Suggested Title of the Programme

Ph. D. in Epidemiology and Public Health

Or offer two separate PhDs viz PhD in Epidemiology / PhD in Public
Health provided the Ordinance of the University allows it.

Eligibility Criteria

1) Essential Educational Qualifications: The minimum academic qualification for

admission to the Direct Ph.D programme is a second class Master’s or equivalent
degree in the relevant subject awarded by a recognised university in India or abroad,
with at least an average of 55 per cent of aggregate marks, or a grade point average of
3.5 under the seven-point scale of the University Grants Commission (UGC). In the
case of SC/ST/OBC(non-creamy layer)/differently-abled candidates, the minimum
eligibility is an average of 50 per cent of aggregate marks, or a grade point average of
3.05.
2) Desired Qualifications/ Experiences: The programme suits for those candidates
who have an interest/ expertise/ practical exposure in the area of epidemiology and
public health. Relevant subjects include public health, epidemiology, social, social
work, sociology, life sciences, MD/ PSM/MVSc/MPH/, M.Sc Molecular Biology,
M.Sc Biochemistry, Masters in Lifesciences and relevant disciplines etc.., Clearing
JRF/ UGC-NET/ ICMR / Other exams conducted by similar government bodies will
be an added advantage. The candidates must have good understanding about their
proposed area of research. They must exhibit high level of commitment to pursue
research.

3) Admission Procedure: The candidates with JRF or similar scholarships from reputed
Government bodies will be exempted from appearing for the common entrance test
and are eligible to seek admission throughout the year. Such candidate with JRF or
similar scholarship has to appear for an interview and also present a research proposal
before the panel.
 Other candidates have to appear for an entrance test that will be conducted by the
department followed by a personal interview. (Twice a year in Jan and Sep).

4) Research Proposal

Submission of a research proposal is a compulsory requirement for admission to the

Ph.D. Programme. A research proposal consisting of approximately 1,000 words should
accompany the proposal and indicate the Specification of the broad field of study,
Statement of the research problem and scope and objectives of the study, rationale for and
the significance of the study, methodology to be followed by references.

5) Description
The PhD Programme offered by the Department of EPH is one of the few academic
programmes in the field of public health at the university level in the country. The
programme is conceptualized in light of the growing demand for public health experts
in the country. The field challenges its professionals to confront complex health
issues, such as improving access to health care, control and prevention of
communicable
and non-communicable disease, and reducing environmental hazards, violence,
substance abuse, and injury by sensitizing the community.

Once admitted, the student has to do the course work (16 credits) which is mandatory,
before starting to work with his/ her thesis/ research proposal. The PhD programme
prepares scholars to conduct in-depth research. The students will be trained as
independent researchers, teachers and leaders and equip them with strong academic
background through coursework, expose them to state-of-the-art experimental
approaches through research work, develop analytical skills through writing a thesis.

Coursework consists of 16 credits (4 credit 4 papers. Three papers mandatory and

one elective paper).
Paper 1 Credit 4 Introduction to Public Health

Paper II Credit 4 Epidemiology

Paper III Credit 4 Research Methodology

Paper IV- Electives offered by respective supervisors

In addition to the above mentioned papers the following workshops/ seminars are
proposed

1. Review and Scientific Paper Writing

2. Proposal Writing
3. Analysis of Quantitative Data- SPSS, Epi Info etc software traning
4. Analysis of qualitative Data
5. Weekly Seminar/ Journal Club: Critical Appraisal of Published journal articles

Paper I
Introduction to Public Health (Credit 4, L:T:P)
UNIT I Public Health- a general framework
Core functions and scope of public health, Concepts of Health, Disease, natural
history of diseases and its application in planning interventions, Health Systems,
Health Service Systems, Public health, Community health, Clinical Medicine. History
and evolution of Public Health. Public health events - Sanitary awakening, Germ
theory of disease, Rise of Public Health in various countries
Priorities, Need Satisfaction, Efficiency, Equity, Quality of Services in public health
system.

