About this Course

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This course covers chemicals in our environment and in our bodies and how they impact our health. It addresses policies and practices related to chemicals, particularly related to how they get into our bodies (exposures), what they do when they get there (toxicology), how we measure them (biomonitoring) and their impact on our health. Most examples are drawn from the US.

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

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Beginner Level

Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.73/5 (368 Ratings)

Dr. Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD

Director of the Masters Programs in Environmental Health

Bloomberg School of Public Health

78,463 Learners

2 Courses

Beth A. Resnick, MPH

Associate Scientist

Health Policy and Management

69,898 Learners

2 Courses

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(5,229 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Week 1: Welcome & Introduction

Start off this week with the peer assessment (we know, we know. . .how can we have an assessment before the course even starts, right?). We simply hope to gauge your initial understanding of the topics that we’ll cover (so grade easy).

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 65 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

5 videos

Lecture 0: Chemicals and Health: Course Overview - Megan Latshaw14mLecture 1A: Chemicals in Our Environment: What Is a Chemical and How Are We Exposed - Burke7mLecture 1B: Chemicals in Our Environment: What Is a Chemical and How Are We Exposed - Burke8mLecture 1C: Chemicals in Our Environment: What Is a Chemical and How Are We Exposed - Burke21mThe Chemical Revolution - Megan Latshaw14m

2 readings

Syllabus10mGrading10m

Week2

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Week 2 - Toxicology: What do chemicals do in our bodies?

Now that you have a sense of what a chemical is, and how we are exposed to them, we dive into the science of how chemicals impact our health, starting with toxicology. But before you dive into the study of poisons, please review, evaluate, and grade at least four of your classmates' submissions from last week. After you listen to the lectures by Professor Trush, take the ten-question/multiple-choice quiz that covers weeks 1 & 2. Feel free to go back and use the lectures to help you answer the questions.

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 33 min)

Week3

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Week 3 - Biomonitoring: How do we measure these chemicals in our bodies and why?

Start by watching a two-minute video and a five-minute news report. Post your reactions not only to the video and audio files, but also to your peers’ thoughts!

1 hour to complete

2 videos (Total 37 min)

Week4

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Week 4 - Health effects of chemicals: How do we figure out how chemicals affect our health?

Finally we get to one of the main questions presented in this course - how do scientists assess the impact of chemicals on our health? You’ll hear from a physician who specializes in environmental & occupational medicine and epidemiology. Then you’ll hear how policymakers use the knowledge that we do have (about chemicals & health) to assess risk and drive policy. Once you’ve viewed the two lectures, another ten-question/multiple-choice quiz will assess how much information you absorbed from weeks 3 and 4. Feel free to go back and use the lectures to help you answer the questions.

1 hour to complete

2 videos (Total 57 min)

Week5

Week 5

3 hours to complete

Week 5 - Chemicals Policy: What do we do about chemicals & health?

So far we’ve covered: how chemicals get into our bodies and how we measure them, what our bodies do with them and what they do to our bodies, and how that ultimately impacts our health. Now we turn to policy and how society addresses the impact of chemicals on health.

We will hear from a non-profit group that works to change policies such as laws & regulations related to this area. Then we’ll hear how such changes have impacted our health and environment historically, looking specifically at air quality regulation in the US. After you view the lectures in Module 5, there is a second peer-reviewed writing assessment that aims to gauge your shift in understanding the complex relationship between chemicals and health (again grade each other generously).

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 59 min)

Week6

Week 6

2 hours to complete

Week 6: Case Studies

At this point you may be wondering: so how do all these pieces fit together? From chemicals in our natural world to production on a large scale, through exposure to health effects and policy . . . this module provides real world examples of how the general public, scientists, industry, governments and non-profit groups come together to effect change. Specifically, we’ll hear about tobacco, contaminated food, drinking water, nanotechnology & worker health. At some point this week (either before, after or in-between listening to the case studies), you’ll need to review, evaluate, and grade at least four of your classmates' submissions from last week. The final lecture offers a summary & conclusion, hopefully providing ideas for next steps for those of you interested in learning or doing more related to chemicals & health. Please let us know how we did and how we can improve!

2 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 114 min)

6 videos

Lecture 10: Cotinine and Secondhand Tobacco Smoke in New York - Aldous16mLecture 11: Chemicals and Cigarettes - Cohen20mLecture 12: Arsenic Exposure from Food: How It Gets There, Why We Should Care, How to Reduce Exposure - Rangan17mLecture 13: Drinking Water in the US - Schwab21mLecture 14: Nanotechnology & Worker Health - Breysse15mLecture 15: Course Wrap-Up - Resnick and Burke22m

Reviews

4.7

337 reviews

5 stars
77.35%
4 stars
19.03%
3 stars
2.31%
2 stars
0.68%
1 star
0.60%

TOP REVIEWS FROM CHEMICALS AND HEALTH

by OHJan 24, 2023

It is already very useful course providing me with a lot of information and knowledge. actually I advice anyone interested in toxicology to be enrolled in this course

by ARSep 21, 2020

This course is really good. The lectures are precise and nicely explained. From this course I gained knowledge about toxicity of chemicals, impact of chemicals to human health etc.

by MCAug 12, 2020

Very interesting and educational. The lectures were divided into smaller ones so it didn't feel like a lot of time was spent watching the lectures, which was good!

by MMOct 31, 2019

It's an eyes opening and enriching course. So many important issues and their solutions were discussed in detail. Thank you Johns Hopkins University and Coursera.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Chemicals and Health

Chemicals and Health

About this Course