MPH Launches Seminar Series on Politics of Public Health
2 min read
The American University of Armenia (AUA) Master of Public Health (MPH) program of the Turpanjian College of Health Sciences (CHS) recently completed curricular revisions to better align the program with accreditation requirements set by the US Council of Education for Public Health (CEPH) as well as incorporate feedback from students, faculty, and the program review process. The program learning outcomes were revised to also include the following competencies: “Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations” and “Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.”
To address these, the MPH program has introduced a new course on the Politics of Public Health taught by Provost Brian Ellison. The MPH program has also launched a series of public seminars on the politics of health. The first guest speaker was Dr. Arsen Torosyan on February 1, who lectured on the Politics of Health and Health System Reforms. Dr. Torosyan is a public health and health policy expert and a parliamentarian at the National Assembly since June 2021. He served as the Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia (2018-2021) and the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia (2021).
Prior to 2018, he held various positions in the public and private sectors as a health and management expert. Dr. Torosyan graduated from Yerevan State Medical University (MD) in 2004 and completed his residency in social hygiene and healthcare management in 2006 at the National Institute of Health, where he also received a PhD in Public Health and Healthcare Management in 2009. He also holds certificates from INSEAD Business School for completion of the European Health Leadership and Middle East Health Leadership programs.
In his lecture before an audience of MPH students, faculty, and researchers, he spoke about his unique perspective on approaching health challenges from various angles and how holding different positions in the Government and the National Assembly has helped him integrate perspectives from other sectors to advance policies that provide solutions to population health issues. In his talk, Dr. Torosyan drew on many examples from his experience working on reforms to improve the performance of the Armenian health system.
The AUA Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research, and evaluation, health care delivery, and management.
