Faculty of Public Health

Adress: Yerevan, Armenia, Faculty of Public Health

Language: Armenian

Delivery mode: Full-time, at the YSMU

Duration: 18 months

Total ECTS credit: 90

Master of Public Health in Healthcare Planning and Management is designed to give students an understanding of the basic and core principles of public health and a strong knowledge base in health care management and health service delivery systems.

Program provides the intensive knowledge to identify, evaluate and address the problems of the healthcare system, as well as skills to develop, implement and evaluate health care programs for the maintenance and improvement of the individual and population health based on the complex determinants of health and analysis of population health indicators.

Focus of the program is a mastering leadership and management tools to effectively run healthcare organizations and manage teams of health care professionals. The program interdisciplinary approach develops the skills and abilities essential for effective work management, human resource management and effective communication to professional audiences, leadership as well as health policy development.

• To train health professionals who are equipped with skills and knowledge that enable them to identify, analyze, and improve health needs of the population by developing, implementing and evaluating health programs and services that satisfy those needs.
• To prepare health professionals with strong knowledge base in health care management and health service delivery systems to lead healthcare and public health organizations.

Methods in Public Health

Identify the core functions of public health

Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice

Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context

Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software

Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice

Population health and its social and economic determinants

Assess population needs, assets and factors (social, cultural, behavioral) that affect communities’ health

Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation or critique of public health policies or programs

Design and implement a population-based policy, program, project or research

Population health and its material – physical, radiological, chemical and biological – environmental determinants

Explain effects of environmental, behavioral, social and psychological, biological and genetic factors on a population’s health

Apply evidence-based approaches in the design and management of health programs

Select methods for evaluating public health programs

Health policy; economics; organizational theory, leadership and management

Apply principles of leadership, policy development, budgeting, and program management to the planning, implementation and evaluation of individual and population health programs.

Compare the organization, structure and function of healthcare, public health and regulatory systems at the national and international levels

Apply the basic principles and tools of health system budget and financial resource management

Apply healthcare quality management principles to evaluate health delivery system and improve health service management through strategic planning, organizational design changes and human resource management concepts

Practice effective quality improvement, economic, financial, and risk-management principles.

Explain the policy-making process

Assess the impact of selected policies on public health and health equity

Apply and evaluate the efficacy of digital health in enhancing patient care, patient outcomes and a creating a safe patient care environment

Health promotion, health protection and disease prevention

Explain health promotion concepts and principles in planning and practice

Analyze the range of factors that influence the health of individuals and populations, including social determinants of health and lifestyle behaviors

Identify and critically analyze the intervention frameworks available for disease prevention and health promotion delivery within a specific population/community

Ethics

Analyze the impact of social policy, finance, regulations, and legislation on healthcare for individuals, groups, communities, and populations across the lifespan, and for the professional practice of healthcare management, through an ethical-legal framework

Apply the principles of leadership, management and negotiation to solve problems in the organization in compliance with professional ethics in healthcare organizations.

Applicant should submit to the Dean’s office of the Faculty of Public Health required documents during the admission period:

1. Complete the application form
2. Original and copy of a National ID card or passport;
3. Original and copy of diploma of higher education with transcript;
4. CV in Armenian language
5. 4 photos (size 3×4)

Candidates applying to the Master of Public Health program are expected to have:

• • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline or Integrated Education Diploma.
  • Candidates may be enrolled conditionally based on evidence from graduating university that the candidates have completed the educational program and the candidate expects formal issuance of final transcript and/or diploma by a certain date. In that case, the decision on enrollment shall prescribe the period of time within which the candidate shall provide the necessary documents to the University;
  • a minimum GPA of 1.7 out of 4.00 or equivalent on the applicant’s degree (bachelor’s, master)
  • high level of motivation and a strong interest in the Program presented during the interview.

Important dates for those who are applying for the 2024-2025 academic year:

• Start for application – June 17, 2024
• Deadline for application – August 28, 2024
• Interview dates – August 29,30, 2024

The Master of Public Health in Healthcare Planning and Management Program is 18 months full-time program. The MPH program provides the basic core competencies to practice in a large range of public health fields and to contribute to the body of knowledge in public health and healthcare management. The curriculum focuses in basic public health sciences and essential managerial and analytical skills including project planning and evaluation, analytical epidemiological investigation and statistical data analysis and modeling, understanding complex determinants of health and health disparities, effective communications to professionals and the public, and leadership.

