EOH 752: Urban Health Integrative Learning Experience Capstone

Spring 2022
Credit hours: 3
Meeting time: This is an online asynchronous course.
Materials and task reminders will be shared each Monday for the following week. We will be
joined during select office hours by a guest expert, during which attendance is encouraged but
optional; recordings will be posted.

Instructor Information
Gina S. Lovasi, MPH, PhD,
Dornsife Associate Professor of Urban Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Office location: 3215 Market St, Room 235
Email: [email protected] (preferred contact method)
Virtual office hours: By appointment or at the following times (Eastern US time zone)
Tuesday 4-5pm
Wednesday 5-6pm
Saturday 11am-12pm
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Meeting ID: 874 5756 5533; Passcode: 874001

Course Description
The Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) comprises the culminating experience for MPH
students majoring in Urban Health. Students engage in a project that emphasizes practical
applications of concepts and skill development. Students will engage in discussion and peer
mentoring throughout the course, providing support and feedback to their peers via an online
classroom. Students are required to complete a high-quality written product and presentation at
the end of the experience.

Course Purpose
This is required for students in the Urban Health Master of Public Health program.

Course Materials
Students will each complete a project that demonstrates synthesis of foundational and major-
specific competencies, and materials to support project development will be shared via Drexel
Learn (which can be accessed via Drexel One or directly at https://learn.dcollege.net/).
Course Learning Objectives
 Synthesize existing public health documents and peer-reviewed literature to
inform your selection and framing of an Urban Health issue.
 Produce a high-quality written product that demonstrates integration of multiple
CEPH foundational and major-specific competencies. (Four competencies are
identified in bold below and in the table on the next page and will be assessed for
all students, though incorporation of other competencies is strongly encouraged.)
 Communicate objective, key findings, and limitations of your project in a pre-
recorded or live presentation for peers and public health practice professionals.

CEPH Foundational Competencies

1. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing
and through oral presentation.
2. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.
3. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.

Urban Health Competencies

1. Apply theories and frameworks from urban social sciences to identifying
social and other determinants of health and developing solutions to major
urban health problems
2. Collaborate with other urban health professionals by developing a
presentation and report that examines and describes the policies and
programs that contribute to promoting the health of urban populations and
reducing urban health inequalities
3. Engage various constituencies including policymakers, community residents and
leaders, civil society organizations, social movements, and public agencies in
identifying and reducing health problems facing cities
4. Apply an ecological model to an urban health program evaluation to identify
appropriate solutions to the health problems of cities at the individual, family,
community, municipal, regional, national, and global levels
5. Assess population data to characterize patterns of health and disease and
inequalities in health in urban populations and subpopulations
 Competencies Assessment

This course will help you to: Competencies will be assessed as part of the
following course assignments:

Communicate audience-appropriate Final Paper: students will communicate their

public health content, both in writing and project via writing.
through oral presentation Final Presentation: students will communicate
their project orally.

Evaluate policies for their impact on Final Paper and Presentation: students will
public health and health equity access research literature and governmental
reports to identify existing and proposed
policies and their established or potential
impact on health and health equity.
Apply theories and frameworks from Final Paper and Presentation: students will
urban social sciences to identifying social discuss theories and frameworks to organize
and other determinants of health and upstream determinants and recommended
developing solutions to major urban action strategies.
health problems
Collaborate with other urban health Final Paper and Presentation: students will
professionals by developing a select receive and incorporate feedback on a
presentation and report that examines project critically evaluating prior literature and
and describes the policies and programs making recommendations for future research,
that contribute to promoting the health of conducting an original analysis, or developing
urban populations and reducing urban an evaluation plan, and then present their
health inequalities work in both written and presentation formats.

Assignments and Grading

Graded Assignments
The instructor will present an Urban Health problem to students. Students will each select an
Urban Health issue and propose the scope and format of their written report, with opportunities
for feedback and issue-specific connections from our practice partner. The Urban Health issue
will then be the focus of further project development, including accessing and incorporating
relevant literature on action strategies, placing these in the context of a theory and framework,
and conducting or proposing related research design and data analysis approaches.

In Spring 2022, we will be working with public health practice professionals in and around
Marion County, Oregon, in collaboration with our Marion County Liason: Public Health
Operations Supervisor, Stefanie Krupp. While projects will be conducted individually, we will
work as a group to understand the context and to make comparisons to other counties and
states using Discussion Board posts and optional Wikis in Weeks 1-5.

Participation by Posting Weekly on Discussion Boards (25%):

During Weeks 1-5, information will be shared and tasks completed and shared through
Discussion Board forums, and optionally woven together on a corresponding Wiki. The purpose
will be to establish what is currently known about needs and action strategies for public health in
the selected setting as compared with other states, counties, or cities. To receive full
participation credit for each week (each representing 5% of the total course grade) a student
must substantively advance the Discussion Board material in a way that is responsive to the
provided prompt, concise and well-edited. Factual claims should paraphrase from and cite peer-
reviewed journal articles or other documents as sources. Please strive for on time posts, as this
will keep us advancing at the same pace and being mutually informative in our efforts.

