Course Search

HLTB27H3 - Applied Statistics for Public Health

This is a survey course in population health numeracy. This course will build upon foundational statistical knowledge and offers students the opportunity to both understand and apply a range of techniques to public health research. Topics include hypothesis testing, sensitivity/specificity, regression (e.g., logistic regression), diagnostics and model sitting, time-to-event analysis, basic probability theory including discrete and continuous random variables, sampling, and conditional probability and their use and application in public health.

Prerequisite: [HLTA03H3 and STAB23H3] or [HLTA02H3 and STAB23H3 and enrollment in the Paramedicine Specialist Program]
Recommended Preparation: HLTB15H3 and introductory programming

Breadth Requirements: Quantitative Reasoning
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

HLTB30H3 - Current Issues in Health and Society

An interdisciplinary consideration of current and pressing issues in health, including health crises, care, education, policy, research, and knowledge mobilization and translation. The course will focus on emerging questions and research, with attention to local and global experts from a range of disciplines and sectors.

Recommended Preparation: HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature and Language, Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTB31H3 - Synergies Among Science, Policy, and Action

An interdisciplinary examination of a case study of a major contemporary health issue--the biological, physiological, social, economic, epidemiological, and environmental contexts of current and pressing issues in health, including health crises, care, education, policy, research, and knowledge mobilization and translation. This course will explore the science that underpins policy responses and actions and the policy and social change agendas that inform science, with attention to local and global experts from a range of disciplines and sectors.

Recommended Preparation: HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTB33H3 - Human Development and Anatomy

A lecture based course with online learning modules which deals with the functional morphology of the human organism. The subject matter extends from early embryo-genesis through puberty to late adult life.

Prerequisite: [BIOA01H3 and BIOA02H3] or [HLTA03H3 and HLTA20H3]
Exclusion: ANA300Y, ANA301H, BIOB33H3, PMDB33H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTB40H3 - Health Policy and Health Systems

This course focuses on public and private financing mechanisms for health care in Canada, emphasizing provincial differences and discussing the systems in place in other developed nations. Topics will include the forces of market competition and government regulation as well as the impact of health policy on key stakeholders. Students will also learn how to apply simple economic reasoning to examine health policy issues.

Prerequisite: HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3
Exclusion: HST211H1
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

HLTB41H3 - Social Determinants of Health

This course introduces students to Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) approaches to reducing health inequities, and improving individual and population health. Students will critically explore the social, political, economic, and historic conditions that shape the everyday lives, and influence the health of people.

Prerequisite: HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTB42H3 - Perspectives of Culture, Illness, and Healing

This course introduces students to anthropological perspectives of culture, society, and language, to foster understanding of the ways that health intersects with political, economic, religious and kinship systems. Topics will include ethnographic theory and practice, cultural relivatism, and social and symbolic meanings and practices regarding the body.

Prerequisite: HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

HLTB44H3 - Pathophysiology and Etiology of Disease

This course focuses on functional changes in the body that result from the disruption of the normal balance of selected systems of the human body. Building on the knowledge of human biology, students will learn the biological basis, etiopathology and clinical manifestations of selected diseases and other perturbations, with a focus on cellular and tissue alterations in children.

Prerequisite: [HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3 and HLTA20H3] and [BIOA11H3 or BIOA01H3]
Recommended Preparation: Grade 12 Biology
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTB50H3 - Introduction to Health Humanities

An introduction to human health through literature, narrative, and the visual arts. Students will develop strong critical skills in text-centered methods of analysis (i.e., the written word, visual images) through topics including representations of health, illness narratives, death and dying, patient-professional relationships, technoscience, and the human body.

Prerequisite: Any 4.0 credits
Recommended Preparation: Prior experience in humanities courses at the secondary or post-secondary level.
Breadth Requirements: Arts, Literature and Language
Note: Preference will be given to students enrolled in a Health and Society program

HLTB60H3 - Introduction to Interdisciplinary Disability Studies

An introduction to interdisciplinary disability studies through humanities, social science, and fine arts, with a strong basis in a social justice orientation that understands disability as a relational, social, and historical symbolic category, and ableism as a form of oppression. Students will develop strong critical skills in interpretation and analysis of artworks (i.e., the written word, visual images, performance) and theoretical texts. Topics including representations of disability in media, including literature and film; medicalization and tropes of disability; disability activism; and intersectional analysis of disability in relation to gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, and class.

