Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Integrating Public Health and Clinical Care: The case of TB and NCDs

Course Description

Tuberculosis (TB) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) together represent major global health challenges requiring coordinated approaches that bridge clinical medicine and public health systems. While TB control has historically demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating surveillance, prevention, standardized treatment, and population-level interventions, the growing global burden of NCDs—including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health conditions—demands similarly integrated models of care that combine clinical management with population health strategies and social interventions.

This course examines how health systems can integrate clinical care and public health functions to prevent, detect, and manage TB and major NCDs across the life course. Particular emphasis is placed on shared risk factors such as smoking, air pollution, malnutrition, and social and economic determinants of health, as well as on health-system approaches including primary care strengthening, screening and early detection programs, chronic disease management models, digital health tools, and community-based interventions.

Through global and Canadian case studies, students will learn practical skills for designing integrated disease-control strategies, implementing multidisciplinary care pathways, evaluating program effectiveness, and translating evidence into policy and health-system reforms. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to develop and manage programs that connect clinical services with population-level prevention and health-system planning for TB and major NCDs in diverse settings.

Course Objectives

This course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the interactions between clinical care and public health systems in the prevention and management of TB and NCDs, including diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, and related social and environmental risk factors. The course are designed for students from the Public Health Sciences (PHS), Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), including the DrPH program and students in the Global Health Specialization. Students from other departments such as Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFCM), and Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) are also welcome.

Students will be exposed to a range of research and practice skills relevant to integrated disease prevention and care, including quantitative approaches (e.g., epidemiology, intervention studies), qualitative and social science methods, policy evaluation, and implementation science, and will have the opportunity of connecting with guest speakers with profound global perspectives. The course emphasizes interdisciplinary learning, allowing students to learn from diverse disciplinary perspectives and apply integrated approaches to disease control. By the end of the course, students will acquire the skills needed to critically evaluate and design integrated disease prevention and control programs at local, national, and global levels.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Explain the epidemiology, major risk factors, and health-system determinants influencing tuberculosis (TB) and key non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory diseases) in diverse population settings.
2. Compare and assess public health and clinical care strategies used in TB and NCD prevention and management, including screening, treatment, long-term disease management, and population-level interventions.
3. Apply quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches—such as epidemiologic analysis, intervention evaluation, operational research, and GIS/spatial analysis—to investigate TB and NCD control challenges.
4. Critically evaluate national or regional TB or NCD prevention and control programs using implementation science, policy analysis, and health-system performance frameworks.
5. Design a TB or NCD prevention or care intervention that incorporates clinical pathways, public health strategies, and consideration of social and environmental determinants of health.
6. Develop and communicate evidence-informed policy or program recommendations aimed at improving integrated disease prevention and care at local, national, or global levels.

Methods of Assessment

Participation	10%
Mid-term short critique	20%
Presentation	20%
Individual Group Essay	50%