"Both the PHDA 03 and PHDA 04 courses have made me confident working in ArcGIS, and applying principles of GIS/mapping to population health data and working on spatial analyses. In particular, what has been most helpful about these courses is applying the background theory to surveillance and research questions and walking through the analysis from start to finish, including interpretation of results."
PHDA testimonials
PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems
PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I would definitely recommend colleagues and others to take this program for further professional development.
The strengths of this program include: good organization of coursework, exposure to variety of relevant topics, hands-on experience using several analytical software, excellent support and feedback by instructors, and a flexible schedule."
PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data
"Although I have experience in the area of Population Health, I had no formal training working with layered data sets. The Working with Administrative Data course was good as it included making a data dictionary and use of admin data. One of my ongoing projects at work involves assessing trends in surgery wait times for lung cancer patients. This work involved analysis of local data as a pilot project looking for trends in regional variations; I used techniques learned in PHDA 01 to facilitate this analysis. I am happy that I took PHDA 01 before PHDA 02 as I didn’t have strong SAS skills and PHDA 01 includes an introduction to SAS skills from the very beginning."
PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data
"The Working with Administrative Data course covered a wide range of topics from ethical and privacy issues encountered when using administrative data for research to data management of complex datasets. The instructors ensured all students were able to do the assignments using SAS. Their support has helped me build skills that I now often use at work. The training datasets were also useful in building applied skills when using administrative data to answer research questions. I would recommend this course for anyone who is working in population and public health and uses administrative data in their job."
PHDA full testimonial
- How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?
-
I learned about the PHDA program through browsing on web and was motivated to get more training in population health data analysis while working full-time.
- Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?
-
Although the course load was a bit heavy at times, I think I’ve learned a lot and developed hands-on experience in analyzing population health data using SAS and ArcGIS.
- How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?
-
I have not yet had a chance to utilize all the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in my current work, but definitely have a better understanding of results that are analyzed using ArcGIS.
- What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.
-
The strengths of this program include: good organization of coursework, exposure to variety of relevant topics, hands-on experience using several analytical software, excellent support and feedback by instructors, and a flexible schedule.
- Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?
-
I would definitely recommend colleagues and others to take this program for further professional development.
- Any additional comments you would like to add?
-
My program experience has been great and thank you for all the support I received from instructors and staff members in the PHDA program.
University of British Columbia, 201-2206 East Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z3
Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN) member
International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) member
Sign up for e-news and keep up to date with what's new at PopData, including the latest on data access, data available and upcoming events.
Follow us on Bluesky and check out our YouTube Channel. 
Copyright 2026 | All rights reserved