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University of Illinois Chicago
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University of Illinois Chicago

School of Public Health

UI Health is UIC’s academic health enterprise

Next information sessions Heading link

Mar 23 2023
SPH Graduate Information Session
Thursday, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Zoom

Public health degrees for health justice Heading link

Centered in the nation's largest urban medical district, our push for health equity and social justice starts at home in Chicago neighborhoods. Across numerous CDC, NIH and World Health Organization projects and global collaboration spanning 65 countries, our mission remains the same: to confront and mitigate social, economic and political determinants of health so that people across the globe can pursue their full life opportunities.
An aerial view of the Illinois Medical District, with the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan in the background.

Our latest efforts Heading link

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers press briefing at the Pentagon.
A National Security Case for Public Health Infrastructure and Universal Healthcare
Monday, March 13, 2023
Professor Ashley Bieniek-Tobasco argues cuts to public health funding and lack of healthcare access for American citizens represent strategic threats to the United States.
Coal miners walk together after a work shift.
Modern coal miners suffering higher fatality rates from lung diseases
Monday, March 6, 2023
Coal miners have significantly increased odds of death from lung diseases compared to the U.S. general population, and this disparity has also worsened over time with modern miners facing greater risk than their predecessors.
SPH professor co-authors national policy statement on healthy work
Monday, February 13, 2023
SPH's Preethi Pratap is one of several national experts arguing for just, equitable and healthy economic development of decent work.

Policing and public health Heading link

The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in encounters with police captured the nation's conscience in 2020. But even these high profile cases cannot alone illuminate the scale of the effects on public health that can be caused by law enforcement activity. SPH faculty are building a surveillance system for Chicago, Illinois and the nation to systematically track and describe civilian injuries and deaths in interactions with law enforcement.
Timeline graphic that displays a chronological sequence of events.

Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project

An underpass on Chicago's south side contains a mural showing a wide variety of people, with differences in age, size and ethnicities.

Democratizing population health data

We believe citizens should play an active role in improving the public health of their own neighborhoods and communities. SPH's PHAME Center is strengthening access to timely, detailed and understandable health data.

Advancing health justice

All people should have the power and resources to have agency over their health, which requires addressing systems of oppression such as classism, racism, sexism and xenophobia.

Public health isn't an action performed on others

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for citizens to be collaborators in public health. We're building capacity for citizen scientists as researchers and contact tracers.

Global health Heading link

SPH students, faculty and staff are collaborating in 65 countries around the world. Our global health concentration builds on-the-ground experience for MPH and MS students, and our bidirectional emphasis is strengthening training of public health leaders in other nations, notably Indonesia, Cuba and Mexico.
A health screener meets with a female worker in Kisumu to talk about personal health outcomes.
A streetscape in Cuernavaca, Mexico
An artisanal gold miner sifts through silt combined with mercury as part of a gold mining process.
MPH student Colin Hendrickson poses for a photo holding up two vials of water at a water purification station in Kenya.

SPH Program in Kenya

SPH students travel to Kisumu City each year, working with community partners on HIV/AIDS interventions, sexual and reproductive health, safe water access, interpersonal violence, tobacco cessation and LGBTQ health.

Learn More About SPH Program in Kenya

SPH Program in Mexico

In partnership with Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, SPH students travel to Cuernavaca, capital of Morelos state, to work with community partners addressing community health challenges in the region and country.

Learn More About SPH Program in Mexico

World Health Organization Collaborating Center

SPH's World Health Organization Collaborating Center focuses primarily on occupational and environmental health and is a global leader in training occupational health practitioners to address the health and safety needs of informal workers around the world.

Learn More About World Health Organization Collaborating Center

Global Health Research Portfolio

SPH leads the way in developing and testing interventions and programs to investigate causes of disease, improve health and deliver acceptable, feasible and affordable services. Underlying our efforts, we prioritize equity, compassion and idealism as we address health equities and human rights worldwide.

Learn More About Global Health Research Portfolio

Environmental justice Heading link

All too often, the burdens of pollutants, toxic emissions and climate change disproportionately impact people in low and lower-middle income communities. At SPH, we're committed to strengthening environmental justice, the principle that all people should be protected from environmental pollution and have the right to a clean and healthy environment.
An SPH water quality expert holds up a bottle of water holding a sample of Lake Michigan water to be tested for bacteria.
Cars travel down Hasted street at night past UIC's campus.

Take the next step Heading link

Home page image credits include:

Richard Hurd © Creative Commons
Peter Dahlgren © Creative Commons