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 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."

Blake Walker, PhD Candidate

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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?

My MSc supervisor recommended them based on the learning goals I had for my Master’s degree. UBC doesn’t offer anything like it, so we needed to look for partner institutions.

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

I completed the PHDA 03 Population Health and GIS and PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection courses. By taking these courses, I developed an understanding of how to overlay multiple sources of data onto a geographic region (from city, to country, to continent). I developed an understanding of questions to consider in how I represent this information to the audience, so that bias in how it is represented is minimized. I developed an understanding of not only how descriptive statistics can be geographically interpreted, but also how inferential statistics can be geographically interpreted. It taught me how to begin thinking spatially in-terms of patterns of health outcomes – neighbourhood make up, neighbourhood location, infrastructure, environmental concerns, etc.

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

As part of my thesis.

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

The labs and the access to the SRTL were the biggest strengths of these courses. The SRTL had all the software, and all the data, and was really easy to access, and was well maintained and organized. The SRTL and labs made the hands-on learning REALLY effective and stress free. The labs were applied, and had very tangible learning outcomes associated with them. They were practical in purpose, and effective in implementation via the SRTL. The labs were very smooth and impactful.

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

Yes. I would say that future students should explore the labs as much as possible. To really forefront the learning that you get out of that. The lecture material and prep material is abstract, but if you can focus most of your time on the labs, you can experiment and learn a lot.

 

Allyson Rayner, Curriculum Consultant

 

PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I would recommend the program to working professionals, researchers, and graduate students.

The program had many strengths including: excellent, experienced instructors for each of the courses; use of fellow students as peers to give feedback on assignments (this was a particular strength of the PHDA06 course in Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring); and discussion forums that promoted exchange of information amongst students using real life examples".

Johnathan Lambo, Public Health Physician and Medical Epidemiologist

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PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems
"This course is a rich and nuanced exploration of the interplay of spatial associations between population health and exposure to multiple risk factors including pathogen/toxin load, socio-economic influences and ‘built environment’ indices. Well-paced and supported ‘labs’ move from mapping skills and associated ethics to the use of spatial statistics in assessing distribution in population health. Required readings are current and wide-ranging. The final project provides a wonderful opportunity to use acquired tools to explore in depth a personal research project of interest.

I highly recommend this course to all in population health – from analysts and city planners to physicians and veterinarians. The power of GIS to put “place” into the population health equation is a powerful tool. This course illuminates this exceptionally."

C Rymes DVM, MSc, Amycus Environmental Inc

 

PHDA full testimonial
How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?

I got to know about the program through my former master’s thesis supervisor. My quest to broaden my knowledge in geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial epidemiology motivated me to enrol in the program.

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

I am really satisfied with the course 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.  Courses which benefited me the most are PHDA 03-Population Health and Geographic Information System (GIS), PHDA 01-Working with Administration Data and PHDA-04-Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection.

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

I have not yet applied the acquired skills to my research, but the skills will be useful for my future research work.

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

The program’s strength emerged from how the courses were offered with typical examples such as offering PHDA 03 before PHDA 04 and also 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.

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

Yes. I recommend this program to students, especially those with no prior knowledge in spatial epidemiology and GIS and are keen on knowing more about these areas.

Any additional comments you would like to add?

I have not regretted enrolling in this program, and have actually enhanced my skill set.

 

Samuel Essien

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