Testimonials

PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data

"The Working with Administrative Data was one of the courses that provided me with the greatest benefits. As I was completing the PHDA 01 course, my workplace, the New Brunswick Institute for Research Data and Training, was just receiving its first health data set.   Having had the opportunity to use BC’s administrative datasets such as the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) provided me with a first glance at what our provincial data would look like, and how I could manipulate and analyze them." > read full testimonial
Adele Balram, Data Analyst, New Brunswick Institute for Research and Data Training

In-person Workshops

Introduction to Statistical Software Package R

"The course was a good introduction to R. The handout materials were excellent."
Peter Choi, Clinical Research Director and Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia

PHDA 02 Epidemiological Statistics

"The Epidemiological Statistics course includes a range of topics from calculating relative risk to meta-analysis. The instructor took the time to ensure all students were able to do the assignments and the course readings included useful references. I would recommend this course for anyone who is working in population and public health and uses epidemiological methods in their employment"
Gina Martin, Research Associate, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"The flexibility of timing due to the entirely online nature of the program stood out to me. I could work on things when I had the time, which I think is a great feature for people who are generally working full time. I also liked the mix of discussion and individual assignments in the courses; getting to hear others’ opinions and experiences was very useful. > read full testimonial
Karyn Fulcher, Postdoctoral Fellow

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"I think the highly trained, expert instructors, who are approachable and provide excellent feedback are a major strength. Certainly, the small class sizes allow for that individualized feedback and a continual dialogue with instructors in the discussion boards as well. I think the Moodle course site is very easy to use, and in general, the courses were very well organized.

Through the program, I came to learn about the enormous benefits of using already-collected administrative health data, and the process for doing so. I think my skills with SAS and ArcGIS will be the most useful to me, but the larger concepts of data integrity, (PHDA 01), what type of analysis is used in certain situations (PHDA 02), and considerations when doing spatial analysis (PHDA 04) are immensely important as well. > read full testimonial

Amy Klepetar, Assistant Professor and Coodinator, School of Nursing, University of Northern British Columbia-Terrace

In-person Workshops

Multilevel and Hierarchical Linear Modeling

"I valued the opportunity to learn intensively and to get current information about statistical tools and methodology from knowledgeable experts who are also excellent teachers.  A second benefit is the opportunity to meet other researchers in BC with similar interests. I look forward to related training opportunities through Pop Data BC."
Chris Hitchcock, Research Associate, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia

PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation

"I enjoyed the Health Evaluation course (PHDA 06). Although I am familiar with this subject area, I found the concepts were presented in an effective way. Over the 12 weeks, we put together a health evaluation proposal. Work from each weekly module contributed to this final project. I think this was an interesting way to learn about the practical aspects of Health Evaluation."
Louis Wong, Epidemiologist

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"The skills learned in this programme are highly and directly relevant to my doctoral research, and are being used on a near-daily basis. For example, I use both SAS and GIS to analyse various administrative data sets, and have found that the statistical background gleaned from this programmes has enabled me to read more critically and use more sophisticated analyses in my own work.

The diversity of courses is an immediate strength, as is the online format. Every instructor was highly engaged and enthusiastic, and was happy to have discussions about course material and further topics via e-mail." > read full testimonial
Blake Walker, PhD Candidate

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"I took the Population Health and GIS (PHDA 03) course and loved it! The opportunity to work with GIS technology and expand my skill set in this area was invaluable. It also helped to visualize the outbreak work I had been doing previously, and increase my understanding of what happens in these scenarios.  

I plan to focus my work more specifically on infectious diseases, and the GIS skills I learned will be invaluable for visualizing and understanding their impacts more concretely.

There is great support by both the instructor and the course administrators. All of my questions were answered promptly and thoroughly. The coursework was challenging, but manageable for students like me working full time. The assignments were also very engaging, and all had practical applications."
Caroline Marshall, Senior Policy Advisor

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"PHDA 03 and 04 provided useful tools for me. I had always wanted to learn to use ArcGIS software to explore health data, and have both a geography and clinical background, so PHDA 03 and PHDA 04 were especially interesting." > read full testimonial
Amy Klepetar, Assistant Professor & Coordinator, School of Nursing, University of Northern British Columbia-Terrace

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"It was really good for me to gain more experience working with large data sets and use a secure research environment to get used to the complexities of various kinds of datasets we come across daily. The spatial data and network analysis work, applied longitudinal analysis techniques and foundational SAS skills I learned really benefitted my research work. Now when I am faced with new problems, I feel better equipped and much more confident to handle them.

