Introduction

In the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Strathmore University Business School and New York University School of Global Public Health have partnered to offer the Behavioral Communication Strategies for Coronavirus programme. It will be facilitated by faculty from both schools, giving you a chance to draw from the COVID-19 response experiences from different parts of the world.

The course focuses on the integration of three public health disciplines for emergency action: epidemiology, behavioral health/intervention research and public health communication to provide students with a knowledge base and foundation of skills to design and implement strategies in disease prevention and response in outbreaks and humanitarian situations.

Programme Objective

The goal of the course is for participants to develop proposals aimed at reducing exposure risk and mitigating the anxiety that has taken hold of communities all over the world. This highly interactive course engages leading experts that are directly involved in the COVID-19 response.

By the end of the course, participants will understand the theoretical, operational, and methodological parameters needed to communicate and change behaviors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

They will further acquire a set of skills to create, design, and evaluate such communication programs in the field.

Target Participants

The programme is targeted towards healthcare professionals from the National government, County governments, Faith-based organizations, Private for-Profit health organization, NGO’s among others.

The course especially targets health professionals, who are already engaged in or are interested in building skills and competencies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

Entirely Online

Through a combination of traditional online modules and virtual “live” sessions

We will discuss how social and cultural practices, processes, and interactions shape the population distribution of the disease and produce social inequalities that impact disease control and primary prevention.

We analyze the public health communication, covering risk management and perception, health literacy and community engagement.

The “live”, interactive, expert sessions will take place in weekday evenings (East African Time) from 6.00 pm until 8.00 pm, Tuesday (01/ Sept) through Tuesday (6/ Oct).

Programme Delivery

All of the foundational materials, readings and other resources are available online and the virtual “live” sessions will be held via a series of Zoom meetings that will also be recorded and made available to all participants.

Additionally, each team will have a designated discussion board moderated by both faculty and peer mentors who have taken the Behavioral Communication Strategies for Global Epidemics (BCSE) course, offered in the New York University School of Global Public Health in the past.

Teams are expected to be in close communication throughout the course in order to effectively design their proposals.

A certificate of completion will be awarded to all participants that engage fully with the course.

Key Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme you should be able to:

  • Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue
  • Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice
  • Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
  • Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
  • Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which include creating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guiding decision making
  • Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
  • Select methods to evaluate public health programs
  • Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention

World-Class Faculty

Faculty members (from the two schools) hold PhDs from leading universities and reflect different nationalities, giving them a unique perspective on today’s complex business landscape.

Through the integrated expertise, participants gain a comprehensive view of business, with the distinct needs of healthcare business leaders in Africa kept sharply in focus.

You will meet recognized thought leaders, skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, among others. They will empower you to become the visionary leader in your career, your organization, and the global economy demand. The diversity among the facilitators gives you a chance to draw experience from different parts of the world

About the Institute of Healthcare Management

The face of healthcare is dynamic and more complex than ever, with technological innovations, new treatments, new laws & regulations, and new types of healthcare service delivery models.

In addition to negotiating the day-to-day demands of a busy and complex organisation, healthcare delivery leaders need to evaluate and understand the impact of different healthcare delivery models and major service delivery programmes in specific disease areas.

The Institute of Healthcare Management has developed over time of programmes to help healthcare leaders and managers cope with this ever-changing landscape.

Executive Healthcare Programmes - Brochure Request Form

Developing Great African Leaders

Key Details


Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm (East African Time – GMT+3)

Online Delivery: Traditional online modules and Interactive “live” sessions

We have a limited number of partial scholarships (10-20%) for the programme participant


For more information on the programme, write to David Ngachi on dngachi@strathmore.edu or sbshealthcare@strathmore.edu or

call +254 782 484 809 or +254 (0) 703 034 757.

Testimonial

“This was a very educative course. I have gained a lot. The gains not fully related to COVID-19 but more on how to approach public health epidemics. At a personal level, I have gained knowledge on a number of things most important on how to communicate effectively. The programme was executed by the most knowledgeable experts of our time. The breakout sessions were great. The group discussions were very helpful. The motivation of funding a winning project placed each one of us to give our best and by so doing made us appreciate our worth of content. This course work has placed me ahead of my colleagues where I work. I have become a think tank on public health interventions.”

– Kennedy Wakoli

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