PHDA testimonials

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.

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.

As part of my thesis.

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.

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.

I was looking for more training after MPH degree and came across PopDataBC’s free training webinars first, including GIS. I wanted more hands-on experience with data analysis to keep skills sharp while looking for job, so I applied and enrolled in the certificate program. After I began the program I was hired by a non-profit organization. My supervisors were also supportive of my continued studies which was great.

The GIS courses, PHDA 03 Population Health and GIS and PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection provided the greatest benefits. They were excellent and introduced brand new skills for me. Prior to taking these courses I had some brief exposure to GIS within my Master’s program and through the free online PopData courses. The PHDA 03 and PHDA 04 course labs were very detailed and instructional, offering good balance between theory and practice. The courses generally had enough materials I could take away to continue working independently.

The Working with Administrative data PHDA 01 course was also very good. I got to work directly with administrative data early in the program and had a chance to become more familiar with strengths and limitations of data that is collected.

The PHDA 01 and PHDA 02 Epidemiological Statistics course also used SAS software which was very helpful to keep my skills sharp.

The PHDA 05 Longitudinal Analysis and Multilevel Modeling course allowed me to learn new skills in multilevel analyses.

The 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.

Two major takeaways from GIS courses: 1. Thinking spatially – mapping service needs and approaches based on geographical, spatial, and ecological features, including planning promotional efforts, targeting underserved areas; 2. Concrete tools such as ArcMap and especially free programs such as QGIS and R – use in workplace with little organizational investment

I’m also developing some ideas to do research on mental health service utilization in primary health care, potentially as part of my work.

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.

Yes, I have actually recommended the PHDA program to a few people. The population health data analysis certificate program is an excellent professional development opportunity for new analysts, public health professionals, and anyone with an interest in building on epidemiology and statistics basics. You will learn practical and marketable analysis skills through working directly with a variety of data sources including administrative, survey, and environmental datasets. I would highly recommend that individuals entering the program have their own research questions in mind or be open to exploring. You also need to be prepared to dig deep and manage your time so you can do the required work. The many hours you will spend in the SRTL will be well worth the effort!

I learned about the program from observing LinkedIn profiles of people working in health research, public health, and at health authorities. At the time, I only had some work experience somewhat related to health but no health degrees and was experiencing difficulty ‘getting my foot in the door’ without the latter. The University of Victoria and this program were not familiar to me aside from the LinkedIn exposure, since I was not familiar with the offerings on the West Coast.

For online and greatly asynchronous courses, the course experiences were good, overall. The content, readings, and assignments/practice were very interesting. I look forward to referencing them and returning to them for refreshers. There are many optional resources I look forward to viewing.

However, it did feel like there was quite a lot of work in each course, from readings to forum posts to assignments. I was working full-time and was glad I only took one course at a time … since each semester was a lot of work! I am happy I chose a diverse set of courses, which were on topics I am very interested in. One course focussed on GIS skills, another on administrative data analysis skills, another focussed on epidemiological quantitative data analysis, and yet another included health program evaluation skills. These courses and their lessons were very memorable. While some specifics with SAS or ArcGIS will need to be refreshed the next time I work with them, overall principles, some common procedures, and where to find helpful guides were retained.

It is difficult to say which course provided the greatest benefit. Unfortunately, although mapping and spatial analysis are interests of mine, they are not usually relevant or appropriate for the full-time work I do. The administrative data, epidemiological statistics, and evaluation courses were great introductions to those disciplines and methods.

For my personal research and projects, I would like to use all the new skills I learned during this certificate. For my current job role, the evaluation course reinforced work planning, stakeholder engagement planning, and reporting planning skills -- their corresponding activities are prevalent at my job. The quantitative analysis and administrative data skills will be relevant to my professional and personal work.

The strengths of the program are the course offerings (which are attractive at first glance), the instructors, the practical work/applications, and the support/information network of peers. The work with PopData BC data was very engaging and a privilege – I hope that continues to be offered -- despite remote connections being a hassle sometimes.

The peer reviews were always very helpful and so were the activities/peer community in the course forums. I appreciated that one class only required a number of weekly posts for full participation grades. I personally found it daunting to participate through forum posts/responses, and usually dreaded writing mine addressing specific discussion questions.

I would completely recommend this program to others. I have already recommended it to a close colleague who asked about it.

I would also strongly recommend it to someone who wishes to transition into epidemiology or public health-related professions before they pursue graduate level studies. These courses may offer the training they need.

I would suggest that they take only one PHDA course and devote all their educational time to that one course (i.e., no other courses from elsewhere). I would also recommend they try to keep up as much as possible with the pace of the courses and to really consider the timing of various milestones in the courses – as the courses vary in intensity at different points. If their course involves remote connections to analysis software and PopData BC data, they should expect to spend a lot of time practicing and completing those assignments.

This is an incredible certificate program. It can be labour intensive and sometimes grueling/exhausting, but everything feels earned. I am amazed at how much I have learned and applied in only four courses (all on different and almost exclusive topics). Prior to this certificate, I thought I would need to pursue a degree in health to make a career transition. I feel confident that I have the necessary skills or at least the foundations for these skills -- and that pursuing another master’s or a committing to a PhD are not the only ways to acquire such skills.

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 looking at programs that were more data-oriented because my data skills were not quite high enough to get a good data-centric job. So, while I was finishing my MA, I figure PHDA would serve me well. Plus, the tuition was much lower because I was a student!

I found the Working with Administrative Data (PHDA 01) was a good course. It was less intensive and slower paced than the other PHDA courses. I took this course last because of my time frame for completing four courses. It would probably have been better to take this course earlier on.  The Population Health and GIS (PHDA 03) course was the most interesting course I took. The labs were easy to follow and I enjoyed the final project.  When I first enrolled in the program, I thought that PHDA 01 and PHDA 03 would be the most valuable courses for my skill development but in the end it was the Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring (PHDA 06) course that really helped me land a job after graduation. PHDA 06 was different from the other PHDA courses. It felt a bit like a satellite course in the program as it included a health evaluation project rather than data analysis lab work. I learned a lot from the peer review process we used.

I just started working after graduation, but so far, I have applied evaluation skills that I learned from the Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring (PHDA 06), including logic models, evaluation methodology, gantt charts and interview guides. My current role, as an Evaluation Lead, will also include some data analysis, so the Working with Administrative Data (PHDA 01) and Epidemiological Statistics (PHDA 02) courses will be helpful for that too.

I think the BC-specific focus is the main strength. I came out understanding more about the data available to help with BC-specific health policy. Perhaps, this doesn’t help attracting students outside of BC, but is great for our province’s capacity for good health decision making.

I have recommended this program to others. However, I also warned them that it was a lot of work – especially Epidemiological Statistics (PHDA 02). I think my estimated hours per week for this course were at least 15.  I also found the group work in PHDA 02 more time consuming than the other PHDA courses.  The work in the Secure Research Training Lab (SRTL) can also increase the amount of time you need to spend on the courses depending on group work or your knowledge of the subject matter.