"I found PHDA 05 (Longitudinal Analysis and Multi-level Modelling of Population Health Data) to be the most rewarding as it exposed me to higher level quantitative analyses."
PHDA testimonials
PHDA 05 Longitudinal Analysis and Multi-level Modeling of Population Health Data
PHDA Overall program/course experience
"Great instructors with content expertise who are also very accessible for extra support, good class size with diverse classmates, and flexibility that online learning offers."
PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems
"The growing importance of spatial thinking in health policy and epidemiology underscores the immense value of this course for researchers and practitioners alike. As a frequent user of GIS, I found this course to be an indispensable update to both my technical skills and theoretical understanding of health geography and spatial data analysis.
The course material challenged us to think creatively and conduct our own projects with the support of the instructor, while the weekly lab assignments guided us closely through the necessary procedures. Weekly discussions encourage us to discuss issues and themes in health GIS and share ideas, an invaluable experience for learning and networking."
PHDA full testimonial
- How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?
-
I was in Canada and the program seemed a perfect fit to my interests.
- Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?
-
I thoroughly enjoyed the courses, although sometimes I had trouble keeping up. Having said that, I found the lecturers very sympathetic to my needs. It was great to develop more understanding of the analysis of administrative datasets and in particular learning how to use geocoded data.
- How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?
-
I will use my skills to undertake some more specific analysis using linked data. In particular, I plan to undertake some mapping of hotspots where illicit drug use is most common. For my interests at this time I found longitudinal data analysis and geocoding the most helpful. This is because with increasing use of multiple drugs it is important to determine where outbreaks occur and be able to establish cohorts of people who use these substances and then follow over time determining predictors of change.
- What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.
-
The flexibility of the modules was very good and I appreciated learning from other students when there was something I couldn’t solve. For example when I couldn’t run a particular program, I could easily get assistance with this. Having access to previous assignments on the same topics made things much easier as well.
- Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?
-
Yes, I would recommend this program and regularly circulate information about the courses as updates come to me.
- Any additional comments you would like to add?
-
It was a really great experience and I learnt a great many new things so thank you!
PHDA 03 Population Health and Geographical Information Systems
"The Population Health and GIS (PHDA 03) course was the most interesting course I took. The labs were easy to follow and I enjoyed the final project."
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 2025 | All rights reserved