Drs. Ian Pike, Shelina Babul and Mariana Brussoni teach a graduate course at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health (SPPH 555) titled: Principles and Practices of Injury Prevention. The course content has been designed to prepare students for the responsibilities they acquire when entering an academic, research or health care delivery work setting. Throughout the term, students learn from the practical experiences of the instructor, guest speakers, and fellow students. The course content is based on the Canadian Injury Prevention Curriculum (CIPC), which is focused on the theory and practice of injury prevention and control. Injury prevention is a broad concept and covers a wide spectrum of specific topics, issues, and subpopulations (e.g. fall-related injuries, injuries to children, seniors, or workers, poisonings, violence, suicide, car crashes, etc) – it is therefore not possible to cover all “content areas” during a single course. The major course assignment or final project however gives students the opportunity to study a more specific injury issue of their choice (further details below).

Course Objectives

  1. Gain knowledge of the magnitude of major injury causes, types and other classifications of injury.
  2. Describe the social, economic, behavioural and environmental contexts in which injuries occur.
  3. Become familiar with the strengths and limitations of research methods and data sources available for investigating and monitoring injuries.
  4. Understand the roles of public health, medicine, engineering, education, regulation, and economics in the prevention and treatment of injuries.
  5. Assess the effectiveness and unintended consequences of various public health approaches in the prevention of injuries.
  6. Strengthen students’ understanding of the development, implementation and evaluation of injury prevention interventions.
  7. Gain practical experience addressing a specific injury issue using the tools and concepts introduced in class.

Upon receiving a passing grade in the course, students receive a Certificate of Completion from the Canadian Collaborating Centres for Injury Prevention (CCCIP).

Course Structure

SPPH 555 is a mixed mode course. Students work with their instructors, teaching assistant and fellow students both online and face-to-face in the classroom. Key components of injury prevention are outlined through online lectures, guest lectures, online activities and pre-assigned readings. The course is divided into three main modules. Each module includes an online component and a face-to-face meeting. The online portion of this course includes a series of audio-lectures, an online activity and a live online teleconference. The face-to-face component of the course takes place over three days and includes guest lectures and small group discussions. The course is designed so that the online material supports and compliments the face-to-face meetings. Students connect these materials through thoughtful discussion and participation at these meetings. Contact BCIRPU for further details: bcinjury@bcchr.ca