Recommended Courses for Health Policy
GH 524 Policy Development and Advocacy for Global Health (2)
Explores complex array of factors affecting global health policy by studying contemporary health policy issues affecting developing countries. Examines how context (e.g. ideology, culture, and history) and international institutions affect the provision, financing, structure, and success of a nation' s health and health system. Offered: Sp.
GH 534 Building Better Evidence through Integrated Health Information and Surveillance Systems (3)
Introduces the relationship between health information and surveillance systems and how these fields work together to inform leaders about maximizing limited resources and operating efficient health systems. Prerequisite: EPI 511 or instructor's permission. Offered: Sp.
HSERV
503 Public Health Informatics and Surveillance (3)
Covers collection and use of public health surveillance data
in formulating policy and managing programs through lectures
and real-world interactive exercises. Discusses surveillance
for birth defects, environmental exposures, and hospital-acquired
infections, and use of tools such as small area analysis and
geographic information systems. Offered: jointly with EPI
503.
HSERV 512 U.S. Health and Health Care: Organization, Financing, and Delivery (3)
Students review and examine selected topics from literature. Includes: need and access to care; theory and effects of health insurance; private and public insurance programs; managed care; costs/expenditures; availability and organization of health resources; and quality assessment and improvement. Enrollment priority for Health Services PhD students. Prerequisite: HSERV 511.
HSERV 513 U.S. Health and Health Care: Population Health, Social Determinants, and Health Disparities (3)
Explores the elements and actions of a population health approach, including conceptualizing the determinants of health, synthesizing knowledge about major social determinants, and applying knowledge to improve population health and reduce health disparities. Enrollment priority for Health Services PhD students. Prerequisite: HSERV 511, and permission of instructor; recommended: HSERV 512.
Instructor Course Description: David Grembowski
HSERV
518 Social and Ethical Issues (2-4, max. 4)
Presents introduction to ethical issues in public health policy
and practice. Additional one credit option focuses on health
administration/managed care. Coursework designed to train
students in basic skills of ethical analysis and increase
competency in recognizing, researching, and analyzing issues
arising in public health and health services delivery.
HSERV
543 Topics in Maternal and Child Health III (3)
Provides an overview of contextually based frameworks for
understanding growth and development. Identifies and describes
the conceptual basis and theory of change that underlie successful
preventive intervention efforts to promote the well being
of children and reduce common MCH problems.
HSERV 550 Policy and Economics: Fundamentals and Applications (3)
Explores how values drive the structure of societies, economic systems, public policies, and ultimately, allocation and distribution of resources. Explores how science and community values intertwine in the development of health policy, and how ideology, culture, and history influence structure and change a nation's health system.
HSERV 551 Health Law (2)
Analysis of law, the legal system and current legal problems as they relate to the financing and delivery of health care services. Offered: jointly with LAW H 512.
HSERV 552 Health Policy Development (3-, max. 3)
Focuses on development of public policy concerning medical care and public health and the relationship between public decisions and the market place. Using contemporary policy issues as case studies, examines the role science, ideology, culture, and history play in influencing the structure of and changes to a nation's health system.
Instructor Course Description:
Aaron Katz
HSERV
553 Politics of Health Care (3)
Understanding of health policy making within the context of
American politics. Health policy making is examined in light
of political leadership, the legislature, the initiative process,
rule making, interest groups, and lobbying. Prerequisite:
HSERV 551, a basic understanding of the American health care
system, or permission of instructor.
HSERV 554 Health Legislation Seminar (1)
Discussion of current state of health policy, topics with legislative staff and others involved with state health policy. In addition to four sessions on campus, course meets once in Olympia during legislative session. Credit/no credit only.
Instructor Course Description: Patricia Lichiello
HSERV
587 Health Policy Economics (3)
Applies economic theory to selected topics in health care,
including information, risk and insurance, industry organization,
government regulation, and public health issues. Emphasizes
policy implications of these applications.
NURS
568 Health Politics and Policy (3)
Analyzes the formal and informal political context of health
care delivery, professionals, and institutions in the United
States. Addresses medical coverage and public persuasion,
as well as policy analysis. Special attention is paid to women's
political resources and participation. Credit/no credit only.
NURS
584 Critical and Interdisciplinary Approach to Health Policy
(3)
Advanced seminar to critically analyze various public health
policies from a social justice framework.
PB AF 506 Ethics and Public Policy (3)
Teaches students to identify moral issues in public life. Special focus on the integration of moral concerns into public discussion in a manner which contributes to good policy and does not polarize issues. Discusses moral and political theory by focusing on contemporary cases and issues.
