH 516: Survival Analysis

Survival Analysis course demonstrates statistical methods for analyzing and interpreting time-to-failure data. The techniques described include the construction and analysis of failure rates, survival curves, significant tests for comparing survival curves, and semi-parametric models for the analysis of time-to-failure data including the proportional hazards model. Skills for using statistical software to perform the analyses are developed. In addition, study design is covered, including sample size and power calculations.

MPH 517: Categorical Data Analysis

Categorical Data Analysis course provides an overview of methods used in analyzing binary and other discrete response data, with applications to epidemiological and public health studies. It is an introductory level course that presumes some knowledge of applied statistics and epidemiology. Topics discussed include 2 × 2 tables, m × 2 tables, tests of independence, measures of association, power and sample size determination, stratification and matching in design and analysis. This is followed by an introduction to logistic regression analysis.

MPH 518: Ethics in Research

Ethics in Research course covers the ethical fundamentals and national regulations of human subject’s research. Issues considered include informed consent, studies of vulnerable populations, clinical trials, and epidemiologic research studies. It also studies ethical concerns surrounding public health issues including conflicts of interest, social accountability, and risk benefit analyses.

MPH 519: Public Health and Healthcare Systems in KSA

An introductory course takes a policy and politics angle to healthcare's three main topics - access, cost and quality. The roles of patients, physicians, hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies will be established. The courses discussed the interaction between the government and these different groups. Current national health care policy initiatives and, especially, the interests of class members will steer the specific topics covered in the course. The course provides skills for critical and analytical understanding of the Saudi Healthcare Systems.

MPH 520: Health Economics

Health Economics course develops an understanding of the relevance of economic concepts to the healthcare and public health sectors. It provides an application of economic models to demand, supply, and their interaction in the Saudi medical economy. It also covers the role of economic factors in the development of public policy concerning health, and healthcare. The course develops an understanding of the functioning and limitations of the market system and applying micro models in economic problem solving activities. The theoretical framework of this course includes the basic economic problems, supply and demand, analysis, consumer theory, production and cost theory, market structure, market failure and microeconomic policy.

MPH 521: Health Informatics

Health Informatics course provides an overview of health information management systems (HIMS), the data within these systems and the translation of the data into information and subsequently knowledge. The course will begin with a look at the types of data that flows through healthcare organizations. Students will then be introduced to information systems infrastructure, architecture, and types of systems that exist within organizations. Finally, students will examine how information is incorporated into operational processes, clinical processes, and medical research.

MPH 522: Global Health

Global Health with a concentration on the developing world and emerging economies (LMIC) is an introduction to the major health issues of LMIC nations, social determinants of health, models for addressing health disparities, innovations for improving health, health and human rights and the role of international organizations in improving global health. Students will explore the major demographic and economic changes, causes of morbidity and mortality, review factors which influence these outcomes, look at health systems, examine the role of human rights and analyze strategies to improve health and recommendation sustainable solutions.

MPH 523: Research Design

Research Design course covers the basic concepts and skills of research design, highlighting how they relate to public health research. The course identifies the strengths and weaknesses of key epidemiologic study designs, and how to draft a research proposal. It covers the basics of public health data collection, and analysis and strategies to manage bias and assess the quality of published research. The Course structure is designed to move research methodology from a teaching process to an investigational process, from memorizing to brainstorming, from knowledge transfer to knowledge creation, and from competitive learning to collaborative learning.

MPH 524: Nutrition

Nutrition course studies nutrition from the perspective of the community rather than the individual, including the scientific basis for nutritional requirements and recommendations, nutrition through the life span, and the role of nutrition in health promotion and disease prevention.

MPH 525: Practicum

The practicum is an opportunity for students to apply classroom knowledge and theory to real world public health practice. It is a program accreditation requirement. The aim of the course is to develop student skills and to demonstrate the application of these skills through a practice experience relevant to their areas of interest. The students will have the opportunity to provide evidence of application of these skills to potential employers subsequent to completion of the MPH program. The practicum must be supervised and evaluated by a qualified preceptor/academic advisor, and must be framed and carried out within a public health practice context with an established organization or agency, and apply public health skills and competencies.

MPH 526: Seminar

As a part of the Alfaisal MPH program and the MBA-Health Management Track curriculum, the MPH 526 Seminar is a practical course, in which the graduate students are trained in presentation skills. At the same time, guest lecturers will be invited to present and discuss with the students state-of-the-art topics in public health and health management.

MPH 527: Communicable & Non-Communicable Diseases

Communicable diseases are illnesses that can be transmitted from person to person or animal to person. Non communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease, are responsible for considerable morbidity and premature adult mortality globally. This course envisions creating public health tools to help physicians implement effective disease prevention and control programs to address their risk factors. The objective is to train students in the interdisciplinary approaches to diseases prevention, treatment and care. The course will also expose participants to key theoretical and empirical knowledge in diseases’ research from a range of disciplines, including epidemiology, economics and health systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, surrounding regions and internationally.

MPH 600: Thesis A

Students completing a Thesis Option master’s degree are expected to write a report, referred to as a thesis, on the results of an original investigation, in conjunction with a Master’s Advisory Committee. Length and style of the thesis vary by college/department. All these are filed with the Office of Graduate Studies. A Master’s Advisory Committee will be formed for each student and will consist of three members; an Alfaisal faculty member as the Major Advisor and Chair, and two other members, one of whom may be from an organization outside of the University. The Chair of the Committee must have research and graduate student advising experience. This Committee will assist the student in the formulation of the Thesis Project Proposal, and later advise the student in the execution of the research project, the Thesis write-up, and help the student to prepare for the oral defense.

MPH 600: Thesis B

Students completing a Thesis Option master’s degree are expected to write a report, referred to as a thesis, on the results of an original investigation, in conjunction with a Master’s Advisory Committee. Length and style of the thesis vary by college/department. All these are filed with the Office of Graduate Studies. A Master’s Advisory Committee will be formed for each student and will consist of three members; an Alfaisal faculty member as the Major Advisor and Chair, and two other members, one of whom may be from an organization outside of the University. The Chair of the Committee must have research and graduate student advising experience. This Committee will assist the student in the formulation of the Thesis Project Proposal, and later advise the student in the execution of the research project, the Thesis write-up, and help the student to prepare for the oral defense.

MPH 601: Research/Capstone Project

The capstone project involves identifying public health problems in a real-world setting and developing the skills to address it. Each student is required to complete a six-credit “capstone” project which may be a research or an intervention project. The capstone project utilizes knowledge gained through classroom coursework and is the degree’s culminating work. The end product of the project is something that can be implemented and used. The capstone includes the design of an approved individual or group research or implementation project demonstrating professional-level knowledge and skills. Students may begin their projects after completing all the MPH required core courses.

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