July 3, 2017

The second annual Urban Health Summer Institute, held June 26 to 30, 2017, grew to offer three courses to 41 participants. Introduction to Multilevel Analysis was offered again, while Health Impact Assessments and Applied Public Health Research and Introduction to Bayesian Analysis for Public and Urban Health were offered for the first time.

On Thursday, June 29, as part of the hands-on course in Health Impact Assessments and Applied Public Health Research, participants met for an site tour of the Nicetown-Tioga section of North Philadelphia, where participants were tasked with collecting primary data in the redeveloping neighborhood. Participants also had the opportunity to meet with business owners and community members to understand public health issues that may be unique to the neighborhood, and discuss ways to broaden public participation and promote equity. One participate said of the course, "I loved the scaling of information to our respective work areas, and how this information can be practically applied. Thank you so much for offering this course! I gained huge value from meeting so many diverse amazing people in class alone."

The participants’ responses to the post-institute evaluations were positive, with many remarking not only on the format, but also the instructors' experience and level of engagement with participants. One course participant, who took the Introduction to Multilevel Analysis course, remarked on the course format, saying that they appreciated the "opportunity to learn a method that's not readily accessible in other formats."