"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."
PHDA testimonials
PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems
PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection
"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 labs were applied, and had very tangible learning outcomes associated with them. They were practical in purpose, and effective in implementation via the SRLT. The labs were very smooth and impactful."
PHDA full testimonial
- How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?
-
I was browsing for some relevant programs that would complement my current job as an epidemiologist. This one caught my eye (and I went to UVic in the past) – the courses looked good, particularly the GIS ones which I wanted to learn as it hadn’t been part of my education up to that point.
- Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?
-
It was really good. The coursework was comprehensive but not too time consuming. The GIS courses were fantastic and provided great information, and the other courses were also relevant to my work (the program evaluation course and the working with admin data course).
- How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?
-
Yes – I signed up to learn GIS, and I have been able to use some of those skills in my job.
- What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.
-
I liked the method of instruction – videos that walked you through the steps of an assignment accompanied by PDF’s, which I thought helped me learn efficiently.
- Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?
-
Yes – in fact I have… I recommended this to colleague of mine at another health unit in Ontario who recently got hired as an Epidemiologist. She hadn’t had much education in the area and was looking for good programs so I mentioned this one, and she signed up.
- Any additional comments you would like to add about the program or ways we can improve the educational experience?
-
Great program overall – all very relevant to my profession.
PHDA 04 Spatial Epidemiology and Outbreak Detection
"I was browsing for some relevant programs that would complement my current job as an epidemiologist. The PHDA courses looked good, particularly the GIS ones which I wanted to learn as it hadn’t been part of my education up to that point. The coursework was comprehensive but not too time consuming. The GIS courses were fantastic and provided great information. I liked the method of instruction – videos that walked you through the steps of an assignment accompanied by PDF’s, which I thought helped me learn efficiently."
PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I think the highly trained, expert instructors, who are approachable and provide excellent feedback are a major strength. Certainly, the small class sizes allow for that individualized feedback and a continual dialogue with instructors in the discussion boards as well. I think the Moodle course site is very easy to use, and in general, the courses were very well organized.
Through the program, I came to learn about the enormous benefits of using already-collected administrative health data, and the process for doing so. I think my skills with SAS and ArcGIS will be the most useful to me, but the larger concepts of data integrity, (PHDA 01), what type of analysis is used in certain situations (PHDA 02), and considerations when doing spatial analysis (PHDA 04) are immensely important as well."
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