PhD program in Public Health and Medicine

The PhD program in Healthcare Management was developed and introduced in 2021 within the Erasmus Plus DERECKA project.

Research Methodology (5 ECTS)

This course aims to guide master and doctorate students towards achieving competence and proficiency in the theory of and practice to research. The course helps the students to develop the subject of their research, encourage the formation of higher level of trained intellectual ability, critical analysis, rigour, and independence of thought, foster individual judgement, and skill in the application of research theory and methods, and develop skills required in writing research proposals, reports, and dissertation.

 

Research Ethics (3ECTS)

This course provides an introduction to health research ethics and good research practice. It deals with general issues within research ethics, where both norms in science and fundamental ethical perspectives are discussed. Ethical reasoning has a general character but carries different meaning and has different implications depending on the nature of the research. Based on this general orientation, the course discusses external and internal research ethics, that is, the role of research in society and its responsibility towards those who are affected by how the research is carried out and its results. Course participants are trained in identifying research-ethical issues in others’ as well as their own research, and how these issues should be handled. Major attention will be paid to discussion of ethics in biomedical research.

 

Biostatistics

The course is designed for doctorate students who must know the basics of biostatistics. The core course focuses on the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of public health data. Overview of measurement methods, descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, and bivariate hypothesis testing using t-tests, Chi-Square test analysis of variance and multiple comparisons, correlation, and non-parametric test equivalents.

Upon completing this course, the student will learn the appropriate use of statistical methods to analyze data, with continuous and categorical responses, using statistical analysis software SPSS. These objectives should contribute to students' ability to critically review the public health and epidemiologic literature and carry out statistical analyses. Students will learn to:

identify sources of health-related data and statistics, including population data, research data, and survey data from agencies,

read and interpret summary tables and graphs from published public health manuscripts and/or reports,

select the appropriate statistical methods and describe assumptions for descriptive statistics and bivariate tests,

utilize proper statistical techniques for hypothesis testing,

demonstrate technical skills needed to view, summarize, and analyze data using SPSS output,

utilize biostatistical terminology in written and oral interpretations of statistical test results,

develop written and oral presentation of complete descriptive and bivariate statistical analyses.

Academic Writing (4 ECTS)

The Academic Writing course is designed for students who are not native English speakers and course content may have to be adapted to the English level of the participants. Introduction to and application of key principles of effective and efficient academic writing This course provides key techniques, guidelines and suggestions to improve your academic written communication. It will give hands-on experience in drafting, organizing and revising academic texts. The course will place equal or greater emphasis on macro-level composition skills such as: essay structure, paragraph structure, coherence, unity; and micro-level skills such as: sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and mechanics.

 

Information Technologies in Healthcare (3 ECTS)

This course is open to master and doctorate students. Innovation in healthcare requires leaders who are trained to think and act like entrepreneurs. Whether at a hospital bedside, patient's home, or resource-poor community or a developing nation, healthcare leaders must understand both the business of running a healthcare organization and how to provide timely, affordable, quality patent care. The course provides the foundation for faculty-mentored work on industry, student, or non-profit sponsored projects that may involve creation of a market or business plan, product development, or a study design.

 

Public Health (4 ECTS)

Designing and development of the program are necessary due to the fact that there is a wide range of issues for doctoral candidates to examine depending on the direction of their research. A doctoral student majoring in public health needs to know issues of health determinants and organization and management of health care.

The course is aimed at giving to students an idea of the historical chronology of the formation of medical and social concepts, theories and models of medicine and health care, methods of performing research of medical and social problems, rules of evaluating the results of scientific and practical activities in the health care system. The course highlights basic concepts related to health, morbidity and mortality in our country and worldwide, social diseases, medical statistics, medical and social aspects, lifestyle risk factors of the population, the structure, functioning and management of state, municipal and private health care in different legal systems – such as in civil law, the scope of which includes countries like Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Germany and others, and in the common law system which is used in the UK, USA, as well as on the basis of EU law.

Students will explore the social and economic value of critical diseases and the organization of therapeutic and preventive care for them; organization of outpatient, inpatient, emergency and other health services.

 

Contemporary Epidemiological Studies (5 ECTS)

This course is aimed at providing a systematic overview of epidemiological concepts and methods, building up from sources of error (confounding, information bias, selection bias) to bias analysis methods, then a range of contemporary methods. The course is premised on a counterfactual and potential outcomes approach to epidemiology.

 

Innovative Research Methods in Medicine (5 ECTS)

This course provides an overview of contemporary innovative clinical research methods, insights into the opportunities for young clinical investigators, and suggestions on getting started in clinical research. The purpose of this course is to arm participants with the knowledge and skills to design a high quality clinical research project and grant proposal to jumpstart their research career. The course is targeted to assist faculty who are interested in pursuing a career in research.

 

Precision Medicine (5 ECTS)

The Human Genome Project (HGP) revolutionized biomedical research through the discovery and integration of Big Data. Post-HGP endeavors, such as ClinVar and the All of Us Research Program, have been designed to rapidly accelerate our research progress into clinical practice. Prevention and treatment strategies that take individual variability into account are not new concepts. However, precision medicine advances the field by leveraging technological progresses and ‘omics’ data to improve prediction, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment for individual patients.

