DoD Global Health Engagement (PMO1022)

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Course Information

Course Contact:

Course Director: Josh Kumpf – joshua.kumpf.ctr@usuhs.edu

Course Meeting Information:

Days: Thursdays, 20 Feb through 7 May.

Times: 15:30, 19:30, and 21:00 (depending on section)

Location: Adobe Connect Link

Course Description:

“Global Health Engagement” is a graduate-level course that teaches the application of global health concepts and principles to “global health engagement,” the methods and means by which the Department of Defense and broader U.S. Government involve themselves in the global health space.

Through the study of history, doctrine, policy, case studies, lectures and seminar discussion with subject matter experts from USU’s Center for Global Health Engagement, students gain competence and confidence to prepare them for participation in global health engagements. Specifically, students will gain a greater understanding of the strategic, operational, and civil-military considerations of DoD GHE; the framework for establishing the context of a health engagement; and the components of planning, executing, and monitoring a global health engagement activity.

Required Readings:

All reading materials will be provided to you. Some readings will come from online academic journals and you will need to sign into the USUHS Electronic Resource Center (ERC) to access them.

Readings are separated into required and supplemental readings. Students will be expected to complete all required readings each week and discuss them in the discussion forums and the VTC. Supplemental readings are provided for students to dive further into the topic if desired, and are purely optional.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of the course students will be able to:

Understand how DoD Global Health Engagements support national security strategies and regional security objectives.
Identify the complex components, enablers, and challenges of DoD Global Health Engagements.
Recognize the elements of selecting, designing, planning, executing, and evaluating DoD global health engagements.
Possess a foundational level of competency in preparation for participation in future Global Health Engagements.

Guidelines and Expectations

Students are expected to actively participate in online discussions, both the live VTCs and the discussion forums. Class participation will be graded on quantity and quality, reflecting not only the assigned material, but also the ability to interpret and analyze the material. Class participation will help you learn the material covered in this class, and engagement with peers experienced in the field is an important element of graduate education. Students are expected to have read the assigned materials in advance of the class session in order to participate meaningfully in class discussions.

Weekly participation is worth 40 points per week. Students can earn these points by either posting on the discussion board, speaking during the VTC session, or some combination of the two. Please note that this grading rubric differs slightly from the rubric used in the GH1 and GH2 courses. Participation each week in the discussion forums is required in order to receive full credit in the participation category

Points will be awarded for class participation based on the following rubric:

A grade for class participation will be entered for each student at the end of each week.
The weekly participation requirement in order to receive full credit is 40 points:
- Students will receive a maximum of 30 points for making substantive contributions to the discussion forum. Each substantive post (either responding directly to a discussion question or to a classmate’s post) is worth 10 points.
- Students will receive 10 points each week for attending the VTC session.
- Students will receive 10 points for making a substantive contribution to the live VTC.
- The maximum number of participation points a student may earn each week is 40 points.
A substantive post in the discussion forum or substantive contribution to the live VTC is one that expands the conversation on the given topic, using knowledge from and making reference to the course materials or other related reference sources. Substantive posts need not be long, but they should relate students’ serious engagement with course topics and ideas. Discussion forum posts should include citations when appropriate. Substantive contributions to the VTC can include simply asking pertinent question of guest lecturers or SMEs.
Points will be awarded for substantive posts in either the Directed Discussion or General Discussion forums.

The weekly participation grade will be compiled on Thursdays at 2355 ET. All forum posts should be posted by then.

Attendance:

Students may not miss more than three VTC sessions during the course. If you will be absent for a VTC session please contact me in advance. Students are also expected to engage in the weekly discussion forums. Students may not be inactive on the discussion forums for two concurrent weeks.

Makeup Assignments:

Each student will be afforded 2 opportunities during the course to make up the points for a missed quiz or VTC session. You must email the course director with the make up assignment by the following Wednesday at 2355 ET to receive credit.

The make up assignment for either a missed quiz or a missed VTC is to write a one-page (approx. 250-300 word) essay. The prompt is:

"Choose a required reading from this week and write a source review from it. What is the author's central thesis? How effective is the author's argument? How effective is the source for the purposes of this course?"

Course Workload:

Students should expect to spend approximately 9-12 hours per week on this course.

Class Cancellation:

If class is cancelled for any reason, students will be notified via email as soon as possible. In the event of class cancellations, students will still be expected to read any assigned materials, submit any assignments, and meet any other requirements for the cancelled class session

Program Handbook:

Policies, procedures, tutorials, and other information related to this course and the DL Program can all be found here in the Program Handbook.

Grading and Assessment

PMO 1022 Grade Composition

Overall Course Grades

Grades will be given by letter grade according to the following rubric:

90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
<60% = F

I do not adjust student grades at the end of the semester (such as bumping a high B to an A). The points that you earn will determine the grade that is reported to the registrar.