Year 1: Fall Term

Year 1: Spring Term

*One of the elective courses must be chosen:

1. Global Health
2. Strengthening Healthcare System

Year 2: Fall Term

*One of the elective courses must be chosen:

1. Global Health Policy
2. Healthcare in Emergencies

Problem Solving Paradigm in Public Health

This course introduces the definition of health and public health, the subjects and professions of public health, how public health professionals define the problem, and how guided by the paradigm for public health problem-solving paradigm they develop strategies to solve the public health problem.  During the course, students develop essential skills in critical thinking and group work. Student groups identify and analyze current public health problems, justifying recommended courses of action. Evaluation of students includes evaluation of individual and group written and oral assignments.

Data Management

The purpose of the course is to equip students with essential skills to collect, manage, analyze, and interpret health data effectively. It focuses on teaching students how to collect high-quality data and ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness. They learn techniques for cleaning and preparing data for analysis, which is crucial for reliable public health decision-making. Students also gain proficiency in using statistical software like Excel and SPSS to manage and analyze health data sets. Ethical and legal considerations, including data security and confidentiality, are emphasized to protect sensitive health information. A key goal is to teach students how to generate and present meaningful reports, helping public health professionals make informed decisions. Data visualization techniques are also covered to make health data more accessible to stakeholders. Students learn to integrate different data sources, such as surveys and health records, to get a comprehensive view of public health issues.

Biostatistics I

The purpose of the course is to introduce the fundamental concepts and approaches of modern biostatistics and prepare students for advanced statistical coursework. This course covers basic understanding of inferential biostatistics in application to Public Health. This course addresses issues of descriptive analysis, hypothesis testing and doing bivariate analysis (t-test, chi-square test, etc.). Established and recently collected data sets will be analyzed using these methods.

Healthcare Planning

This course introduces the principles of organization of the work of the health facilities and the structure of the health care system. As well as with the constitutional rules of their activity and with the legal acts of the Republic of Armenia, regulating this field, with the responsibility arising from the legal relations in the health care. It also provides knowledge and skills on the effective organization, management and evaluation of the effectiveness of the healthcare facilities.

Environmental Health

The purpose of the course is to introduce the exposure of the environmental factors on human health, the relationship of the human body with the environment, the development of activities aimed to maintain and improve human health. The course presents various environmental factors, their significance for the body, the levels of beneficial effects, the degree of harmfulness and permissible levels, in order to protect a person from their harmful effects. The course also introduces the contemporary issues of human nutrition as well as current problems of the medical ecology. Students will get knowledge regarding the basic hygienic requirements for healthcare facilities. The course presents also the basic principles of occupational health.

Epidemiology I

The course introduces the principles and methods of epidemiologic investigation of infectious and non-infectious diseases, as well as prevalence of infectious diseases and the features of the epidemic process, immunoprevention, organization of anti-epidemic measures, as well as risk factors and prevention of the most common non-infectious diseases.

Qualitative Research Methods

This course provides hands-on experience in qualitative research methods useful in formative and community-based research. The course introduces the design of qualitative research, development of research questions suited to qualitative inquiry (key informant interviews, focus groups, etc.); how to collect in-depth data that cannot be captured by quantitative methods alone, enabling them to gain deeper insights into health problems and solutions; to analyze qualitative research data using appropriate techniques.

The course emphasizes the importance of context and complexity in understanding public health phenomena, particularly in exploring health behaviors, cultural influences, and patient experiences.

By the end of the course, students will be able to apply qualitative methods to assess health programs, inform policy decisions, and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of public health challenges.

Quantitative Research Methods

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to quantitative research methods that are used in the public health context. It covers key differences between observational studies, such as cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies, and clinical trials, focusing on their respective strengths, limitations, and appropriate applications. Additionally, the course delves into the identification and analysis of associations between exposure factors and the development of diseases or health outcome. Methods for determining causality are also examined and discussed. Throughout the course, students will be tasked with developing a study design and research instruments tailored to a specific public health issue of their choice. By the end of the course, students will have a solid foundation in quantitative research methods, an understanding of the ethical principles guiding public health research, and the skills needed to apply these methods in both academic and professional public health settings.

Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health

The purpose of this course is to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to integrate social and behavioral science principles into public health practice. The course will cover the social, behavioral, and cultural determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status, education, and social support systems, and will focus on their impact on health outcomes and disparities.