Prerequisite: Completion of 2.0 credits
Breadth Requirements: History, Philosophy and Cultural Studies
Note: Students considering a Major Program in Health and Society should complete HLTA02H3 and HLTA03H3 prior to enrolling in this course.
Preference will be given to students enrolled in a Health and Society program.

HLTC02H3 - Women and Health: Past and Present

This course uses historical, anthropological, philosophical approaches to further understand the relationships intertwining women, health and society. Women's interactions with the health sector will be examined. Particular attention will be devoted to the social and gender construction of disease and the politics of women's health.

Prerequisite: HLTB41H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC04H3 - Qualitative Research in Action

By engaging with ideas rooted in critical social science and humanities, and emphasising the work of Canadian scholars, students learn strategies for studying societal problems using a postpositivist paradigm. Students learn theoretical and applied skills in activities inside and outside the classroom to emerge with new understandings about the social studies of health and society. This is an advanced and intensive reading and writing course where students learn to think about research in the space between subjectivity and objectivity.

Prerequisite: HLTB50H3 and an additional 1.0 credit from the following: [ANTB19H3, HISB03H3, GGRB03H3, GGRC31H3, PHLB05, PHLB07, PHLB09H3, POLC78H3, SOCB05H3, VPHB39H3, WSTB05H3, or WSTC02H3]
Recommended Preparation: Coursework in interpretive social sciences and humanities.
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences
Note: This course is designed and intended for students enrolled in the Major/Major Co-op in Health Studies-Health Policy (Arts), and priority will be given to these students.

HLTC16H3 - Health Information Systems

An introduction to the fundamental concepts in health informatics (HI) and the relevance of HI to current and future Canadian and international health systems. Students will be introduced to traditional hospital-based/clinician-based HI systems, as well as present and emerging applications in consumer and public HI, including global applications.

Prerequisite: HLTB16H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC17H3 - Rehabilitation Sciences

This course will provide students with an introduction to the rehabilitation sciences in the Canadian context. Students will gain knowledge regarding the pressing demographic needs for rehabilitation services and research, as well as the issues affecting the delivery of those services.

Prerequisite: HLTB16H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC19H3 - Chronic Diseases

This course will introduce students to the regional, national, and global patterns of chronic disease and demonstrate how demography, behaviour, socio-economic status, and genetics impact patterns of chronic disease in human populations. Using epidemiological studies we will examine these patterns, assess their complex causes, and discuss strategies for broad-based preventative action.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3 or HLTB41H3
Exclusion: (HLTC07H3), (HLTC21H3)
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC20H3 - Global Disability Studies

This course considers how the category of disability works globally across geographic locations and cultural settings. Combining an interdisciplinary social justice-oriented disability studies perspective with a critical decolonial approach, students continue to develop an understanding of disability as a relational, social, and historical symbolic category, and ableism. Students will develop strong critical skills in interpretation and analysis of both social science texts, works of theory, and artworks (i.e., the written word, visual images, performance). Topics including representations of disability in global and diasporic media, including literature and film; medicalization and tropes of disability across cultures; human rights and disability activism around the world; and intersectional analysis of disability in relation to gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, and class in diverse global contexts.

Prerequisite: HLTB60H3
Breadth Requirements: History, Philosophy and Cultural Studies

HLTC22H3 - Health, Aging, and the Life Cycle

This course focuses on the transition from birth to old age and changes in health status. Topics to be covered include: socio-cultural perspectives on aging, the aging process, chronic and degenerative diseases, caring for the elderly.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3 or HLTB41H3
Exclusion: (HLTB01H3), HST308H1
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC23H3 - Child Health and Development

This course will explore bio-social aspects of health and development in children. Topics for discussion include genetics and development, growth and development, childhood diseases, the immune system, and nutrition during the early years.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3 or HLTB41H3
Exclusion: (HLTB02H3)
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC24H3 - Environment and Health

Environmental issues are often complex and require a holistic approach where the lines between different disciplines are often obscured. The environment, as defined in this course, includes the natural (biological) and built (social, cultural, political) settings. Health is broadly defined to include the concept of well-being. Case studies will be used to illustrate environment and health issues using an ecosystem approach that includes humans as part of the ecosystem.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3
Exclusion: (ANTB56H3), (HLTB04H3)
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC25H3 - Infectious Diseases

Adopting ecological, epidemiological, and social approaches, this course examines the impact of infectious disease on human populations. Topics covered include disease ecology, zoonoses, and the role of humans in disease occurrence. The aim is to understand why infectious diseases emerge and how their occurrence is intimately linked to human behaviours.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3
Exclusion: (HLTB21H3)
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC26H3 - Global Health and Human Biology

