PHDA testimonials

If you would like to specify which course(s) you would like to see testimonials for, you may do so by selecting the course(s) from the list below and hitting the APPLY filter button. You may select more than one course. Otherwise, the testimonials are listed below, in random order.
PHDA full testimonial
How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?

I was in Canada and the program seemed a perfect fit to my interests.

Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?

I thoroughly enjoyed the courses, although sometimes I had trouble keeping up.  Having said that, I found the lecturers very sympathetic to my needs.  It was great to develop more understanding of the analysis of administrative datasets and in particular learning how to use geocoded data.

How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?

I will use my skills to undertake some more specific analysis using linked data. In particular, I plan to undertake some mapping of hotspots where illicit drug use is most common. For my interests at this time I found longitudinal data analysis and geocoding the most helpful. This is because with increasing use of multiple drugs it is important to determine where outbreaks occur and be able to establish cohorts of people who use these substances and then follow over time determining predictors of change.

What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.

The flexibility of the modules was very good and I appreciated learning from other students when there was something I couldn’t solve. For example when I couldn’t run a particular program, I could easily get assistance with this.  Having access to previous assignments on the same topics made things much easier as well.

Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?

Yes, I would recommend this program and regularly circulate information about the courses as updates come to me.

Any additional comments you would like to add?

It was a really great experience and I learnt a great many new things so thank you!

 

Lucinda Burns

Lucinda Burns, Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales

 

PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical 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 Overall program/course experience
"The program’s strength emerged from how the courses were offered sequentially (eg: PHDA 03 and then PHDA 04) and the incorporation of Lab work into the course curriculum which provided the opportunity for more practical knowledge to be gained. Another strength is the friendly learning environment and willingness of the instructors to go an extra mile to assist students to understand concepts and course materials."

Samuel Essien, PhD Candidate, School of Population and Public Health, University of Saskatchewan

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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."

Sophy Zhang, MPH, Program Administrative Coordinator, Canadian Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division

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PHDA full testimonial
How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll in the PHDA course(s) you chose?

I learned about the program when I tried to find a training program in the public health area. Later, one classmate also recommended that I enrol in the program. My motivation to take this program was to improve my analysis skills and use them in my work.

Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?

I learned how to use several popular software programs such as SAS, R, ArcGIS and Mplus. All of them are very helpful. The PHDA 06 course about Health Services Program Monitoring and Evaluation helped me evaluate my work program.

How do you plan to apply your new skills in your work/research?

Actually, I used SAS, R and ArcGIS in my work when I was taking the PHDA courses. I hope multilevel modelling analysis will be used in my future work as well.

What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.

The courses taught software skills in SAS, ArcGIS, Mplus and also used administrative metadata to teach us how to analyze those data. They matched the routine activities that I am involved in at my work place. The evaluation of the PHDA program is helpful to guarantee the high quality of program.

Would you recommend PHDA courses to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in completing these courses?

I would like to recommend PHDA courses to others. I believe the program is very practical and useful to those working in the public health field. It provides a good opportunity for the development of a future career plan.

Are there any additional comments that you would like to add?
The courses in the program are very helpful but it is not easy to finish them, especially when I had to work in the daytime and then do course studies after work and on the weekend. However, all courses are valuable. I have acquired the knowledge and skills which will forever help me in my work and study.

 

Wenti Xu, Data Analyst