During the course, students will engage in a variety of educational methods, including lectures, discussions, and independent study activities. The lectures will present the role of social and behavioral sciences in addressing key public health challenges, such as chronic diseases, mental health crises, and global health emergencies. Case studies and practical examples will be used to illustrate how insights from psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics can be applied to public health strategies, ensuring that policies and programs are scientifically grounded and culturally responsive.

Principles of Health Care Management

This course introduces the principles and experience of management in the current fast-changing field of health care, to refer to the existing health care systems in the Republic of Armenia as well as in countries with developed health care systems, organizations providing medical services as well as public health care organizations, to conduct comparisons with European and with the American experience and its applicability to our reality, address both short-term and long-term strategic management issues, including the fundamentals of personnel and financial management.

Health Care Management

This course presents the main principles and mechanisms of planning, management and financing of healthcare (HC) systems, including in the Republic of Armenia; analyze the reforms being implemented in Armenian HC system and their results;   discuss the types and principles of compulsory and non-compulsory insurance systems and insurance risks; compare HC systems that are financed through insurance-based and non-insurance-based models and analyses their specificities; discuss the possible mechanisms of implementation of comprehensive health insurance models in Armenia, including population groups to be engaged, the scope and financing schemes as well as quality assurance mechanisms of health services to be provided within health insurance models.

Program Planning and Management

This course introduces the principles and processes of program planning within public health and humanitarian contexts. It covers essential elements such as identifying needs, setting objectives, designing interventions, and establishing monitoring and evaluation frameworks. Throughout the course, case studies and real-world examples are presented to illustrate key concepts, with a focus on the practical application of program planning techniques in different settings. Special attention is given to stakeholder engagement, resource allocation, and the use of data to inform program decisions. Key indicators and outcomes, including coverage, impact, and efficiency are discussed in relation to the success of various programs.

Health Law

This course introduces the theory of state and law, the hierarchy of statutory acts, the Armenian Constitution and fundamentals of constitutionalism, human rights and fundamental freedoms, healthcare legislation, rights and responsibilities of health workers and patients, liability stemming from legal relations in healthcare, activities of healthcare facilities, anti-corruption instruments.

Biostatistics II

This course advances the concepts of regression modeling of epidemiologic data to broaden analytic skills acquired in previous courses. This course covers statistical techniques commonly used in epidemiology and health services research, such as linear, logistic and Poisson regression as well as survival analysis. The course also addresses issues of sampling, sample size, and power calculations for different study designs. The course includes statistical software computer exercises for real-life case studies.

Program Monitoring and Evaluation

This course introduces the principles, methodology and structure of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of public health programs. The course is focused on the regular and systematic oversight and supervision of public health programs through a regulated system of clearly defined indicators. Students will get familiar on making appropriate adjustments during the implementation of public health programs aimed at continuous improvement of achievements and reaching the final goal. The M&E of public health programs will help to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of project implementation as well as estimate the impact on the health sector. The course guides in selecting methods for evaluation of public health programs. The discipline objectives focus on the reasons for variance and gaps between the expected results and the actual achievements, help developing recommendation-based decisions. By the end of the course, the students will be able to understand and measure the short-term and long-term impacts of public health programs on population health and health care systems as well as assess the impact of selected policies on public health and health equity.

Bioethics

This course introduces the basic concepts and principles of the bioethics, forming a clear understanding of bioethics as a modern direction of medical ethics and preparing public health professionals to apply them in their professional and in research activities. This course examines ethical, social, legal, and policy issues related to the research, implementation, and practice of medicine, medical technologies, and healthcare.

Epidemiology II

This course presents the current issues of special epidemiology of infectious diseases and reflects the basic concepts of prevention. Students learn to assess the impact of bias and confounding and techniques for mitigating those effects. Special consideration is given to the role of case-control studies in addressing variety of health and organizational problems.

Health Economics and Finance

This course addresses the basics of health sector financial management, including budgeting, variance analysis, and benefit/cost analysis as tools for assessing the financial health of an organization. The course also explores the application of basic micro and macro-economic principles to the health sector.  The course emphasizes the socio-economic importance of healthcare development, the management of financial resources in healthcare organizations, and the specifics of economic analysis of the public system ensuring free medical care for citizens of Armenia.