This course will apply students' knowledge of health, society, and human biology to solving real-life cases in global health, such as the Ebola outbreaks in Africa or the acute toxic encephalopathy mystery illness among children in India. This case-study-oriented course will focus on the application of human biology principles in addressing current cases in global health.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3
Exclusion: HLTC28H3 if taken in the Winter 2018 or the Winter 2019 semester
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC27H3 - Community Health and Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study or the pattern and causes of health-related outcomes and the application of findings to improvement of public health. This course will examine the history of epidemiology and its principles and terminology, measures of disease occurrence, study design, and application of concepts to specific research areas.

Prerequisite: [HLTB15H3 and HLTB16H3 and STAB23H3] or [enrolment in the Certificate in Computational Social Science]
Exclusion: ANTC67H3
Breadth Requirements: Quantitative Reasoning
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

HLTC28H3 - Special Topics in Health Sciences

An examination of a current topic relevant to health sciences. The specific topic will vary from year to year, and may include: Ecosystem Approaches to Zoonotic Disease; Climate Change and Health; Food Insecurity, Nutrition, and Health; Health and the Human-Insect Interface.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC29H3 - Special Topics in Health Sciences

An examination of a current topic relevant to health sciences. The specific topic will vary from year to year, and may include: Ecosystem Approaches to Zoonotic Disease; Climate Change and Health; Food Insecurity, Nutrition, and Health; Health and the Human-Insect Interface.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences

HLTC30H3 - Understanding Cancer: From Cells to Communities

This course introduces students to the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and how these overlap with social and environmental determinants of health. This will allow for a wider exploration of risk factors and public health approaches to individual and population health. The social impact of cancer and the importance of patient advocacy and support will also be examined. This course will also delve into evolving concepts of cancer and breakthroughs in cancer therapies.

Prerequisite: HLTB22H3
Exclusion: BIO477H5, LMP420H1
Recommended Preparation: HLTB44H3
Breadth Requirements: Natural Sciences
Course Experience: Partnership-Based Experience

HLTC42H3 - Emerging Health Issues and Policy Needs

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to helping students prepare to tackle complex emerging health issues and to explore ways of addressing these issues through public policy. A range of contemporary and newly-emerging health issues are discussed and analyzed in the context of existing policy constraints within Canada and worldwide.

Prerequisite: HLTB40H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC43H3 - Politics of Canadian Health Policy

This course examines the role of all levels of Canadian government in health and health care. The impact of public policies, health care policy, and access to health care services on the health of populations is considered. The course also examines the role of political parties and social movements in the policy change process.

Prerequisite: HLTB40H3
Exclusion: (POLC55H3), (HLTC03H3)
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC44H3 - Comparative Health Policy Systems

This course surveys a selection of health care systems worldwide in relation to financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. In this course students will explore questions such as: which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? How do these different systems deal with tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? The set of international health care systems we focus on are likely to vary by term but will include a subset of OECD countries as well as countries with large populations that are heavily represented in Toronto such as China and India.

Prerequisite: HLTB40H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC46H3 - Globalization, Gender, and Health

This interdisciplinary course draws on diverse theoretical and analytical approaches that span the humanities, social sciences and life sciences to critically explore the diverse relationships between gender and health, in local and global contexts. Particular attention is given to intersections between sex, gender and other social locations and processes that impact health and health inequities across the lifespan, including the impacts of ableism, colonialism, hetero-normativity, poverty, racialization, and sexism on women's and men's health, and related health research and practice. Through course readings, case studies, group discussions, class activities, and course assignments, students will apply these theoretical lenses and develop analytical skills that : (1) advance a more contextualized understanding of gender and health across the lifespan, (2) provide important insights into gendered health inequities, and (3) speak to strategies and social movements that begin to address these challenges.

Prerequisite: HLTB41H3 or IDSB04H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences

HLTC47H3 - Institutional Ethnography in Action

How can we empirically research and understand the powers shaping the social organization of daily life? Engaging with the theory and methods pioneered by Canadian feminist sociologist Dorothy Smith, students learn to analyze and document how health care, social services, education, financial, pharmaceutical, psychiatry, labor, legal aid, criminal justice, emergency, and immigration systems frame and shape their everyday lives.

Prerequisite: HLTB42H3
Breadth Requirements: Social and Behavioural Sciences