1. Weekly Participation (Due Thursdays at 23:55 ET)

See description above in the Guidelines and Expectations section for participation grading scheme.

2. Weekly Quizzes (Due Wednesdays at 23:55 ET)

Students are assigned a weekly 3-5-question quiz worth a total of 20 points. The quiz is to be completed via the course website on Sakai. The quiz will open for completion each Friday at 0005 and will close the following Wednesday at 2355. Students who do not complete the quiz by then will receive a 0/20 grade. Quizzes are open-book, and timed at 10 minutes. The answers to the quiz questions can be found in the required readings and the lectures.

3. Short Paper (Due 18 Mar 2020 at 23:55 ET)

Write an essay responding to one of the following prompts:

A) Should sustainability be a necessary principle for DoD GHE?

B) Given your previous study of and experience in global health, is DoD GHE global health?

Length: approximately 600 words (2 double-spaced pages)

You should reference appropriate resources (primarily from course content/lectures), with some from external sources (no specific reference format required). Assessments and opinions should be clear and supported.

4. Final Paper (Due 13 May 2020 at 23:55 ET)

Goal: Apply the lessons and practices discussed through the course to write a DoD Global Health Engagement program proposal.

Choose a country and functional area in which the DoD would likely engage in a military health/medical capacity. Step through the process of planning a Global Health Engagement with your country using the knowledge and tools developed over the length of this course.

Develop a multi-year, Mil-Mil or Mil-Mil-Civ health engagement plan aligned with two or more of the following strategic goals:

Promote local civilian confidence in the partner nation government.
Improve U.S. and partner nation force health protection.
Increase resiliency of the partner nation military health system.
Advance interoperability between U.S. and partner nation military forces.
Employ a multilateral approach, involving another partnered country in the region or with some tie to your chosen country or the U.S. military.
Demonstrate/model U.S. commitment to the principles of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda.

Your engagement plan should follow the outline below (with each component as a section of your paper):

In a one-page executive summary, provide key background information and a broad overview of the engagement. State your thesis: why should U.S. military leadership approve of and pursue your GHE activities with your selected country?
Define the strategic rationale and guidance for engagement with your country
- Why is the USG/DoD engaging with your country in general?
- Why is the USG/DoD engaging with your country in a health capacity?
- Include contextual country background to provide the strategic picture.
- How will your program further the two strategic goals you have identified.
Describe at least two distinct engagement activities that support the program, how they will help achieve the goals of your GHE program, and any key planning considerations.
Briefly identify and discuss how 1-2 specific issues of your selected country’s health/economic/political context will influence, challenge, or enable the planning and execution of your GHE activities.
Either describe (A) the elements of your monitoring and evaluation plan or (B) your communication strategy plan.
Do not forget to include a brief introduction and conclusion to the report itself. The executive summary does not take the place of a well-written introduction and conclusion!

Length: approximately 2000 words (6-8 double-spaced pages including the executive summary)

Note: a passing grade (60%) on this assignment is required to pass this course. Students may resubmit this assignment once if they do not receive a passing grade.

Grading Rubrics

PMO1022 Rubrics

Course Schedule

The course will proceed following the timeline below. The schedule may change depending on the pace of the course; faculty will inform you of any changes.

PMO1022 Course Schedule

USUHS Policies

Academic Honesty:

The USU policy on academic “cheating” is articulated in USU Instruction 1306, “Academic Standing of Graduate Students,” revised, effective January 1, 1996. It states, in part:

Students/fellows whose performance is academically unethical are subject to dismissal even though they are otherwise in good academic standing. Students/fellows shall not:

Use, attempt to use, or copy an unauthorized material during any examination or graded exercise;
Knowingly present the work of someone else as their own work without attribution;
Forge or alter for advantage any academic document;
Knowingly disregard instruction for the proper performance of any examination or graded exercise;
Intentionally impede or interfere with the ability of fellow students/fellows to use academic materials or to complete academic work; or
Knowingly assist a fellow student/fellow in any of the above activities.

In addition to those actions listed [above], the GEC [Graduate Education Committee] may determine that other actions demonstrate unethical academic behavior. This subject is extremely important and is treated as such by the USU community. If you have any questions or wish to discuss or review this policy, please see your program director or the Associate Dean for Graduate Education.

Accommodations for Disabilities:

"The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is committed to ensuring that graduate students with documented disabilities are provided with appropriate academic accommodations based on their needs. If you have (or think you may have) a disability, including a mental health, medical, learning, or physical impairment, that hinders your ability to access curriculum or co-curriculum programs or activities, please contact Laura M. Cutway, Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Development and Support within the Graduate Education Office (GEO). She may be reached at laura.cutway@usuhs.edu, 301.295.5102, or in Building A, Room 1005. Ms. Cutway will discuss with you the types of supports available, confidentiality, and the process for requesting accommodations."