Human Resource Management

The course will provide an overview of human resource management, with emphasis in human resource planning and strategy, personnel selection, equal employment opportunity, training, performance appraisal and compensation. The course develops a critical understanding of the role and functions of the various human resource activities in an organization.

Leadership         

The purpose of this course is to train future public health professionals and leaders on effective management and leadership, to introduce them to the model of humanistic leadership, the concepts of emotional intelligence and their importance in the 21st century, and to promote the development of effective leadership qualities in trainees. The course discusses different aspects of various leadership styles and the advantages each one has, the differences between leadership and management. The importance of communication as a leader’s tool is discussed. Behavioral DISC model with four main styles is presented and, in this context, group members’ personalities and preferences in communication style are discussed. The concepts of mentoring and mentees, their qualities and responsibilities, as well as the importance of having a mentor for creating a career are discussed.

Research Seminar           

This course provides a structured emphasis on application of core knowledge (defining the goals and objectives in public health, applying appropriate research design, sample size calculation and research tool in line with the research goal, etc.) and critical thinking skills. Students critically review and discuss journal articles relevant to core concepts and to ongoing student projects.

Health Policy    

This course introduces the general principles of health policy, the connection between health policy and the state socio-political system, economics, constitution. The course emphases the principles of defining goals and setting priorities in public health, barriers and pressures, steps of development of policy, triangle of policy analyses. Tools of policy implementation will be presented. Special attention will be paid to primary health care policy as an important condition for ensuring accessible health care and achieving social justice; demographic policy.

Health Education and Promotion            

This course is an introduction to the health education and health promotion field of public health. The course focuses on practical aspects of planning and evaluating health programs in diverse health settings, and emphasizes the link between health education and promotion theories and research. Throughout the course, students will work on developing a health behavior change plan/program individually and in small groups, which will enhance understanding and application of the theoretical knowledge presented during the lectures.

Health Care Marketing 

In this course students will examine current marketing trends used within the health care industry. Students will focus on a variety of marketing strategies required by health care managers to promote programs, products and services to health care consumers.

Digital Health

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental principles and applications of digital health technologies in modern healthcare systems. The course will cover the organization, management, and financing of digital health initiatives, with a focus on the integration of digital tools in healthcare delivery and public health. Students will explore the impact of digital health on patient care, data management, and health outcomes, as well as the ethical and regulatory considerations involved.

Health Care Quality Management           

This course provides the knowledge and skills necessary to manage and improve the quality of medical services at primary healthcare and hospital level. It also provides tools necessary

to assess the existing sources, opportunities and barriers to the quality of health services, to plan an actionable strategy with actionable goals to improve the quality of health services, to develop and apply criteria to evaluate access to care, clinical quality, and patient experience in the delivery of care.

The students will learn how to develop and apply evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and methods to effectively implement the guidelines, particularly through the design and implementation of integrated clinical pathways. The students will also understand the importance of commitment to leadership and willingness to change as part of quality improvement process.

Comparative Health Systems    

The purpose of this course is to present the diversity and comparison of healthcare systems, based on the way the systems are organized, financing mechanisms, functions, indicators and characteristics. The course presents the healthcare system of Armenia and some reforms that have been made in recent years, as well as the models and sources of health financing, the volumes of general and state expenditures on health, the percentage of the country’s GDP allocated to health care, as well as the volumes of total and state expenditures per capita. The course includes also comparison of the structure and function of the health systems of different countries and the evaluation of the most important health indicators of the countries, such as child and maternal mortality, average life expectancy, etc.

Hospital Administration              

The hospital administration course trains students for staff and administrative roles in a hospital or healthcare facilities. Students are prepared to acquire hospital management concepts, skills, models and programs. The course is designed to develop a system for better patient care. It provides management information systems (MIS) reports to management for better decision making, resulting in better utilization of human resources to achieve health goals. The main goal of the course is to create specialists who can manage hospital departments more efficiently, can manage the flow of patients and optimize hospital management.

Organizational Behavior              

This course introduces interaction of individuals, their groups and structure on behavior within organizations in order to apply such knowledge to improve organizational performance. This course addresses the impact of various factors on behavior within an organization and discuses interaction between individuals and groups within an organization and how these interactions affect an organization’s performance toward its goals.

Master Thesis Preparation Phase            

Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, students complete a master’s thesis and oral presentation to faculty members. It includes also short courses for revision of the basic principles of research and data analysis.

MPH-Student-Manual-2024-2025

MBA in Health Care Management Program