The Experience of Disability in America aims to present disability as an identity within the larger culture. In this course, students will learn that disability is a natural part of the human experience throughout the world. Similar to other elements of culture such as race, gender, and religion; disability shapes the way we see the world and the way the world sees us. In addition to gaining an understanding of living with a disability in America, students will also learn about the experiences of people with disabilities in other parts of the world

The purpose of this course is to help students learn about the science of autism spectrum disorders from a global perspective and to facilitate students’ understanding of disability across cultures. Students acquire knowledge about cross-cultural perspectives on the diagnosis criteria, prevalence rates, etiology, and treatment for autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

In this course students will study inclusion as it is seen in the arts, media and city planning. Students will also examine issues of accessibility in educational, professional, and commercial settings.

PHPB 7521

PHPB 8910 (Directed Reading)

This course will present the fundamental epidemiologic methods applied to disability.  Disability issues across the lifespan starting with issues surrounding prenatal health to disability in the elderly will be explored through a systematic inquiry into the distributions, determinants, and outcomes of disability in populations.  Major areas of study will include a history of health and disability, models of disability, basic epidemiologic measures used in disability epidemiology, disability surveillance, and the use of epidemiologic tools used in the development and evaluation of public health disability programs.  An emphasis will be placed on social determinants of disability and health and how they relate to disability outcomes in populations.  Other unique challenges and aspects of disability epidemiology such as varying definitions of disability and disability measurement will further be explored.

This course provides an overview of the major policy issues impacting Americans with disabilities. The evolution of models and approaches to understanding disability will be presented to provide a conceptual framework to analyze disability policy within public health. The course will examine key pieces of legislation policy related to disability, such as Americans with Disabilities Act, the Developmental Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and health financing components of Medicare and Medicaid. Students will gain an awareness of the complexities of disability policy and its relationship to health outcomes for Americans with disabilities. Topical areas for analysis and discussion will assist students in generating policy solutions to eliminate disparities in health for Americans with disabilities.

This course will examine sexual health with a focus on identifying ways to eliminate disparities related to racial, ethnic, disability, and socioeconomic status. The course will move beyond a disease model of sexuality by employing a holistic model of sexual health endorsed by the World Health Organization. Sexual health entails a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being, as well as the recognition and protection of sexual rights. Topics will include the roles and effects of individual behavior, community interaction, media representation, and government to promulgate sexual health. By the end of the course, students will gain a comprehensive and practical understanding of sexual health that they might use as public health professionals to improve sexual health.