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eCourse on GIS Application in Public Health

Background

The complex challenges posed by public health threats demand that public health professionals have a concrete understanding of the relationships among the various factors affecting health. In recent years, public health practitioners have grown increasingly aware of the value Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can add in developing an effective framework for action.

GIS can be used to solve the problems related with management of public health programs, as it helps the decision makers to understand their geographical region, know their coverage with respect to disease prevalence, and correlate different types of data to understand the probability of concurrence of any epidemics and to overcome with positive solutions to any critical information.

GIS can be useful tool for observing longitudinal trends, identifying population at risk, planning and targeting interventions, linking data, forecasting epidemics, monitoring disease patterns and interventions over time, determining geographical distribution and variation of disease (prevalence and incidence) and overall management (eg. Human Resources, Financial, Logistics and Supply, MIS etc.) of an effective health care delivery system.

This course will provide participants a platform to introduce fundamental concepts of the use of GIS within the public health context and build practical experience in the use of open source GIS software (QGIS) and spatially referenced data for effective program management.

Aim and Objectives

This course prepares international/ national participants to strategically solve real-world problems and come up with cutting-edge solutions through a combination of technology and programmatic skills. The overall aim of the course is to provide virtual learning for people working in local enterprise or public sector organisations who require core training and skills development in Geographical Information Systems, or for students who want to study in their own environment and in their own time.

The objectives of certificate course are:

  • To introduce fundamental concepts of GIS use within the public health context and build practical experience in the use of open source GIS software and spatially referenced data for effective program management.
  • To familiarize participants with the use and application of GIS in the field of health
  • To provide experience with the use of the GIS package for analysis, interpretation and presentation of data

Course Design & Duration

The eCourse on GIS Application in Public Health is designed as a six months program. It is an eLearning computer-based program, self-taught, complemented with online lectures, exercises and a comprehensive list of reference materials.

The sessions will be delivered in synchronous and asynchronous mode. There is also a discussion board to let ideas flow between participants to enable enhanced learning.

The official language of course instructions is English. Participants are assessed based on successful completion of examination at the end of each module, and final examination (Assignment) at the end of the course.

Eligibility

The course is open to:
  • Applicants with graduate/ post-graduate along with relevant understanding of public health.
  • Applicants currently engaged in public health related activities such as monitoring and evaluation, planning, research, epidemiological surveillance, data management etc.

Eligible candidates will be screened by a selection committee based on their application and statement of purpose. The selection committee's decisions will be final.

Teaching and Training Methodology

The course utilizes a blended online teaching/ learning technique. The basic course structure includes a combination of interactive online computer-based sessions, practical exercises and assignments, and recommended readings from journal articles and textbooks in a modular format. The assignments has been designed to practice the learning from different sessions by using open source GIS software’s. Online learning sessions are conducted by experienced faculty members and students can log from their laptops/personal computers.
  • Hours required for online reading per week – 2.5 hours maximum
  • Hours required per week for assignment/self-study - 4.5 hours maximum

Evalution

Students are evaluated at the end of each module using multiple choice questions and assessed on an ongoing basis through coursework or assignments. Participants will be able generate their certificate online by achieving 80% or more overall score.
Course Coordinator:
Program Officer:
  • Program Fee: Indian: 18000 INR , South Asian Candidates : SAARC states "Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka".

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    300 USD , Other International Candidates: 600 USD