PHDA testimonials

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was browsing for the statistical method (longitudinal analysis) on the Google website as it related to a project I was doing at work. Then, I found the course (PHDA05) on the search results. After reviewing the program description, I found the program included many courses that I was most interested in. The course lab components were particularly attractive as they enabled me to practice with various statistical software including SAS, ArcGIS, and Mplus and work with actual health administrative data.

Overall, the course(s) experience was great. The greatest benefit to me was learning about GIS and practicing the learning through lab assignments with ArcGIS in the PHDA 03 course. Meeting classmates online with diverse backgrounds/experience, sharing ideas and learning from each other on the various topics was another valuable experience. Often, I was inspired by many of my classmates who were passionate about the topic that we were asked to discuss in the discussion forum. They brought their real-life examples from school and work. Just by reading other students’ thoughts or comments motivated me to participate and helped me learn and digest concepts in different ways.

Personally, I haven’t had a specific chance yet to apply  what I’ve learned through the program. In the near future, I hope that there is a chance for me to learn more about GIS and use ArcGIS by applying what I’ve learned from The Population Health and GIS course (PHDA 03). With only one course of completion in GIS, I don’t have enough confidence with ArcGIS skills I learned to complete a GIS related work project on my own at this point.

Personally, I benefited by having access to various analytic tools and different types/sources of health administrative data. They included a good balance of practice and theory.  I did not find these kinds of courses were available to me when I was at University.  In addition, I had very practical hands-on practice using statistical analytic tools such as SAS or ArcGIS which are not freely available for public use.

Yes, I would definitely recommend this program to my colleagues or others who would like to develop analytical skills and knowledge in data analysis and the use of health data. I found the Moodle course site was well organized with good technical support. The instructors were also very helpful.

I saw a poster for the programme advertised on my campus, and found the course selection to be highly relevant to my doctoral studies.

The variety of courses provided learning opportunities for various software programmes, e.g., SAS and ArcGIS, while also teaching fundamentals of epidemiological statistics and other relevant bases for public health research. The use of geographical information systems in two courses was also of immense benefit. 

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 datasets, 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.

I would (and already have) recommended the PHDA programme to colleagues and young researchers. However, I would emphasise setting aside time to do the readings and work carefully through code. Also take the opportunity to learn as much from the instructors as possible. The papers and lessons are useful references for the future as well. I wish I had kept them on paper!

No, but I want to thank the administrative staff for managing such an excellent programme. Also, I am very happy that they offer a graduate student rate! Many thanks!

I learned about the PHDA program through researching continuing education certificates focused on population-level health administrative analysis. I was motivated to do so as I am particularly interested in health services research during the end-of-life phase.

Overall, I had a positive program experience. I greatly appreciated the asynchronous format as it allowed me to develop my skills without risking my other professional commitments. I found PHDA05 (Longitudinal Analysis and Multi-level Modelling of Population Health Data) to be the most rewarding as it exposed me to higher level quantitative analyses. In addition, I found PHDA03 (Population Health and Geographic Information Systems) very interesting as it provided applicable GIS uses for health services research.

I believe the skills I have learned through this program will be directly relevant to my current research interests. Also, I plan on increasingly incorporating GIS analyses in my health services research, in order to understand another dimension of care accessibility during the end-of-life phase.

The collaborative activities throughout the various courses were greatly appreciated, despite the asynchronous format!

Absolutely – the PHDA program is a great program for anyone who is interested in further exploring population-level analyses. For prospective students, I recommend honing on your SAS skills prior to program completion. While not necessary, having prior experience using SAS is beneficial to successfully completing courses.

Overall, my experience was largely positive. The instructors are very knowledgeable and accessible to students, and the program staff are always helpful!

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.

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.

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.

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.

I would definitely recommend colleagues and others to take this program for further professional development.

My program experience has been great and thank you for all the support I received from instructors and staff members in the PHDA program.