DISCIPLINE DESCRIPTION

1. Information about the program

1.1 Higher education
institution
1.2 Faculty
1.3 Department
1.4 Field of study
1.5 Level of study
1.6 Study program /
Qualification
BABEȘ-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY CLUJ-NAPOCA
COLLEGE OF POLITICAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND
COMMUNICATION SCIENCES
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Administrative Sciences
MASTER’S DEGREE
Master of Public Health

2. Information about the discipline

2.1 Discipline title Principles of public health
2.2 Course lecturer Răzvan Cherecheș
2.3 Year of study I 2.4 Semester 1 2.5 Evaluation Written 2.6 Discipline Compulsory
type exam type

3. Total estimated time (hours of didactic activities per semester)

3.1 Number of hours per week 3 of which: 3.2 course 2 3.3 seminar/laboratory 1
3.4 Total hours in the study plan 42 of which: 3.5 course 24 3.6 seminar/laboratory 14
Time distribution(/day):
Studying the manual, course reader, bibliography and notes: 28
Supplementary documentation in the library, on electronic platforms and in the field:
Preparing seminars/laboratories, homework, syntheses, portfolios and essays: 14
Tutorials
Examinations
Other activities:
3.7 Total hours of individual study 112
3.8 Total hours per semester 154
3.9 Number of credits 7

4. Prerequisites (where applicable)

4.1 based on the curriculum Not applicable
4.2 based on competences Not applicable

5. Conditions (where applicable)

 5.1 for the course Enrollment of a minimum number of students
5.2 for the According to the Babeș-Bolyai University regulations, students are
seminar/laboratory requested to attend at least 75% of seminars.

6. Competencies
Biostatistics
Describe the roles biostatistics serves in the discipline of public health

Health policy and management

Apply the principles of program planning, development, budgeting, management
and evaluation in organizational and community initiatives

Social and behavioral sciences

Identify basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and behavioral
disciplines that are used in public health research and practice.

Communication and informatics

Describe how societal, organizational, and individual factors influence and are influenced
Professional competencies

by public health communications.

Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with different audiences
in the context of professional public health activities.

Diversity and culture

Describe the roles of, history, power, privilege and structural inequality in producing
health disparities.
Discuss the importance and characteristics of a sustainable diverse public health
workforce.
Differentiate among availability, acceptability, and accessibility of health care across
diverse populations.
Differentiate between linguistic competence, cultural competency, and health literacy in
public health practice.

Professionalism
Analyze determinants of health and disease using an ecological framework.
Embrace a definition of public health that captures the unique characteristics of the field
(e.g., population-focused, community-oriented, prevention-motivated and rooted in social
justice) and how these contribute to professional practice.

Systems thinking
Identify unintended consequences produced by changes made to a public health system.

Program planning
competencies
Consolidated

Describe how social, behavioral, environmental, and biological factors contribute to

specific individual and community health outcomes.
7. Discipline objectives (from the accumulated competencies grid)

7.1 General objective This course examines population-based approaches to improve the
health of the public. The focus will be on learning methods for
community health improvement—from assessment to finding and
implementing evidence based public health interventions.
7.2 Specific objectives Learning Objectives
Define public health (what it is)
Learn the difference between individual- and population-based
strategies for improving health (how it works)
Know how public health is organized at the local, state, and
national level; and about the core functions of public health
(assessment, policy development, and assurance).
Describe the philosophy of public health
Understand the advantages and limitations of the various types
of population-based approaches to improve public health
(education, marketing, engineering, policy, and law)
Learn about evidence-based public health, and how to locate
these approaches in the literature and on the web
Learn about the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to
public health
Prepare an evidence-based analysis of a contemporary public
health issue

8. Contents
8.1 Courses Teaching methods Observations
1. Introduction to public health Oral presentation 1 course
2. Assessing needs and resources Oral presentation 1 course

3. Pick priorities Oral presentation 1 course

4. Finding programs that work Oral presentation 1 course

5. Program planning and evaluation Oral presentation 1 course

6. Leadership and professionalism Oral presentation 1 course

7. The public health system Oral presentation 1 course

8. Community health assessment Oral presentation 1 course

and improvement
9. Diversity and culture in Oral presentation 1 course
communities
 10. Evidence-based public health Oral presentation 1 course

11. Public health communications Oral presentation 1 course

12. Public health advocacy Oral presentation 1 course

13. Public health ethics Oral presentation 1 course

14. Final examination

Bibliography:
Bernard Turnock. Public Health: What it is and how it works. 4th Edition. Jones and Bartlett, 2009.

Brownson et al. Evidence-Based Public Health. Oxford, 2003.

Nelson et al. Communicating Public Health Information Effectively: A Guide for Practitioners,
American Public Health Association (selected chapters).

8.2 Seminars Teaching methods Observations

1. Introduction to public health Class discussion 1 seminar
2. Assessing needs and resources Class discussion 1 seminar

3. Pick priorities Class discussion 1 seminar

4. Finding programs that work Class discussion 1 seminar

5. Program planning and Class discussion 1 seminar

evaluation
6. Leadership and professionalism Class discussion 1 seminar

7. The public health system Class discussion 1 seminar

8. Community health assessment Class discussion 1 seminar

and improvement
9. Diversity and culture in Class discussion 1 seminar
communities
10. Evidence-based public health Class discussion 1 seminar

11. Public health communications Class discussion 1 seminar

12. Public health advocacy Class discussion 1 seminar

13. Public health ethics Class discussion 1 seminar

14. Final examination

Bibliography:
Bernard Turnock. Public Health: What it is and how it works. 4th Edition. Jones and Bartlett, 2009.
 Brownson et al. Evidence-Based Public Health. Oxford, 2003.

Nelson et al. Communicating Public Health Information Effectively: A Guide for Practitioners,
American Public Health Association (selected chapters).

9. Evaluation
Type of activity 9.1 Evaluation criteria 9.2 Evaluation methods 9.3 Weight in final
mark
9.4 Course S7. Colloquium- the Written examination 20%
examination will take
place at midterm
C14. Final examination Written examination 40%
9.5 Seminar S13, S14. A research Seminar project 40%
study design- a
semester-long project
that will be presented
at the end of term
9.6 Minimum performance standard
Students must demonstrate they have acquired a minimum acceptable amount of
knowledge in the field of public health. Students must demonstrate that they possess the
ability to apply that knowledge to practical problems and in real-life context, in the field of
public health.