The UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters offers a number of graduate level courses through the department of Community Health Sciences in the UCLA School of Public Health. The Center was the first program in the United States to offer multiple graduate level courses in emergency public health.

Non-UCLA students are able to take the courses offered through UCLA Extension. For more information about enrolling in courses through UCLA Extension, call (310) 825-9971. Interested non-UCLA students should first contact Dr. Steven Rottman, Director of the Center for Public Health and Disasters, at (310) 794-0864 to discuss their preparation for these courses.

Courses Currently Offered

CHS 254  Intentional Disasters: Complex Emergencies and Forced Migration
CHS 256  Interdisciplinary Response to Infectious Disease Emergencies
CHS 257  Program Planning in Community Disaster Preparedness: Hazard Risk Assessment and Response Planning
CHS 258  Cooperative Interagency Management in Disasters
CHS 295  Selected Topics in Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Assistance
CHS 440  Public Health and National Security at the U.S.-Mexico Border
CHS 451  Post-Disaster Community Health
CHS 452  Management of Food and Nutrition in Major Emergencies
CHS 484  Risk Communications

CHS 254 Intentional Disasters: Complex Emergencies and Forced Migration

Offered every other Fall quarter, this 2-unit course explores the health aspects of intentional disasters. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Consider situations of systematic widespread violence in less technically developed areas
• Explore the forced movement of people caused by complex emergencies
• Contrast complex emergencies with natural disasters
• Examine root political and military causes
• Recognize health issues and employ problem-solving strategies

CHS 256 Interdisciplinary Response to Infectious Disease Emergencies

Offered Spring quarter, this 4 -unit course focuses on how to prepare for and manage disease outbreaks that result from bioterrorist attacks and emerging infectious diseases. Students will work with colleagues in medicine, dentistry, and nursing to identify and respond to disease outbreaks and bioterrorist attacks. Students from all disciplines of public health are encouraged to enroll. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Discuss issues of surveillance, prophylaxis, and treatment of exposed populations
• Identify the roles of pre-hospital and hospital/clinic-based practitioners in recognition of such exposures and notification of public health authorities
• Consider the role of the public health practitioner in laboratory identification/confirmation of suspected agent, isolation and treatment of exposed/infected patients, cooperative interagency incident management involving law enforcement, medical community, and federal agencies
• Address the roles and responsibilities of public health officials when working with the media in biological/chemical public health hazards

Offered Fall quarter, this 4-unit course focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating community disaster preparedness programs. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Combine health education and emergency management principles
• Conduct a needs and hazard assessment
• Identify target populations
• Identify program planning principles for disaster response
• Understand different methods of process, outcome, and impact evaluation of disaster response plans

CHS 258 Cooperative Interagency Management in Disasters

Offered Winter quarter, this 4-unit course focuses on interagency management from a public health perspective. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Provide an overview of the complexities of managing mass population emergencies
• Understand how government, non-profit, and private agencies interface in planning and responding to disasters
• Understand the actions of local, state, and federal agencies in disasters
• Recognize how health care infrastructures of hospitals, public health programs, and emergency medical services are challenged by disasters

CHS 295 Selected Topics in Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Assistance

Offered Spring quarter, this 2-unit course is an introduction to public health and disasters. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify physical forces that result in disasters
• Understand principles of civilian and municipal service preparedness and response
• Understand the role of international community and relief agencies in humanitarian assistance
• Investigate the delivery of health care to displaced populations
• Provide an overview of research methods in disasters

CHS 440 Public Health and National Security at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Offered Spring quarter, this 2-unit course focuses on the issues of health and national security along the U.S.-Mexico border. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the concepts of borders and the common definitions and legal principles that exist with human determined geographic boundaries
• Recognize the public health challenges that exist when borders separate populations of differing cultures and economic status
• Understand the differences in health care delivery methods and goals that exist across borders
• Recognize the risks and difficulties that exist at borders with regard to national security and terrorist activity
• Provide an overview of the public health issues at borders that center on free trade and mutual cooperation between nations

CHS 451 Post-Disaster Community Health

Offered Fall quarter, this 4-unit course examines the public health role in post-disaster community health. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Define the role of public health before, during, and after a disaster
• Understand research and practice approaches to addressing the public's health in the context of disasters
• Identify ways that public health practitioners interface with the pre-existing health management structure
• Evaluate the impact of disaster on health by using data collection, management, and analyses
• Understand the surveillance of health status before and after disasters
• Identify ways to disseminate health information in relation to disasters

CHS 452 Management of Food and Nutrition in Major Emergencies

This 4-unit course will help students understand the data and principles needed to design rational and cost-effective food and nutrition emergency relief approaches and programs. Food and nutrition constitute a basic cornerstone of emergency relief operations in both naturally occurring and complex humanitarian public health emergencies.

CHS 484 Risk Communications

Offered Spring quarter, this 4-unit course immerses students in selected aspects of risk communication. At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand theories of risk communications
• Understand how risk is portrayed by the media
• Identify risk communications practices
• Understand crisis risk communications methods
• Identify risk communications skills and strategies for media outreach

To find other related School of Public Health curriculum/courses, please visit the department's individual sites.

Specialization in the Area of Emergency Public Health

The Center offers a series of courses that can lead to a specialization in the area of Emergency Public Health. These courses explore the adverse public health effects of disasters and both the public health and emergency management principles that can be applied to reduce those effects.

University graduate students and professionals interested in this area of study may take all or part of this series of courses addressing emergency public health as well as a number of related elective courses in the Departments of Community Health Sciences and Epidemiology in the UCLA School of Public Health.

The Center offers advising guidance to Master of Public Health students in the Department of Community Health Sciences who wish to focus their elective courses during their two-year curriculum on Emergency Public Health. Courses are open to all graduate students, regardless of major. Some pre-requisites may apply; interested students should contact the instructor.

Internship Opportunities

In order to expose future professionals to the rigorous challenges of this field and integrate theory with practical application, internship opportunities have been developed by placing graduate students within emergency and disaster units of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the American Red Cross, local government emergency management agencies, and the World Health Organization.

Visiting Scholars

Individuals from universities and organizations overseas can also take part in our Center activities. A visiting scholars program exists for scholars from other institutions. Qualified public health and related emergency management professionals may spend from one to three quarters studying our curriculum and working with individual faculty members in areas of disaster public health and research methods. Please visit the Visiting Scholars page for more information.

Fellows

Individuals who have completed a residency in Emergency Medicine and wish to pursue an MPH with a concentration in Emergency Public Health can apply for a fellowship. Please visit the Fellows page for more information.