PHDA testimonials

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PHDA full testimonial
How did you learn about the program and what motivated you to enroll?

I learned about the PHDA program through browsing on web and was motivated to get more training in population health data analysis while working full-time.

Tell us about your course experience. What skills did you develop and which courses provided the greatest benefit to you?

Although the course load was a bit heavy at times, I think I’ve learned a lot and developed hands-on experience in analyzing population health data using SAS and ArcGIS.

How have you been able to (or how do you plan to) apply your new skills in your work/research?

I have not yet had a chance to utilize all the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in my current work, but definitely have a better understanding of results that are analyzed using ArcGIS.

What do you think were the strengths of this program? Please provide examples.

The strengths of this program include: good organization of coursework, exposure to variety of relevant topics, hands-on experience using several analytical software, excellent support and feedback by instructors, and a flexible schedule.

Would you recommend this program to others? If so, what recommendations/suggestions would you give those interested in applying to this program?

I would definitely recommend colleagues and others to take this program for further professional development.

Any additional comments you would like to add?

My program experience has been great and thank you for all the support I received from instructors and staff members in the PHDA program.

 

Lily Zhou, Epidemiologist, Health Surveillance

 

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!

 

Lucinda Burns

Lucinda Burns, Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales

 

PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I would recommend the program to working professionals, researchers, and graduate students.

The program had many strengths including: excellent, experienced instructors for each of the courses; use of fellow students as peers to give feedback on assignments (this was a particular strength of the PHDA06 course in Health Evaluation and Program Monitoring); and discussion forums that promoted exchange of information amongst students using real life examples".

Johnathan Lambo, Public Health Physician and Medical Epidemiologist

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PHDA 01 Working with Administrative Data
"The Working with Administrative Data was one of the courses that provided me with the greatest benefits. As I was completing the PHDA 01 course, my workplace, the New Brunswick Institute for Research Data and Training, was just receiving its first health data set. Having had the opportunity to use BC’s administrative datasets such as the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) provided me with a first glance at what our provincial data would look like, and how I could manipulate and analyze them."

Adele Balram, Data Analyst, New Brunswick Institute for Research and Data Training

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PHDA Overall program/course experience
"I would highly recommend this program to anyone wishing to gain a strong foundation in GIS and data, even those individuals not directly involved in the population health field. All of the courses force the student to think critically, develop time management skills, become effective data organizers, and learn to work in a virtual team towards a common goal within very tight parameters. I found all staff related to the various components of the program very knowledgeable and considerate."

Wendy de Gomez, Capital Planning Analyst, Waterloo Catholic District School Board

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