Epidemics, Pandemics and Outbreaks

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Epidemics, Pandemics and Outbreaks

Coursera (CC)
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  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: What can we do to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases from becoming epidemics or pandemic? In this course, you’ll learn the facts about infectious diseases and medical responses. We'll focus on the public health laws and policies that provide the framework for effective prevention, like quarantine laws, drug development policies, and bioterrorism and biodefense.

Created by:  University of Pittsburgh
  • Taught by:  Elena A. Baylis, Associate Professor

    Law
  • Taught by:  Elizabeth Ferrell Bjerke, JD, Director, JD/MPH Program

    Health Policy and Management
  • Taught by:  Amesh A. Adalja, MD, FACP, Senior Associate

    UPMC Center for Health Securi…

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: What can we do to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases from becoming epidemics or pandemic? In this course, you’ll learn the facts about infectious diseases and medical responses. We'll focus on the public health laws and policies that provide the framework for effective prevention, like quarantine laws, drug development policies, and bioterrorism and biodefense.

Created by:  University of Pittsburgh
  • Taught by:  Elena A. Baylis, Associate Professor

    Law
  • Taught by:  Elizabeth Ferrell Bjerke, JD, Director, JD/MPH Program

    Health Policy and Management
  • Taught by:  Amesh A. Adalja, MD, FACP, Senior Associate

    UPMC Center for Health Security
  • Taught by:  Ryan Morhard, Guest Instructor

Commitment 3-4 hours a week Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.5 stars Average User Rating 4.5See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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Syllabus


WEEK 1


Week 1: Introduction



Welcome to Week One! This week’s lesson immerses you in the world of epidemics, pandemics and outbreaks and our efforts to prevent and respond to them. It will prepare you to engage in depth with the lessons that are coming up in weeks 2-4: "Understanding Infectious Diseases," "Global Health Security," and "Local Countermeasures."


13 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Week 1 Introductory Video
  2. Video: Week 1 Video 1: What Are Epidemics, Pandemics & Outbreaks?
  3. Video: Week 1 Video 2: Why Epidemics Happen
  4. Video: Week 1 Video 3: How Do We Respond?
  5. Video: Week 1 Video 4: Who is Responding?
  6. Video: Week 1 Video 5: What’s Law Got to Do With It?
  7. Reading: Hot Topics for Advanced Instruction: Vaccination Rates and Outbreaks
  8. Reading: Additional Resources
  9. Discussion Prompt: Hot Topics for Advanced Instruction
  10. Video: If an Outbreak Occurs What are the Roles of the State and Federal Governments in Stopping it?
  11. Video: Why Did Some States Impose Quarantines in the 2014 Ebola Outbreak While Other States Didn't?
  12. Video: What Role Does Advocacy Play in Funding?
  13. Video: What Role Does the Biological Weapons Convention Play?
  14. Video: What is an Emergency Use Authorization for a Drug or Vaccine?
  15. Video: What is the Role of Public Education in Containing an Outbreak?
  16. Video: What Effect do Outbreaks Have on Funding Priorities?

Graded: Week 1: Quiz 1
Graded: Week 1: Quiz 2
Graded: Week 1: Quiz 3
Graded: Week 1: Quiz 4
Graded: Week 1: Quiz 5

WEEK 2


Week 2: Understanding Infectious Diseases



Welcome to Week Two! This week’s lesson provides you with the tools needed to understand the world of infectious disease. It will allow you to develop a context of knowledge and familiarity with the concepts that inform legal and public health response strategies to outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics. What you learn here will be drawn upon in weeks 3-4: “Global Health Security” and “Local Countermeasures.”


23 videos expand


  1. Video: Week 2 Introductory Video
  2. Video: Week 2 Video 1: What causes infection? What is an infectious disease?
  3. Video: Week 2 Video 2: How do infections spread?
  4. Video: Week 2 Video 3: Influenza and Vaccines
  5. Video: Week 2 Video 4: The Story of Typhoid Mary
  6. Video: Week 2 Video 5: Ebola
  7. Video: Week 2 Video 6: Leprosy and Tuberculosis
  8. Discussion Prompt: Leprosy and Tuberculosis in your state
  9. Video: Hot Topics for Advanced Instruction: Week 2 Video 7: Biosecurity and Bioterrorism
  10. Discussion Prompt: PBS's FrontLine episode on Anthrax
  11. Discussion Prompt: Watch the movie Outbreak
  12. Discussion Prompt: How would your local health department deal with typhoid fever?
  13. Discussion Prompt: Watch the movie Contagion
  14. Video: What is antibiotic resistance?
  15. Video: What is the threat posed by antibiotic resistant bacteria?
  16. Video: Is Overuse of Antibiotics Causing Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria?
  17. Video: What are we Doing to Reduce Overuse Antibiotics?
  18. Video: What about Developing new Antibiotics?
  19. Video: What Effect is Globalization Having on the Problem of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria?
  20. Video: What Kinds of Biosafety Gear do Reasearchers Use When They're Working with Dangerous Viruses and Bacteria in the Lab?
  21. Video: How Does the Federal Government Promote Research and Development of New Drugs and Vaccines?
  22. Video: What is the Animal Rule?
  23. Video: How Were Researchers Able to Produce an Experimental Vaccine Within a Few Months of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak?
  24. Video: Could We Produce Enough Vaccine for a Pandemic Flu?
  25. Video: Why Should Healthy People Get Vaccinated for The Flu or Other Diseases?
  26. Video: Why are We Seeing Resurgence of Old Diseases for Which We Have Vaccines Like Measles?
  27. Video: What Are Some of the Obstacles to Increasing Our Vaccination Rates?
  28. Video: Are Vaccinations Important in a Pandemic?

