Thammasat University students who are now accustomed to distance learning and online courses might wish to take an occasional free class online to learn while improving their English language skills.
The Johns Hopkins University is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, the United States of America. As its website explains, it is
a destination for excellent, ambitious scholars and a world leader in teaching and research. Distinguished professors mentor students in the arts and music, humanities, social and natural sciences, engineering, international studies, education, business, and the health professions. Those same faculty members, along with their colleagues at the university’s Applied Physics Laboratory, have made us [America’s] leader in federal research and development funding every year since 1979.
The Thammasat University Library owns many books published by the Johns Hopkins University Press, a distinguished academic publisher.
The Johns Hopkins University is a world-famous medical school and a number of its massive open online courses (MOOCs) are on the theme of public health, but may also be of interest to TU students of sociology, economics, political science, and related subjects.
One example is Opioid Epidemic: From Evidence to Impact.
As the relevant website notes,
While prescription opioids serve an invaluable role for the treatment of cancer pain and pain at the end of life, their overuse for acute and chronic non-cancer pain as well as the increasing availability of heroin and illicit fentanyl, have contributed to the highest rates of overdose and opioid addiction in U.S. history. Evidence-informed solutions are urgently needed to address these issues and to promote high-quality care for those with pain. This course and the report it is based on are a response to that need. They offer timely information and a path forward for all who are committed to addressing injuries and deaths associated with opioids in the United States.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Identify data sources for information about the opioid epidemic in the United States and explain general trends in opioid overdose deaths.
- Identify ways that prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) can be used to reduce the supply of prescription opioids
- Explain why pharmacy benefit managers are relevant to opioid epidemic
- Explain the role of prescribing guidelines, safe storage, treatment, reducing stigma, and product design in opioid epidemic
SKILLS YOU WILL GAIN
- Pharmacology
- Health Policy
- Public Health
- Harm Reduction
The course is taught by Associate Professor Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she serves as Deputy Director and Associate Director for Outreach for the Center for Injury Research and Policy. At the School Dr. Frattaroli teaches courses on Public Health Policy Formulation, Qualitative Research Methods, and Implementation Research and Practice. Her research focuses on policy strategies designed to prevent injury, including injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes, opioid misuse and abuse, and gun violence – particularly firearm-related domestic violence.
Another MOOC subject with wide-ranging applications is Major Depression in the Population: A Public Health Approach
The website explains:
Public Mental Health is the application of the principles of medicine and social science to prevent the occurrence of mental and behavioral disorders and to promote mental health of the population. This course illustrates the principles of public health applied to depressive disorder, including principles of epidemiology, transcultural psychiatry, health services research, and prevention. It is predicted that by 2020 depressive disorder will be the most important cause of disease burden in the entire world! Every human being suffers from feeling depressed at some point or other, but only about one fifth of the population will experience an episode of depressive disorder over the course of their lives. This course illuminates the public health approach to disease, and the particular complexities of applying this approach to mental disorders, using depression as the exemplar.
The class is taught by William Eaton, PhD, professor of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues.
The TU Library owns some books with chapters written by Dr. Eaton. Dr. Eaton’s online biography details how he uses
epidemiologic framework to explain the risk factors, natural history, and consequences of major mental disorders. Second, I take the sociologic approach to understand the occurrence of the subset of bizarre behaviors that generally are labeled as psychiatric disorders. In the area of psychiatric epidemiology, I have conducted research on the incidence and natural history of schizophrenia using data from psychiatric case registers in several locations around the world. At the current time research focuses on the relationship of autoimmune diseases to risk for autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. I have investigated common mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder and the anxiety disorders, in the context of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Followup, a twenty year cohort study. A somewhat surprising finding from that study was the degree to which major depressive disorder was predictive of the new occurrence of important physical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer…
Still another MOOC being offered is Reducing Gun Violence in America: Evidence for Change:
Reducing Gun Violence in America: Evidence for Change is designed to provide learners with the best available science and insights from top scholars across the country as well as the skills to understand which interventions are the most effective to offer a path forward for reducing gun violence in our homes, schools, and communities.
Through this course, you will learn how to:
- Appreciate the scope of gun violence and the importance of considering the issue across a variety of contexts.
- Describe the role of law and policy in addressing gun violence at the federal, state, and local levels.
- Compare the effectiveness of gun violence policies and highlight the importance of changing the way we talk about gun violence.
- Describe state standards for civilian gun carrying and use and how those standards affect crime and violence.
- Describe how firearm design is regulated, the effective and just enforcement of firearm laws, and strategies for reducing police-involved shootings.
- Identify and explain evidence-based programs to reduce gun violence and understand public opinion on gun policy.
As a student of this course, it’s important to recognize that you are part of an international learning community. We understand that gun violence can be a difficult issue to discuss and we all have our own set of opinions and beliefs. However, we ask you to please remember that gun violence is something that affects every person differently. It’s important to understand that this course is intended to generate productive and meaningful conversation…
SKILLS YOU WILL GAIN
- Gun Violence Epidemiology
- Community Change
- Public Health Interventions
- American Law & Policy
Instructors for the class include Daniel W. Webster, ScD, MPH, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Another of the many choices available, International Travel Preparation, Safety, & Wellness is a timely subject for a MOOC course:
Whether you’ve traveled before or not, living and working overseas can be challenging. Learn how best to prepare and make the most of your time internationally.
This course will prepare you to work and live overseas. It explores the epidemiology of common morbidity and mortality among travelers and examines key prevention, safety, and travel medicine principles and services to contextualize risks and maintain wellness. The course reviews applicable interventions, appropriate vaccines, and personal protection methods to prepare you to respond to expected and unexpected situations and will challenge you to examine travel health and safety priorities through case studies and discussions.
The Honors Lesson will assist you with personal preparations for travel through the creation of a country-specific profile.
The instructor for the class is Dr. Anna Kalbarczyk, Research Associate in International Health, specializing in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)