Instructor Course Description: Andrew Light
PB AF 513 Public Policy Analysis (4)
Production and use of analysis to support public policy decisions. Defining problems, devising alternative solutions, clarifying stakes in choices, predicting impacts of choices. Skills developed by working on specific policy problems. Assumes familiarity with statistics, microeconomic theory, and institutions and processes of American government. Prerequisite: PB AF 516 or permission of instructor. Offered: A.
Instructor Course Description: Marieka Klawitter William M. Zumeta
PB
AF 517 Economics of the Public Sector (3)
Methods of analyzing effects of public expenditures and taxes
on behavior of individuals and firms, on economic efficiency,
and on equity and distribution of income. Theory and practice
of intergovernmental fiscal relations. Application of theory
to formulation of public policy. Prerequisite: PB AF 516.
PB AF 560 Urban Affairs (3)
Explores national/local urban policy concerning the major problems confronting cities and metropolitan regions today. Economic globalization, income inequality, and metropolitan decentralization shape the urban agenda, the context for urban policy, and the analytic focus of the course. A project allows the exploration of strategies for intervention. Offered: jointly with URBDP 560. Instructor Course Description: Rachel G. Kleit
PB
AF 561 Urban Economics and Public Policy (3)
Examines the rationale for and consequences of public intervention
in urban land, housing, and transportation markets through
land use regulations such as zoning and urban growth boundaries,
infrastructure investments, and fiscal policies to manage
urban development and traffic. Prerequisite: PB AF 516 or
equivalent. Offered: jointly with URBDP 561.
PB
AF 569 Race and Public Policy (3)
Analyzes the way in which the persistent problem of race is
expressed in the formation and implementation of social and
public policy.
PB AF 570 Social Policy Analysis and Management (3)
Examines major institutions and programs in the human resources policy area: education, regulation of labor market, health care, income maintenance, social services. Discusses alternative policy instruments, analytic perspectives, intergovernmental issues, and management issues arising across policy areas. Explores challenges of linking services and clients across separate agencies.
Instructor Course Description: Robert D. Plotnick
PB AF 575 Public Policy Processes (5)
Political science frameworks, approaches, and theories concerning development and implementation of public policies within American political systems. Governmental behaviors and processes, including rational, political, and bureaucratic models of governmental decision making; agenda-building processes; and normative perspectives concerning role of governmental entities.
Instructor Course Description: Peter J. May
PB
AF 581 Information Technology and the Policy-Making Process (3)
Demystifies information base for policy making in democracies.
Examines theoretical and practical issues associated with
information processing in the public sector. Considers role
of new technologies in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating
information with special attention to the relationship between
these technologies and effective government service, public
participation, and organizational accountability.
PB
AF 582 News Media and Public Policy (3)
Explores impacts of news coverage on public policy. Exposure
to journalists' approaches to coverage of public affairs,
as well as to strategies used by leaders of public/non-profit
agencies to attract favorable coverage and minimize damaging
coverage. Students learn techniques for assessing impacts
of news coverage.
PB
AF 585 Topics in Science, Technology, and Public Policy (3)
Examines relationship between advancement of technical knowledge
and pace of technological change, and public policies to induce
or respond to these trends. Generic issues of government research,
development, and personnel training programs are addressed.
Applications of policy issues involving biomedical, communications,
energy, environmental, transportation, and weapons technologies.
SOC
W 501 Poverty and Inequality (3)
Analysis of poverty and inequality in United States. Analytic
and descriptive focus on measurement, processes of production
and perpetuation, and public policy responses. Examines causes
of poverty, the role of policy, and socioeconomic dimensions
of stratification, including race, ethnicity, class, gender,
immigration status, disability, age, sexual orientation, and
family structure.
SOC WL 552 Seminar in Contemporary Social Welfare Policy (3)
Critical review of contemporary American income maintenance and related social welfare policies, and the economic, political, and social factors that affect their development, implementation, and effectiveness. Evaluation of their effects on poverty, income inequality, and related social outcomes, including international comparisons. Assessment of proposals for reform. Closely linked to 552. Offered: A.
SOC WL 554 Analytical Perspectives on Social Welfare Policy (3)
Broad overview of the social welfare policy process, including epistemological issues, content on social problem construction and definition, policy agendas and case study methodology. Introduction to analytical tools and concepts needed to take a proactive role in policy development, advocacy, implementation, and policy research. Offered: Sp.
