Many of the Health Services (HSERV) courses offered in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health are also popular electives for students in majors such as Public Health/Global Health, Epidemiology and more. We’ve highlighted a few of our courses below, click here for the full list of courses offered in the department, searchable by topic and/or quarter offered.

HSERV 345:
Community Health Assessment
Introduces role of assessment in planning for community health improvement through health promotion activities. Considers determinants of health; methods to find, collect, and analyze quantitative and qualitative data; interpret findings to describe the health resources, risks, and outcomes; role of assessment in identifying health disparities and patterns of health inequities.

HSERV 415/515:
War & Health
Explores the health consequences of war (injury, infectious diseases, mental health, chronic disease, malnutrition, infrastructure) and the role of health professionals and others in preventing war (advocacy, measurement and application of epidemiology methods, promotion of social equity).

HSERV 473/573:
Topics in Indigenous Health
Covers the fundamentals of Indigenous health, including Indigenous conceptual frameworks specific to health, wellness, and resilience. Topics include Indigenous social determinants of health, Federal Indian health policy, and American Indian and Alaska Native trends in population health outcomes within the context of the socio-ecological model.

HSERV 474/574:
Indigenous Determinants of Health
The purpose of this course is to share the breadth, depth, and diversity of American Indian and Alaska Native and other Indigenous peoples’ health and the health systems that serve them along the resilience continuum (survival to thrivance). This course is framed by Indigenous determinants of health and public health social determinants of health to provide students with the knowledge and experience for application in their public health practice. Topics covered will center determinants of health and wellness within tribal nations and Indigenous communities.

HSERV 476:
Introduction to Applied Qualitative Methods in Public Health
Covers qualitative methods in public health research and practice, including exploratory and descriptive studies, human subjects and ethics review, frameworks, theory and hypothesis generation, content and thematic analysis, sampling approaches, and interviews, focus groups, document review, observations, and photovoice. Students apply practical skills to code, analyze, interpret, and visually present qualitative data.

HSERV 579:
Structural Racism and Public Health
Introduces the concept of institutional racism and ways structural racism undermines public health. Discusses history of racism and intersections between structural racism and other systems of oppression. Explores relationship to racism and ways internalized racism acts as a barrier to health equity. Considers public health practitioners’ role in addressing racism.
