PHDA testimonials

I learned about this program through the Canadian Association of Geographers website as I was a member of this group in 2013 and have a degree in Human Geography. At the time I enrolled in the program, I was working directly in population health research and I felt that I needed to upgrade my data analysis skills.

In the past, I had done one short online course in mapping within my Master’s program but it was primarily a theoretical course. I was attracted to the PHDA program because of the applied nature of the courses.  I found all of the PHDA courses very useful, and at different times during my program different courses served me better. For example, I was doing mapping in my job when I took the Population Health and GIS (PHDA 03) course.  Then later I happened to be using statistics in my job when I took the Epidemiological Statistics (PHDA 02) course.  In hind sight, I wish I had completed the courses in order of least difficult to most difficult, as the order in which I took the courses affected the learning curve involved for me. (i.e.: I did PHDA05 before I had taken PHDA01 where I could have learned basic SAS skills).  I found PHDA03 and PHDA02 the most useful to me as they supported my immediate work needs the most.

Over the two years (2013-2015) it took me to finish the program, I had three different jobs. All of them have been contract or maternity leave positions, and I believe the data analysis and mapping skills have helped me to be employable in each situation. All the courses have supported my knowledge, skills and confidence to use data more effectively. In particular the way I approach the organization, structure and use of data has benefitted my work in many ways.

I liked the knowledge of the instructors. They seemed very willing and able to give constructive and positive feedback, even at times when I struggled most with personal issues that affected my ability to do my best coursework. I liked being able to use an applied project in PHDA03 to complete one of my course assignments as it made the learning very applicable to the real world. I feel the certificate was a great complement to my human geography work during my masters in environmental science.

I would highly recommend this program to anyone wishing to gain a strong foundation in GIS and data, even those individuals not directly involved in the population health field. All of the courses force the student to think critically, develop time management skills, become effective data organizers, and learn to work in a virtual team towards a common goal within very tight parameters. I found all staff related to the various components of the program very knowledgeable and considerate.

I found the course formats to have a strong mix of individual learning, group work, academic research, and practical data analysis application. I was fortunate to obtain funding from CIHR to take this program and also benefitted from gaining the student rate for the courses. I would encourage others to look at these options early as they are time and availability sensitive but are definitely worth the effort and personal follow up.

I learned about the Professional Specialization Certificate in Population Health and Data Analysis (PHDA) program after conducting an internet search to find an online program covering courses that provided hands on experience using GIS and statistical software packages. Initially, I was doubtful that I would find such a program until I found the University of Victoria’s PHDA program. Allowing students to gain hands on experience remotely with software packages such as ArcMap, SAS, and Mplus while having the flexibility to work full time is invaluable. Also having the opportunity to use Population Data BC’s administrative data with these packages offered a type of learning experience that I could not have had anywhere else.

My current job motivated me to enroll in the PHDA program. I currently work for the Maritime SPOR Support Unit (MSSU) and the New Brunswick Institute for Research Data and Training (NB-IRDT), as a Database Analyst. In my position, I analyze New Brunswick’s population health data and federal government datasets.  By improving my data analysis skills through the PHDA program I am now able to apply these skills in my current position.

I completed all the courses in the PHDA program and enjoyed all of them. I liked the opportunity to interact with my classmates daily and work together to answer questions on course material and statistical analysis. The courses that provided me the greatest benefit were the Population Health and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection and Working with Administrative Data courses. As I was completing the Working with Administrative course, the NB-IRDT was just receiving its first health data sets, so having had the opportunity to use BC’s administrative datasets such as the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) provided me with a first glance at what our provincial data would look like, and how I could manipulate and analyze them.

I have been able to apply the skills I have learned from the PHDA program to my work/research. Using the GIS and SAS skills that I learned from the PHDA program I was able to create a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) layer using GIS software, that showed peak greenness for the entire country over a ten-year period. Using this data and other administrative databases a team of researchers led by Dr. Dan Crouse and myself, conducted a research study that looked at how living by residential greenspace can impact longevity.  Just recently this article was accepted and published in The Lancet Planetary Health (October,2017). In my current position, I have also been able to use the SAS skills that I learned from the PHDA program to create and present an Introductory SAS course to government, students and faculty.

The strengths of the PHDA program were the hands-on learning provided through the use of software that is difficult to access, such as SAS, ArcMap, and Mplus. Another strength of the program was the ability to interact and learn from classmates through the course site and the remote desktop. Also, all the instructors came from diverse backgrounds and were knowledgeable, easy to interact with and offered a wide range of skills and experience, which they were able to share with the class.

I would recommend this program to others especially individuals working in academia, government organizations and to Masters and Ph.D. students. I would suggest that students have a basic understanding of statistical methods, and possibly some experience with statistical software packages. I would also inform someone who is interested in the program that taking the program advanced my knowledge of GIS and SAS, and allowed me to improve the skills needed for my current position. I would also mention to anyone interested in the program that they should ensure that they have dedicated time to put into the PHDA courses every week, so they can get the most out of the course experience.

I really enjoyed this program. It improved my analysis skill for my current job and career. I would recommend this program to anyone who asks about it, and often recommend the PHDA courses to colleagues and other stakeholders that I interact with daily. After informing the organization that I work for about the PHDA courses, we were encouraged to enroll and take the PHDA courses. I am sure that there will be employees at my workplace that will become PHDA students soon.