DrPH in Health Policy and Leadership

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DrPH Health Policy and Leadership

The primary focus of this program is to enhance the skills and abilities of those in positions of leadership; to develop competencies in policy development, analysis, and implementation; applied to health care and social determinants of health—to add to the body of knowledge about leadership through observation, reflection, and research; and to bring together leaders who desire to learn, mentor, and model exemplary leadership. Program participants are expected to demonstrate a commitment to the core values of Loma Linda University: compassion, integrity, excellence, freedom, justice, self-control, and humility. This program, in part, meets the great need for leaders of integrity who are agents of change, with understanding in both research and practice.

The Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) degree is the highest professional degree for the public health generalist. Participants will focus on public health practice and demonstrate broad knowledge related to professional skills. Consistent with our intentional interdisciplinary approach to doctoral education, this Dr.P.H. degree program offers learners the opportunity to customize an academic plan designed to fulfill their program requirements through unique core courses and a variety of electives offered by the School of Public Health. With approval, in developing their academic plan, learners may also identify courses offered throughout Loma Linda University. Drawing from resources in the School of Public Health and the program faculty’s training and expertise in management, leadership, and policy, participants are able to develop leadership skills and competencies in selected policy areas, such as:

1. Health services and health care
2. Systems design and organizational change
3. Health disparities and health equity
4. Food and nutrition
5. Mother-infant health
6. Poverty and social welfare
7. Behavior and mental health
8. Water, air quality, and the built environment
9. Nonprofits and philanthropy
10. Resource development and generation

Enrolling in the Health Policy and Leadership DrPH program at Loma Linda has proven to be the best decision I have ever made for myself.

–Valithia Head, DrPH Health Policy and Leadership student

Learner Outcomes

Learning outcomes for the Dr.P.H in Health Policy and Leadership Program are as follows:

• Leadership: Participants understand a broad range of leadership issues and participate in future-oriented planning and change processes.

• Health policy: Participants understand the health policy development process and that health policy is a multidisciplinary field of inquiry and practice concerned with social determinants of health and the delivery, quality, and costs of health and health care for individuals and populations.

• Ethics: Participants demonstrate the core values of Loma Linda University, including a commitment to justice, ethical choices, values, and professional practices implicit in their discipline and personal ethics.

• Reflection: Participants model reflective leadership.

• Scholarship: Participants develop skills in reading, evaluating, conducting, and reporting research.

Possible Jobs: Graduates will hold positions that require leadership, scholarship, effective communication, systems thinking, and community building.