Arthi Rao
CP 8853
Spring 2022
Spring 2020

The socioecological model of public health clearly establishes the importance of physical and social environments in building healthy, sustainable communities and influencing population health. This scientific paradigm is firmly embedded in the idea that the health status of an individual is simultaneously produced by individual biology and their surrounding physical, social, cultural and political context. Collectively termed the “social determinants of health,” these are known to influence individual health as well as the differential distribution of health outcomes among populations. The course presents students with a comprehensive socioecological framework of metrics and methods used in healthy places research and practice. The course focuses on measuring the three key functional domains of healthy communities— 1) the physical environment, 2) social environment and 3) access to healthcare. A variety of analytical techniques including spatial methods and applied statistics  will be used. The methods taught in the course are widely applicable to various industrial and research contexts outside of Public Health as well. Students will learn how to execute the entire life-cycle of a data analytics project including problem formulation, data preparation, exploratory analysis, modeling and visualization. Advanced undergraduate students maybe eligible to take this class (please contact the instructor at arthir@gatech.edu).

Course Type
Course Level
Partner Engagement