Graded: Week 2: Quiz 1
Graded: Week 2: Quiz 2
Graded: Week 2: Quiz 3

WEEK 3


Week 3: Global Health Security



Welcome to Week 3! Now that you are more familiar with the nature and history of infectious disease, consider the following quote from Natalie Angier, American nonfiction writer and a science journalist for The New York Times: “Today, diseases as common as the cold and as rare as Ebola are circling the globe with near telephonic speed, making long-distance connections and intercontinental infections almost as if by satellite. You needn't even bother to reach out and touch someone. If you live, if you're homeothermic biomass, you will be reached and touched. Microbes are, after all, members of the most ancient, zealous and Darwinically gilded 24-7 delivery consortium. They travel by land, sea, air, nose, blows, glove, love, sewage, steerage, rat backs, hat racks, uncooked burritos, overlooked mosquitoes. And, oh, how they love the global village.” Indeed, the same forces of globalization that have lowered barriers to global communication, travel, and commerce have amplified the ability for infectious diseases to spread internationally. In many ways, defense against this common threat is only as strong as each nation’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, and the collective ability of the international community to coordinate these capacities multilaterally.


11 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Week 3 Introductory Video
  2. Video: Week 3 Video 1: Globalization and Pandemic Threats
  3. Discussion Prompt: Are citizens of your city particularly vulnerable to infectious disease?
  4. Video: Week 3 Video 2: Legal Frameworks to Build National Capacity Globally to Combat Infectious Diseases with Pandemic Potential
  5. Video: Week 3 Video 3: The WHO Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework
  6. Discussion Prompt: World Health Organization
  7. Discussion Prompt: Other cases begin emerging...
  8. Discussion Prompt: Would you notify WHO?
  9. Reading: Hot Topics for Advanced Instruction: The Economics of Developing Emergency Medical Countermeasures
  10. Discussion Prompt: Help inspire the development of new drugs
  11. Video: Why Don't Most Countries Make or Use Biological Weapons?
  12. Video: What is the Dual Use Research of Concern in the Biological Weapons Context?
  13. Video: What are Some of the Ways the United States Protects Itself Against Bioterrorism?
  14. Video: Do These Biodefense Programs Protect us Against Pandemics in Addition to Bioterrorism?
  15. Video: How do We Decide Which Bioterrorism Threats to Prepare For?
  16. Video: How Does Biowatch Detect Bioterrorism Attacks?
  17. Video: How is Biodefense Funded?

Graded: Week 3: Quiz 1
Graded: Week 3: Quiz 2
Graded: Week 3: Quiz 3

WEEK 4


Week 4: Local Countermeasures



Welcome to Week Four! This week’s lesson introduces you to the legal interventions available to state and local public health practitioners to combat epidemics, pandemics and outbreaks. In addition to the law, we will look at some of the ethical and practical issues associated with disease reporting requirements, the effect of a declaration of an emergency, travel restrictions, quarantine and isolation.


8 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Week 4 Introductory Video
  2. Video: Week 4 Video 1: What is public health and public health law?
  3. Video: Week 4 Video 2: What Authority Does the Government Have to Enact Laws Pertaining to Epidemics, Outbreaks and Pandemics?
  4. Video: Week 4 Video 3: What legal Interventions Can be Used to Fight Infectious Disease?
  5. Video: Week 4 Video 4: Isolation and Quarantine
  6. Reading: Hot Topic for Advanced Instruction: Constitutional Considerations and Ethical Implications of Mandatory Vaccination Requirements
  7. Discussion Prompt: Should states mandate seasonal influenza vaccinations for healthcare providers?
  8. Discussion Prompt: Practical implications associated with isolation and quarantine orders.
  9. Discussion Prompt: Mandatory quarantine
  10. Video: Why Do We Need International Laws And Policies?
  11. Video: What Role do the International Health Regulations Play?
  12. Video: What is the New Global Health Security Agenda?

Graded: Week 4: Quiz 1
Graded: Week 4: Quiz 2
Graded: Week 4: Quiz 3
Graded: Week 4: Quiz 4
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