Peer Feedback (20%)

Students will provide feedback to their peers as they advance progress toward the final paper
and presentation during Weeks 6-10. To receive full credit, feedback should include both
recognition of strengths and constructive comments to inform improvement. Please proofread
your feedback to ensure the value of your insights will be understood and appreciated. Be
cautious about whether the tone could be misread as disparaging in an online environment.
Please strive for on time feedback, as this will provide the most useful guidance for next steps.

Final Paper (35%)

The Final Paper should cover the scope and take the format established in the first half of the
term. To receive full credit, the Final Paper must have clear objectives relevant to an Urban
Health issue, note potential action strategies that have been or could be considered, and
incorporate at least one theory or framework to contextualize such action strategies. To
advance understanding on the selected topic, the paper should incorporate a systematic
literature review, original data analysis, evaluation project plan, or other work of similar scope
informed by published guidance and feedback. Documents must incorporate citations to support
factual claims, using a consistent citation format such as APA or AMA.

Final Presentation (20%)

Students will submit their Final Presentations either as a pre-recorded video (e.g., using zoom
or VoiceThread to capture visual materials and oral narration) or as a synchronous presentation
(presentations can take place during office hours in either practice or final form, and final
presentations may also be shared with our practice partners at the Public Health
Transformational Team meeting on June 8th, from 4-5:30pm). To receive full credit, the Final
Presentation must be 8-10 minutes long, incorporate clear and well-designed slides or other
visuals, provide a narration that includes the project objective and findings as well as limitations.
The style should be professional and tailored to meet audience needs and hold their interest.
Grading Scale
A+ 98-100
A 94-97
A- 90-93
B+ 88-89
B 84-87
B- 80-83
C+ 78-79
C 74-77
C- 70-73
D+ 64-69
D 60-63
F Below 60

Grading Reminders
● Due dates: Assignments (including Discussion Board posts, Milestones and Peer-
Feedback, Final Paper, and pre-recorded Presentations) are due on the following
Monday at 8am (please note this will include one university holiday on May 30th, please
plan ahead accordingly). For example, Week 1 begins on Monday, March 28th, and the
Week 1 Discussion Board post is due by 8am on Monday, April 4.
● Late work: Assignments will only be graded if submitted no more than 1 week late.
Beyond a grace period of approximately 1-hour, late work will be awarded a maximum of
60% of the available points (unless there is an existing accommodation, or an extension
has been approved in advance of the due date).
● Seek feedback before submission: There are no make-ups or rewrites allowed
following submission.

Assignment Proportion of Course Grade Due on Learn by

Discussion Boards, Weeks 1-5 25% 8am on the following Monday
(5% for each week)
Constructive Peer Feedback, 20% 8am on the following Monday
Weeks 6-9 (5% for each week)
Final Paper 35% 8am on Monday June 6th
Final Presentation 20% 8am on Monday June 6th
Course Calendar
Week Outcomes/Topic Tasks to Complete
1 Course overview and welcome  Introduction Discussion Board
 Week 1 Discussion Board: Your questions for our Marion
Introduction to practice partners
County Liaison
and Marion County, Oregon
2 Community Health Assessments  Week 2 Discussion Board comparing Community Health
Assessment documents across settings
 Begin assembling readings and resources to inform project
scope and format
3 Community Health  Week 3 Discussion Board comparing Community Health
Improvement Plans Improvement Plans across settings
 Optionally, contribute to weaving together the
information shared on the available Wikis
 Brainstorm action strategies related to your topic
4 Project ideas  Week 4 Discussion Board with initial project ideas,
including Urban Health issue, objective, and format
 Optionally, explore how your project ideas fit with others
using the available Wiki
5 Project planning  Week 5 Discussion Board with further developed project
ideas, responding to feedback and adding 4 process
milestones (e.g., 1. Outline, 2. Figures/Tables designed, 3.
Policy Implications and Limitations listed, 4. Full First Draft)
 Work on drafting the Final Paper outline (milestone 1)
6 Peer Review and Project  Peer Review for outline
Development  Work on Milestone 2
7 Peer Review and Project  Peer Review of Milestone 2
Development  Work on Milestone 3
8 Peer Review and Project  Peer Review of Milestone 3
Development  Work on Milestone 4 (first full draft of paper)
9 Peer Review and Project  Peer Review of Milestone 4
Development  Organize visuals for Final Presentation
10 Final Paper and Presentations  Revise Final Paper and practice Presentation
 Final Papers and pre-recorded Presentations Due by 8am
on Monday June 4th or to be recorded during office hours;
final opportunity to present on June 8th, from 4-5:30pm
11 Conclusion  View peers’ Presentations
 Concluding thoughts from the course may be shared on
our last Discussion Board forum
Dornsife Antiracism Accountability Agreement
The Dornsife School of Public Health is committed to the creation of a community with an
emphasis of antiracism and inclusion, that welcomes diversity along numerous dimensions of
identity (i.e. race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, disability
status, class, age, or religious beliefs). The school is located on traditional territory of the Lenni
Lenape Nation and in West Philadelphia, which is comprised of a majority-Black community that
has faced harms of gentrification such as displacement, rising real estate costs, and social or
cultural exclusion driven by local universities. We have a responsibility to learn about this
ongoing history and work towards equitable public health and research partnerships. We
achieve that by continuous engagement and collaborative growth in teaching, service and
scholarship that consistently challenges oppressive and unjust forces of hate. Also, we
recognize that our teaching and learning experiences are impacted by racism, sexism, and
other systems of oppression that differentially shape access to and ability to thrive within
graduate education. However, through this course we will work to dismantle these norms. As
the instructor, I ask that students who are very comfortable participating in class strive to make
room for other voices, and I encourage those who tend to be quieter to speak up, whether
verbally or in writing. The success of this course is dependent upon each of us to create a safe
and restorative learning environment that allows for the open exchange of ideas, raising student
and instructor awareness of the ongoing threat of bias and racism, the need to take personal
responsibility in creating an inclusive learning environment and creating equitable opportunities
and respect for all persons. Everyone is expected to actively participate in establishing and
maintaining an environment where all students, staff, and faculty regardless of race, ethnicity
and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, disability status, class, age, or
religious beliefs can contribute without fear of personal ridicule, or intolerant or offensive
language.