Spectrum of Health, Health Care System- Characteristics, levels and primary health
care approach in health care delivery.

UNIT II Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, core competencies in public

health

Health Care Vs Medical Care , Global Burden of Diseases, SDGs, Health education/
communication-concept, principles, models, practice. Basic concept in disease
control, determinants of health - Biological, Behavioural, Socio-economic, Cultural,
Environmental, Geographical. Role of International organisations, NGOs,
Government/ civil society in health promotion and disease prevention.

Globalisation and health; commercialisation and privatisation of health care.

 Public health surveillance, public health preparedness, investigation of an outbreak,
public health impact assessment.

UNIT III Health Service System, Policy and National Programmes in India
Indian Health Systems, Health Care Delivery System in India Organization
Administration Delivery Challenges Quality assurance Health Care Delivery
by NGO’s ,Challenges.
Systems perspective in public health.
WHO framework for analysing health systems
Historical evolution and growth of health services in British and Independent India.
Introduction to Major National programmes related to communicable and non-
communicable diseases, NRHM.
Health Policy, equity, access and quality in health policy, India’s national health
policy and its analysis.

Unit IV Current Concerns in Public Health

Comparative health systems, regulating private health sector, public-private
partnership/ civil society and health, global health diplomacy, right to health, public
health ethics.

Readings
Oxford textbook of Public Health Ed. Roger Detels, James Mcewen, Robert
Beaglehole, and Heizo Tanaka Oxford University Press (OUP) 4th Edition: 2002.28

Preventive and Social Medicine, K Park, Bansaridas Bhanot Publishing House.

Mary-Jane Schneider, Introduction to Public Health, 2nd Ed... Jones and Bartlett,
2006.
Editorial (1985): “The Distinction between Public Health and
Community/Social/Preventive Medicine”. Journal of Public Health Policy, December.
2
Essentials of Public Heath - BJ Turnock. Jones & Bartlett, 2007.

S. M., & Churchill, R. E. (2000). Principles and practice of public healthsurveillance.

Oxford University Press, USA.

Rosen, George, (1971):"Historical Trends and Future Prospects in Public Health” in

McKeown, T. and McLachlan, T. (eds) Medical History and Medical Care: A
Symposium of Perspectives, Nuffield Provincial Hospital Trust, London, 1971.
Kishore J. (2005): National Anti Malaria Program. National Health Programs of India,
5th Edition, pp. 138-154.

Basu S and Gupta P (2007): Malaria in Piyush Gupta and O P Ghai ed. Textbook of
Preventive and Social Medicine, 2nd Edition, pp. 216-229

Gandhi V and Gupta P (2007): “Leprosy” in Piyush Gupta and O P Ghai ed. Textbook
of Preventive and Social Medicine, 2nd Edition, pp. 256264

Sharma, D. (2003): “India makes poor tuberculosis progress in 2002”, in Lancet, vol.
3, Issue 5, May 1, pg 265

Chhabra, Rami (2007) National AIDS control Programme: A Critique Economic and
Political Weekly, VOL 42 No. 02 January 13 - January 19, PP 1103-108.

Sathyalamala, C. (1989): “Immunization” in Seminar No. 354

Leavell, H. R., & Clark, E. G. (1958). Preventive Medicine for the Doctor in his
Community. An Epidemiologic Approach. Preventive Medicine for the Doctor in
hisCommunity. An Epidemiologic Approach.

