PMT 780 Public Health Emergency Management
This three (3) credit course is designed to introduce students to the world of emergency management and the role of public health to mitigate, prepare, respond and recover from natural, technological and man-made disasters. This course deals with public health and mental health issues involved in crises and emergencies. The wide range of medical and mental health issues inherent to crises and emergencies are described and reviewed using past events in which public health and mental health issues were encountered. The course covers topics such as: differentiation between natural (e.g. earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones, and heat waves) and outbreaks in the community (e.g. H1N1, SARS, MERS, smallpox, Ebola, zika, and COVID-19). This course is designed to meet the need for a recognized curriculum in the public health aspects of disaster care and organized emergency medical services systems while simultaneously considering the mental health needs of the affected communities and emergency responders. The course uses both academic and practitioners’ national and international perspectives on the intersection of emergency management and public health.