**If you have concerns about classroom climate (i.e. witness or experience racism,
discrimination, micro-aggressions, or other offensive behavior) you are encouraged to bring this
to the attention of the course director, your advisor, a member of the departmental or SPH
Diversity Committee and/or the program director if you feel comfortable so that we can learn
from it and take steps to make our class environment safer for all. You can also report these
behaviors to the Office of Equality and Diversity (OED).
Course Expectations
Participation and Attendance Policy: This class demands a high level of participation. Students
are expected to actively contribute to complete and submit all assignments by posted due dates.
Missed assignments or lack of participation not only affect the individual student, but they also
affect the class as a whole due to the high degree of interaction within the course.

Expectations of Students:
● Students are expected to show respect to everyone in the course.
● No credit will be given for assignments suspected of plagiarism or cheating.
● Students are expected to regularly check Drexel Learn and their official university email
for course correspondence.
● Students are expected to take responsibility for independent progress on their selected
project, asking for support when needed or posing questions to clarify expectations.
● Contact the instructor directly with individual questions related to the course.

Expectations for the Instructor:

● Provide weekly announcements and maintain current information on the course website.
● Respond to noted inconsistencies or student inquiries promptly (within 1-2 days).
● Grade and provide feedback on assignments within 1 week of the due date.
● Maintain grade information to help students monitor their progress in the course through
Drexel Learn.

Academic Policies

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Student Support Services

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Counseling and Health Services

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Disability Resources
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TTY: 215.895.2299
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Student Center for Diversity and Inclusion
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Student Well-Being
Students may experience stressors that can impact both their academic experience and their
personal well-being. These may include academic pressure and challenges associated with
relationships, mental health, alcohol or other drugs, identities, finances, etc. If you are
experiencing concerns, seeking help is a courageous thing to do for yourself and those who
care about you. If the source of your stressors is academic, please contact me so that we can
find solutions together, or you can also reach out to your academic advisor.

For personal concerns, Drexel has many Student Life services and resources available. Any
student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or
who lacks a safe and stable place to live and believes this may affect their performance in the
course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support ([email protected]; 215-
895-2506).

Prohibition Against Recording Class Sessions and Appropriate Use of

Course Materials
In general, students and others should not record course interactions and course activities in
lecture, lab, studio or recitation.

Students who have an approved accommodation from the Office of Disability Resources to
record online lectures and discussions for note taking purposes should inform their course
instructor(s) of their approved accommodation in advance. The recording of lectures and
discussions may only be carried out by the students enrolled in the class who have an approved
accommodation from Disability Resources with their instructors’ prior knowledge and consent.
Students with approved accommodations may be asked to turn off their recorder if confidential
or personal information is presented.

If as a student you have any comments, concerns, or questions about provided class materials,
talk to the course instructor first. If this does not resolve the issue, you can also reach out to the
Department Head, and use the process described for a grade appeal to move your concern
forward. The process described for grade appeals can be found at:
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Course Syllabus Disclaimer

Please note the syllabus may change based on the need to adapt to student interests, feedback
and expertise. Always check Drexel Learn and your official university email for the most up-to-
date information on the course.