Public Health and Preventive Medicine (Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health and

Preventive Medicine) by Robert B. Wallace
Essentials of Preventive medicine by Ghai OP

Public Health at the Crossroads – Achievements and Prospects. Robert Beaglehole

and Ruth Bonita 2nd Edition Cambridge University Press
Health Care Policy: Issues and Trends, Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld , Publisher: Praege,
2002
Health Care and Public Policy by David A. Reisman, published by Edward Elgar
publishing, UK, 2007.
Health Planning in India by G. Ramachandrud.
 PAPER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH ETHICS (Credit 4, L:T:P)

Unit I Philosophy of Research in Health

Approaches in Public Health Research- Epidemiological research, clinical research
Interdisciplinary social science approaches
Systems Analysis and Operational research.
Epistemology of Science, ethics of health research
General principles of research: Meaning and importance of research, Critical thinking,
Formulating hypothesis and development of research plan, Review of literature, developing a
research question and problem statement.
Unit II Designs, Methods and Tools
Types of research designs and its relevance. Descriptive/epidemiological studies–Cross
sectional, Operational Research and correlation studies. Analytical Studies-Case control
study, Cohort study Experimental Studies- Quasi-experimental Studies & Clinical trials-
Introduction to various types and its application .
Overview of quantitative and qualitative research methods, Comparing quantitative &
qualitative research methods, mixed method and its relevance, Sampling and sample size in
research.
Research Methods -Qualitative (Development of conceptual framework, - Qualitative
methods: FGDs, in-depth interviews, ethnographies, participatory methods, participant
observation etc. Data collection, recording), Participatory Reach and Analysis Methods
(PRA)
Research Instruments: designing and validation of questionnaire, interview schedule,
participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, clinical method, and
validation of consent forms.
UNIT III- Data Analysis, Interpretation and Report Writing
Concept & applications of descriptive statistics – collection, measurement, presentation and
analysis of medical & public health data–Measures of Central Tendency, Measures of
Variability, Coefficient of Variation.
Concept of probability distributions – Binomial, Poison, Normal and t distributions
Statistical Inference Estimation of Population Parameters – Standard Errors, Confidence
Intervals Testing of Hypothesis and Significance – Introduction & Concept Parametric
Tests–Small samples & large samples & Quantitative and qualitative data – Z test, t test, X2
test, ANOVA, F test, Multivariate Analysis Non-parametric Tests Correlation – Concept
and Computation of Correlation Coefficient Regression - Concept and Computation of
Regression Coefficient
Distinguish qualitative methodological approaches –interpretive to positivist. Ethnography,
case study, narrative inquiry, phenomenology, grounded theory, action research, content
analysis, discourse analysis; appreciate their advantages and limitations for research in public
health.
UNIT IV- Bioethics and ethics in health research
Bio ethics, General principle on ethical consideration involving human participants, Ethical
guidelines in qualitative research. General ethical guidelines in public health research.

References

Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (2007). What is health policy and systems
research and why does it matter? WHO and AHPSR.
Le Roy J. and Sen K. (eds.) (2000): ‘Introduction’, in Health Systems and Social
Development: An Alternative Paradigm in Health Systems Research, European Commission,
Brussels, pp: 1-6.
Bio-Statistics: A foundation for Analysis in the Health Sciences: Daniel, W.W., John Wiley
and Sons Pub., Canada, 1991.
Bio-Statistics: A Manual of statistical methods for use in the Health, Nutrition and
Anthropology: K. Vishwas Rao, Jaypee Brothers Medical Pub., New Delhi, 1996.
Bio-Statistics perspective in Health care research and practice: Verma, B.L., Shukla, G.D.,
et., al , C.B.S. Pub. New Delhi 1993.
Handbook of Statistics: Krishnaiah, P.K. Rao, C.R. (ed), Elsevier Science Pub. Netherlands,
1988.
Health Research Methods – A Guide for Training in Research Methods, World Health
Organization, Manila, 2001
Research Methodology by A.P.Kulkarni Power Publication, Calcutta
Research Methods by Good & Hatt
Introduction To Epidemiologic Research Methods In Public Health Practice by Susan
Bailey, Deepa Handu Published by Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1st edition, 2012
Booth, W, G Colomb & J Williams. The Craft of Research. 4th ed Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2008
Maxwell, Joseph. Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach. 3nd ed. Thousand
Oaks: Sage, 2013
Miles, M., M Huberman & J. Saldaña. Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook.
3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2014.