Disease in America. An incredibly effective and well tolerated cure was developed in the early 2000s – a true scientific breakthrough – but nearly 20 years later, treatment rates remain low and millions of Americans remain infected. What’s happened? What has made it so difficult to deliver this miracle of biomedicine to the people who need it? Drawing upon virology, pharmacology, epidemiology, public policy, medical anthropology, sociology, and ethics we will cover topics such as drug pricing, health insurance, diagnostic technologies, substance use disorders, mass incarceration, and stigma. Through a careful examination of this one clinical condition, students will understand the scientific, structural, and social fault-lines of the U.S. health care system and will be prepared to develop their own creative and interdisciplinary solutions to one of the most pressing public health dilemmas of our time.
No scientific background or other prerequisites are required, but we will cover basic biology, clinical medicine, and epidemiology of hepatitis C.
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