We will explore the possibilities, promises, and pitfalls of precision medicine, using real-world examples. It is intended to bridge the gap between basic and translational research and its practical clinical applications, which will help prepare any student interested in research or health professions careers. The course provides knowledge about prolonging health and treating disease that will empower students to make shared informed decisions with their physicians

 

Nutrition and Dietetics (5 ECTS)

The course will enable the students to understand the etiology, physiologic and metabolic anomalies of acute and chronic diseases and patient needs. Students will know the effect of the various diseases on nutritional status and nutritional and dietary requirements. Upon the completion the course they will be able to recommend and provide appropriate nutritional care for prevention/ and treatment of the various diseases.

 

Molecular and cell Processes in Norm and Pathology (3 ECTS)

The overall goal of this course is to provide a solid understanding of the molecular basis of how eukaryotic cells function in the context of whole organisms. The molecular mechanisms of cell biology as they pertain to mammalian physiology will be explored. Specific emphasis is placed on the molecular mechanisms of gene expression and genome function including the role of chromatin and non-coding RNA, translation, cell cycle and division, protein trafficking, cellular metabolism and cell signaling. Other topics include the specific function of cellular organelles, DNA replication and repair, mRNA processing and translation, the nuclear pore complex and shuttling between the cytoplasm and nucleus, cytoskeleton, protein trafficking between organelles and through the secretory pathway, electron transport, cell homeostasis and apoptosis, extracellular matrix, stem cell development and hematopoiesis, and cellular clocks.

 

Clinical Biochemistry (3 ECTS)

Upon completion of this course students will be well-versed in basic concepts and recent advances in the subject and should have acquired skills and expertise in various laboratory techniques applicable to metabolic and molecular aspects of medicine and in research methodology. Training during the course will equip the student with skills to become an effective researcher or teacher, able to plan and implement teaching programmes for students in medical and allied health science courses, set up/manage a diagnostic laboratory, generate, evaluate and interpret diagnostic laboratory data, interact with clinicians to contribute to more effective patient care and carry out a research project and publish its results.

 

Genomics and Proteomics (3 ECTS)

This course is intended for graduate postgraduate students to gain knowledge of modern techniques of protein biochemistry, bioinformatics, proteomics, and functional genomics. It will include a discussion of basic concepts of protein structure and function, protein characterization and purification, enzyme kinetics, nmr and x-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, and various techniques of functional and structural genomics.

 

Evidence-Based Medicine (3 ECTS)

This course provides students an evidence-based medicine approach to answer clinical questions by identifying and evaluating relevant online and print information (primary literature, reference books, databases, journal articles, etc.). The course gives answers to clinical questions orally and in writing aimed at other healthcare professionals. It describes the following approaches to clinical research design and common statistical tests used in these studies: meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, cohort studies, descriptive studies, and qualitative studies.

 

Global Health

This course provides an introduction to key principles and topics in global health including measures of global burden of disease, identification of key health problems around the world and the main determinants, health systems and international public health organizations. In addition, we will discuss cross-cutting and timely issues in health promotion, disease control programs, and operational research in international settings. Examples of diseases and illustrations of global health problems in this class will include both infectious and non-infectious diseases and should be of interest to students in various programs.

 

Global Burden of Diseases

This course will introduce students to the concepts of the global burden of disease. The course consists of two explanatory components that aim to examine how disease burden is measured and the causes of morbidity and mortality on a global scale. An overview of diseases and conditions responsible for a significant portion of the global disease burden will then be presented, focusing on epidemiology, clinical aspects, management and prevention. The course employs a combination of lecture and group presentation.

 

Healthcare Planning

This is an introductory course to planning and management (leadership and governance) in a broad sense in healthcare. The course provides an overview of various planning and management issues in healthcare. The following topics are introduced: management and leadership; decision-making and resource allocation; organization and organizational development; quality improvement and change; collaboration and communication; working environment issues and conflict management. All subjects are discussed from an international perspective. Students are encouraged to contribute to the course content richness by relating to healthcare in their own country.

 

Health Insurance Plans

This course presents an overview of major issues related to the design, function, management, regulation, and evaluation of health insurance and managed care plans. It provides a firm foundation in basic concepts pertaining to private and public sector health insurance/benefit plans, both as provided by employers and government agencies in Kyrgyzstan. Key topics include population care management techniques, provider payment, organizational integration, quality and accountability, cost-containment, and public policy. The course makes extensive use of outside experts.

The course is relevant for management- or policy-oriented students who will be working in, or interrelating with, public and private (both for-profit and not-for-profit) health insurance plans and organized delivery systems such as family group practitionerss and hospital/physician integrated delivery systems. Course is also relevant to students who will be researching and analyzing these systems. Although the emphasis is placed on Kyrgyzstan, the material is applicable to international students who are interested in financing and organization of highly developed medical care delivery systems in other nations.

 

Data visualization

Data visualization is an essential skill required in today’s data driven world. With its foundations rooted in statistics, psychology, and computer science, practitioners in almost every field use visualization to explore and present data. This courses shows you how to better understand your data, present clear evidence of your findings to your intended audience, and tell engaging data stories that clearly depict the points you want to make all through data graphics. The skills learned in this course offer enormous value for creatives, educators and researchers.This course will serve as an introduction and reference to becoming visual with data.