UNM's newest major represents a liaison between the study of health care systems, finance and health policy and health law with an emphasis on prevention and wellness in communities.
Population health is the essence of trans-disciplinary science - not solely the combination of multiple disciplines, but rather a new science focused on answering complex questions about the sources of health and the causes of illness and disability.
The discipline:
Focuses on health improvement within populations.
Produces integrated knowledge and action regarding the societal, behavioral, biological and organizational system causes of health and disease. It also examines what creates health risks and what policies, health systems and public health practices are effective in curbing those risks.
Requires innovations in approaches to reducing disparities and improving population health.
Requires technological solutions to grass roots problems.
Will find practitioners and scientists from different backgrounds to come together and transcend the limits of their knowledge and expertise to create this new discipline.
Graduates will develop skills to promote the health of populations in a variety of domains that comprise the continuum from wellness to health care, from health systems to community systems, from health policy to community policies, and from economic theory to economic practices. They will find jobs in varied fields, including:
Business
Informatics
Engineering
Architecture and planning
Law
Medicine
Community advocacy
Political organizations
Policy analysis and evaluation
Community Advocacy
Disaster preparedness