Certificate Program

Human-centered Design and Development of Community Health Intervention (HCD-DCHI)

Key Information

  • PROGRAM OFFERING DATE: October 31, 2026

  • DURATION AND MODE:  Total 16 weeks; Virtual Lectures: 8 weeks
    Experiential Learning: 8 weeks (available in both virtual/in-person)

  • PROGRAM FEE: ₹8,000

  • TIME COMMITMENT: 1 hour per week lecture + self-paced Learning

  • Admissions are open for our next session. Click on Apply Online and submit your application.

Program Overview

Human-centered Design and Development of Community Health Intervention (HCD-DCHI) is a discipline that focuses on crafting tailored strategies specifically designed for implementation in community settings, ensuring they are human-centered, accessible and contextually appropriate. Community-based health interventions refer to programs and initiatives that aims to improve the health and well-being of specific population groups within a defined local community.

Human-centered Design and Development of Community Health Intervention (HCD-DCHI) is a discipline that focuses on crafting tailored strategies specifically designed for implementation in community settings, ensuring they are human-centered, accessible and contextually appropriate. Community-based health interventions refer to programs and initiatives that aims to improve the health and well-being of specific population groups within a defined local community.

Students gain skills to assess the unique needs of diverse populations and develop scalable, adaptable programs that align with community priorities. By focusing on real-world applications, the discipline equips students with the tools to bridge the gap between public health theory and practice. HCD-DCHI empower students to advocate for health equity, drive community engagement, and implement evidence-based interventions that effectively address local health challenges. They gain the confidence to collaborate with various stakeholders, including community leaders, healthcare providers, and policymakers, ensuring that interventions are not only effective but also sustainable and culturally relevant. Through hands-on experiences and practical training, students emerge as proactive change-makers dedicated to improving health outcomes and fostering resilience within their communities.

Students explore the role of economic factors in designing and managing community health interventions to achieve sustainable improvements in public health. Some broader topics covered include community needs assessment and resource mapping, behavior theories and models, human resource management (HRM), project planning, community engagement, ethical considerations, health disparities, program planning and implementation of digital health interventions, evaluation, and dissemination of interventions.

The core objective of the program is to provide students with the skills to assess community health needs and develop tailored, evidence-based interventions that promote health improvement. Through a focus on real-world applications and integrating human-centered design concept, students learn to engage communities effectively and implement sustainable health initiatives.

Based on the principles of Bloom’s Taxonomy, learning outcomes of the program include:

  1. Identify key concepts and terminology related to community health needs, health promotion, community engagement, health disparities, and implementation science.
  2. Acquainting learners with the impact of economic aspects in shaping community health outcomes.
  3. Comprehend behaviour change theories so that interventions or public health programs can be tailored to address specific determinants of behavior, leading to more effective and sustainable health outcomes.
  4. Exhibit competency in translating public health theories into practice through the development of a community health intervention plan.
  5. Proficiently manage human resources while planning a project tailored to the specific needs of a community and to foster their engagement.
  6. Appraise and critique the appropriateness of various community health interventions or programs to determine their strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for different populations.
  7. Evaluate community health interventions by employing appropriate methods and disseminate the key findings to support evidence-based decision making.
  8. Develop a comprehensive, culturally sensitive community health intervention that addresses identified health disparities.

The program is delivered virtually which spans 4 months. It includes 2 months of virtual training and 2 months of experiential learning (virtual/in-person). The entire program includes 8 topics. Each topic is delivered weekly in the form of weekly lectures, case studies, hands-on exercises, and reading material. Assessments are conducted both during and after the module completion. Students also participate in various community outreach activities.

  • COPHI (Community of Population Health Informatics): Fortnightly interaction on our discussion forum
  • Monthly research seminar series
  • Opportunity to participate in community outreach initiatives, implementing public health/digital interventions
  • Participation in our v-INSPIRE experiential learning program that aims to enhance academic and non-academic skills of students by providing an innovative and participatory learning experience
  • Participation in our Career and Mentorship Program (CAMP) that aims to provide students an opportunity to explore career pathways in the field of public health. 
  • Opportunity to engage in hackathon/ and other innovative initiatives
  • Opportunity to participate in national and international conferences

This is a flexible, self-paced program (including both Asynchronous and synchronous learning), with interactive teaching, through a series of weekly lectures, case studies, reading material and discussions. In addition, the program will utilize problem-based learning approaches to assess student skills, knowledge and competencies. Additionally, the program offers a platform for students to voice their opinions on the Discussion Forum and periodic seminars along with hands-on research experience.

 

Module Topics Teaching and Activity
1 Community Needs Assessment and Resource Mapping Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
2 Economic Aspects of Health Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
3 Behaviour Change Theories and Models Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
4 Fundamentals of Community-Based Health Interventions Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
5 Design and Develop Intervention Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
6 Human Resource Management (HRM) and Healthcare in Community-based Settings Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
7 Implementation Science: From Design to Practice Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
8 Evaluation and Dissemination of Intervention Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
8-week experiential learning program featuring research seminars/case study–based learning.

  • Gain an understanding of implementation science for translating health intervention designs into practice
  • Gain an understanding of the role of human-centered design and digital interventions that can play in community health interventions.
  • Acquire skills in developing and implementing community-based health interventions using behaviour change theories across diverse geographic settings
  • Acquire skills to monitor and evaluate the impact of community-based health interventions.
  • Opportunity to participate in digital-based health initiatives.
  • Opportunity to build their portfolio for furthering their career across multiple healthcare pathways
  • Guidance and Mentorship to publish their research work in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
  • A certificate will be provided upon participation in the Experiential Learning, in addition to successful completion of the certificate program.