Certificate Program

Principles of Health Policy, Advocacy and Leadership (PHPAL)

Key Information

  • PROGRAM OFFERING DATE: 19 December, 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

Program Overview

In an evolving healthcare landscape, awareness of policy changes and regulatory frameworks is crucial for health care students and professionals who strive to provide high-quality care while navigating complex reimbursement systems. It is an extreme need for health care students to develop leadership and advocacy skills, enabling them to protect not only patient care but also vital research initiatives and access to innovative technologies.

In an evolving healthcare landscape, awareness of policy changes and regulatory frameworks is crucial for health care students and professionals who strive to provide high-quality care while navigating complex reimbursement systems. It is an extreme need for health care students to develop leadership and advocacy skills, enabling them to protect not only patient care but also vital research initiatives and access to innovative technologies.

Principles of Health Policy, Advocacy and Leadership (PHPAL) is a discipline that emphasizes the critical role of effective policy-making and advocacy in shaping health outcomes and promoting health equity. It focuses on the importance of understanding the legislative and regulatory frameworks that govern healthcare delivery and the need for healthcare professionals to engage actively in these processes.

PHPAL empower the learners with advocacy and communication skills to articulate the needs of individuals and the healthcare system, influence policy decisions, and promote reforms that prioritize health equity. Developing these skills is vital not only for individual practices but also for the broader healthcare community. Healthcare professionals seeking to thrive should actively engage in advocacy efforts that promote systemic changes. This active participation can help create a healthcare environment that emphasizes collaboration, inclusivity, and adaptability to the evolving needs of society. Through collective efforts to advocate for comprehensive health policies, professionals can drive initiatives that improve access to care, enhance public health outcomes, and foster a culture of health equity that benefits all community members.

Students will cover broad range of topics including public health, its challenges, fundamentals of health policy, design and development of policies, evaluation and analysis of health policies, health equity, essentials of advocacy and its strategies, leadership development and its management. In addition, students get orientation to innovations and ethical considerations in policy, advocacy and leadership.

The core objective of program is to build the competency of the healthcare professionals to design, develop, implement, evaluate data driven, evidence-based health policy, advocacy strategies and effectively lead to navigate the public health landscape to promote equitable access to care and improve health outcomes.

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

  1. Define key concepts of public health challenges, health policy, advocacy, and leadership, including their role in addressing health inequities and community health.
  2. Explore different styles of leadership and their significance in achieving population health.
  3. Acquaint with the leadership strategies to address public health challenges, foster collaboration, and drive systemic changes for improved health outcomes.
  4. Demonstrate the competency to apply advocacy strategies and leadership principles to address public health challenges and propose innovative solutions for real-world scenarios.
  5. Examine the opportunities and challenges in developing and implementing public health policies to achieve population well-being
  6. Develop innovative health policies and advocacy plans, incorporating ethical frameworks, leadership strategies, and evidence-based approaches.

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 Fundamentals of Health Policy and Challenges Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
2 Design and Development of Health Policies Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
3 Evaluation and Analysis of Health Policies Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
4 Essentials of Advocacy and its strategies Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
5 Innovations in Policy and Advocacy Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
6 Advocacy Evaluation: Tools and Methods Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
7 Public Health Leadership and Management Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
8 Ethical Considerations in Policy, Advocacy, and Leadership Lecture, Reading and Class Discussion
8-week experiential learning program featuring research seminars/case study–based learning.

 

  • Acquire skills in creating actionable plans by integrating policy, advocacy, and leadership principles to enhance community well-being across diverse geographic settings.
  • Leverage digital tools and technologies to enhance advocacy efforts and promote health equity in policy initiatives.
  • Opportunity to acquire skills in problem-solving, leadership and communication.
  • Opportunity to present research findings at national and international conferences
  • 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.