I have done some online courses before. I felt the courses in this program were well organized. The labs were very useful and very applied, instructors were always available to answer questions and the weekly or biweekly course modules provided structure but also some flexibility."  > read full testimonial
Gina Martin, Research Associate, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"Great instructors with content expertise who are also very accessible for extra support, good class size with diverse classmates, and flexibility that online learning offers." > read full testimonial

Chisato Ito, Clinical Consultant

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"Courses which benefited me the most are PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information System (GIS) and PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection.

I am really satisfied with these courses especially the hands-on experience gained while using ArcMap to map diseases and assess spatial dependences. Skills developed include generating choropleth map, joining attribute tables to shapefile and perform geographically weighted regressions."
Samuel Essien, PhD Candidate, School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"The growing importance of spatial thinking in health policy and epidemiology underscores the immense value of this course for researchers and practitioners alike. As a frequent user of GIS, I found this course to be an indispensable update to both my technical skills and theoretical understanding of health geography and spatial data analysis.

The course material challenged us to think creatively and conduct our own projects with the support of the instructor, while the weekly lab assignments guided us closely through the necessary procedures. Weekly discussions encourage us to discuss issues and themes in health GIS and share ideas, an invaluable experience for learning and networking."
Blake Byron Walker, PhD student, Geography

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"I feel this is a very unique program that combines the use of data analytics, statistical software and focused learning objectives related to the field of health. I also appreciated the fact that it was a fully online program with well-organized lectures, readings and remotely accessed lab work in health data analytics.

Overall the program was very helpful to my knowledge and skill development in the field of healthcare analytics.  The program exceeded my expectations particularly because of the remotely accessed data analytic lab work that was more challenging than I anticipated. This work was very practical and very much oriented to real life case examples. The calibre of students in my courses was also very high as most were working professionals who brought valuable experience and knowledge to the discussion forums and project work. " > read full testimonial
Alexey Skiba, Data Analyst, College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"Overall, the PHDA 03 course experience was great. The greatest benefit to me was learning about GIS and practicing the learning through lab assignments with ArcGIS." > read full testimonial
Youn Choi, Senior Analyst

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"The PHDA 03 Population and GIS course provided me with a skill set that I would have had difficulty learning on my own. I was able to apply training from this course and the Epidemiological Statistics course (PHDA 02) to some of my current work that is assessing how we can improve quality of life related follow-up for British Columbian cancer patients after they have received their treatment. We were interested in seeing how follow-up for British Columbian patients differs with different levels of access to resources based on their geographical location.  The analysis would have been much more difficult without the skills that I had learned in these two courses." > read full testimonial
Brent Parker, Population & Radiation Oncology Research Coordinator, BC Cancer Agency

PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection

"The courses that provided me the greatest benefit included the Population Health and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection.

Using the GIS and SAS skills that I learned from the PHDA program, I was able to create a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) layer using GIS software, which showed peak greenness for the entire country over a ten-year period. Using this data and other administrative databases a team of researchers led by Dr. Dan Crouse and myself, conducted a research study that looked at how living by residential greenspace can impact longevity." > read full testimonial
Adele Balram, Data Analyst, New Brunswick Institute for Research and Data Training

PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation

"I enjoyed the Health Evaluation course (PHDA 06). Although I am familiar with this subject area, I found the concepts were presented in an effective way. Over the 12 weeks, we put together a health evaluation proposal. Work from each weekly module contributed to this final project. I think this was an interesting way to learn about the practical aspects of Health Evaluation."
Louis Wong, Epidemiologist

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"One of the greatest strengths of the program is the access to the Secure Research Training Lab. It holds practical, well written, easy to follow lab activities in data analytics and a very used de-identified BC Heath Dataset as well as other health related training datasets for applied learning. This provided an excellent learning environment for professional development training in data analytics." > read full testimonial
Nino Samson, Strategy Analyst, BC Ministry of Health

In-person Workshops

Multilevel and Hierarchical Linear Modeling

"This workshop is an example of how workshops should be structured. It was interesting, very educational, useful for acquiring knowledge, beneficial for professional growth and future application and more. Thanks!"
Jolanta Aleksejuniene, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"Allowing students to gain hands on experience remotely with software packages such as ArcMap, SAS, and Mplus while having the flexibility to work full time is invaluable. Also having the opportunity to use Population Data BC’s administrative data with these packages offered a type of learning experience that I could not have had anywhere else." > read full testimonial
Adele Balram, Data Analyst, New Brunswick Institute for Research and Data Training

PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation

"PHDA 06 Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation course was a bit different as it did not have an SRTL lab component. I had taken a very similar course within my Master’s degree but it wasn’t as applied as the PHDA 06 course which had a very practical project component. I found the instructor’s experience and feedback as well as the peer review work really enabled me to get a lot out of the course evaluation project I completed."
Sophy Zhang, Program Administrative Coordinator, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division

PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection

"I was browsing for some relevant programs that would complement my current job as an epidemiologist. The PHDA courses looked good, particularly the GIS ones which I wanted to learn as it hadn’t been part of my education up to that point. The coursework was comprehensive but not too time consuming.  The GIS courses were fantastic and provided great information. I liked the method of instruction – videos that walked you through the steps of an assignment accompanied by PDF’s, which I thought helped me learn efficiently." > read full testimonial
Dorian Lunny, Epidemiologist, Northwestern Health Unit

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"The Secure Research Training Lab (SRTL) was the best. It was a bit complicated to start with for the first time, but I quickly got used to logging on and working in the environment. It’s well worth the effort to be able to do hands-on work with data, with peer and instructor support, and very good technical support (the few times I needed it).

Another strength of the program is being able to work with motivated and knowledgeable peers, learn from one another through well-moderated forum discussions and collaboration. Having dedicated and clear instructors who are patient with distance ed/online format was also a major advantage. Although you are only required to take four courses to achieve the certificate, I took all six courses available.  I felt all courses were very positive experiences for me, with top notch students and teachers who were very engaged and supportive." > read full testimonial
Sophy Zhang, MPH, Program Administrative Coordinator, Canadian Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division

In-person Workshops

Structural Equation Modeling

"This is an excellent workshop – having a perfect balance between technical details and hands on practice. I enjoyed the days for the upgrading of my statistical skills to a new level and look forward to applying the skills in my work on Health Service Management."
Mingful Lui, Senior Statistician, Alberta Health Services

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"I would recommend this program to anyone working in the public health field that is handling or interpreting data and looking to update or acquire new skills. The courses were of high quality, good value and appropriate for anyone at the introductory or intermediate level.

For a program that is delivered completely online, each course was organized and delivered very well. Most of the instructors were very quick with their replies to questions from students. All of the courses used practical examples to explain the material which I found really helpful for understanding how to apply the concepts in practice. Even though the courses required a bit more work and time commitment than I initially planned for, I felt each of them challenged me and taught me new concepts and skills that I can take away and use immediately in my work." > read full testimonial
Jenn Dixon, Research Associate in the field of Population and Public Health

In-person Workshops

Structural Equation Modeling

"Complex material made interesting by an experienced, upbeat instructor. SEM opens up so many doors to dealing with population data."
Sherri Tillotson, Coordinator, Evaluation and Monitoring, BC Cancer Agency

In-person Workshops

Bayesian Disease Mapping

"A well delivered workshop on topics that are relevant and important in today’s working environment. The hand outs and textbook written by Dr. Lawson, a leading expert in Bayesian Disease Mapping, will be useful references for future work in this area."
Kukuh Noertjojo, Medical Analyst, WorkSafeBC

PHDA - Overall program/course experience

"I would highly recommend this program to anyone wishing to gain a strong foundation in GIS and data, even those individuals not directly involved in the population health field. All of the courses force the student to think critically, develop time management skills, become effective data organizers, and learn to work in a virtual team towards a common goal within very tight parameters. I found all staff related to the various components of the program very knowledgeable and considerate." > read full testimonial
Wendy de Gomez, Capital Planning Analyst, Waterloo Catholic District School Board

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographic Information Systems

"I took the PHDA 03 course to update my data analysis and GIS skills so that I could apply them to my current position as senior policy analyst in environmental health. I have a number of years of policy analysis experience, which I felt would be complemented by focused studies on the application of data analysis and GIS to population and public health policy questions. The course provided a comprehensive overview of how GIS can be used to investigate various population and public health questions including: mapping administrative data; use of spatial targeting, tailoring and generating to inform health policy development; estimating access to health care services; chronic and communicable disease surveillance; and environmental health and exposure assessment. The flexibility of distance learning meant that it was possible to complete work at my own pace and schedule. It was also helpful to learn from students in different locations, who worked in related fields but had different strengths, skills and perspectives.

I would highly recommend this course and the PHDA program to my colleagues. It’s a well-structured and organized program and provides a good theoretical and practical approach to population health data analysis."
Esther Parker, Senior Policy Analyst, BC Ministry of Health