Free 20-Lesson Course

CPH Exam PathwayCertified in Public Health Exam Prep

CPH Exam Pathway is a 20-lesson independent course on the body of knowledge the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam tests, built on the public content outline, candidate handbook, sample questions and reference list that NBPHE publishes. Lesson 0 explains eligibility, the exam format, scoring and the ten weighted domains. Lessons 1 to 17 teach the ten domains one or two lessons at a time, each tied to its task statements, and Lessons 18 and 19 close with a cross-domain synthesis, exam strategy, a 50-question mixed review and recertification. After the course, a learner can build a study plan weighted by domain, work single best answer and scenario set practice items, and explain the core concepts in every domain. The course is not affiliated with or endorsed by NBPHE and does not confer certification.

Start with Lesson 0Watch the playlist on YouTube
20video lessons
23 h 40 mintotal runtime
200quiz questions
7 of 20 videos released so far; new lessons added as they go live
Free Course
CPH Exam
Pathway
Produced by Subthesis

Course at a glance

20
Video lessons
About 70 minutes each
10
Exam domains
Each lesson tied to its task statements
200
Quiz questions
Ten per lesson, every answer explained

Course outline

20 lessons across the ten exam domains, plus an orientation and a capstone · ~24 hours total · click any lesson to start

Course Orientation

  1. Lesson 0

    How the CPH Exam Works: Eligibility, Blueprint, Scoring

    65 min
    • Describe the exam format: 200 items in four hours, 175 scored and 25 unscored pretest items
    • Explain why a scaled passing score of 500 is not a raw count or a percentage
    • State the four eligibility pathways and the standard pathway's three options

Domain 1: Data, Analytics, and Informatics

  1. Lesson 1

    CPH Domain 1: Data Sources and Epidemiologic Measures

    71 min
    • Differentiate primary from secondary data and match sources such as BRFSS, NHANES and vital statistics to a question
    • Distinguish validity from reliability and name content, criterion and construct validity
    • Spot item-writing flaws such as double-barreled and leading questions
  2. Lesson 2

    CPH Domain 1: Statistics, Visualization, and Surveillance

    71 min
    • Compute the mean, median, range and interquartile range and choose the right center for skewed data
    • Read a box plot and apply the 68-95-99.7 rule
    • Interpret confidence intervals, p-values and Type I and Type II errors

Domain 2: Communication

  1. Lesson 3

    CPH Domain 2: Health Literacy and Communication Plans

    73 min
    • Define personal and organizational health literacy as Healthy People 2030 states them
    • Apply plain language, teach-back, the universal precautions approach and the CDC Clear Communication Index
    • Explain the limits of readability formulas and why audience understanding is the standard
  2. Lesson 4

    CPH Domain 2: Risk Communication, CERC, and the Media

    69 min
    • Apply Sandman's hazard plus outrage model and Covello's mental noise idea
    • State the six CERC principles and the phases of a crisis
    • Build a message map with three key messages

Domain 3: Leadership

  1. Lesson 5

    CPH Domain 3: Change Management, Conflict, Negotiation

    71 min
    • Apply Lewin's three stages and Kotter's eight steps, in order, to an organizational change
    • Identify which of the five Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes a scenario describes, and tell compromising from collaborating
    • Recognize Tuckman's five stages and treat storming as a normal stage, not a failure
  2. Lesson 6

    CPH Domain 3: Strategic Planning, PDSA, Prioritization

    70 min
    • Compute a Hanlon Basic Priority Rating and apply PEARL as a yes-or-no feasibility gate
    • Classify a strategic plan sentence as a mission, vision, goal or objective
    • Distinguish quality assurance from quality improvement and walk through a PDSA cycle

Domain 4: Law and Ethics

  1. Lesson 7

    CPH Domain 4: HIPAA, Public Health Authority, and COI

    71 minReleases Nov 22
    • Explain why HIPAA permits disclosure to a public health authority without patient authorization
    • Tell privacy, confidentiality and security apart and name the Security Rule's three safeguards
    • Describe police power, federalism, preemption and the scope of a health department's legal authority

Domain 5: Disease and Injury Prevention

  1. Lesson 8

    CPH Domain 5: Infectious Disease, Hazards, and ICS

    75 minReleases Nov 23
    • Place a hazard in one of five categories and distinguish hazard from risk
    • Name the six links of the chain of infection and classify transmission as direct or indirect
    • Calculate an outbreak attack rate and explain herd immunity and its link to R naught
  2. Lesson 9

    CPH Domain 5: Chronic Disease, Mental Health, and Injury

    69 minReleases Nov 24
    • Separate modifiable from non-modifiable risk factors for chronic disease
    • Contrast Rose's population strategy with the high-risk strategy
    • Sort programs into universal, selective and indicated prevention on the IOM continuum

Domain 6: Community Engagement and Partnerships

  1. Lesson 10

    CPH Domain 6: Partnerships and the Public Health System

    69 minReleases Nov 25
    • Describe the public health system at four governmental levels plus health care, community organizations, business, academia, and media
    • Recite the three core functions and the ten Essential Public Health Services in the 2020 revision
    • Explain Health in All Policies and spot cross-sector partnership opportunities
  2. Lesson 11

    CPH Domain 6: Community Engagement, Collective Impact

    66 minReleases Nov 26
    • Apply the nine principles of community engagement and place scenarios on the engagement continuum
    • Name the five conditions of collective impact and spot the missing one in a stalled partnership
    • Distinguish a coalition, a collective impact effort, and a community advisory board

Domain 7: Program Planning and Evaluation

  1. Lesson 12

    CPH Domain 7: Planning Models, SMART Objectives

    73 minReleases Nov 27
    • Place activities in the right phase of PRECEDE-PROCEED and name the MAPP 1.0 assessments
    • Write process, impact, and outcome objectives with a baseline, target, timeframe, and data source
    • Tell outputs from outcomes in a logic model
  2. Lesson 13

    CPH Domain 7: Formative, Process, Outcome Evaluation

    71 minReleases Nov 28
    • Distinguish formative, process, impact, outcome, and summative evaluation from a short scenario
    • Recite the CDC framework's six steps and four standards and the main 2024 changes
    • Calculate return on investment and avoid confusing it with the benefit-to-cost ratio

Domain 8: Program and Resource Management

  1. Lesson 14

    CPH Domain 8: Budgets, Justifications, and Contracts

    70 minReleases Nov 29
    • Build a line-item budget in the eight standard categories and separate direct from indirect costs
    • Write a budget justification that explains what each cost is, why it is needed, and how it was calculated
    • Analyze a budget variance and forecast year-end spending before acting
  2. Lesson 15

    CPH Domain 8: Feedback, Team Communication, Retention

    71 minReleases Nov 30
    • Apply the six principles of constructive feedback and tell feedback from criticism
    • Sequence the five-step performance appraisal cycle and choose coaching or discipline
    • Distinguish the CHA, the CHIP, the agency strategic plan, a program needs assessment, and a hospital CHNA

Domain 9: Policy and Advocacy

  1. Lesson 16

    CPH Domain 9: Policy Process, Advocacy, and Analysis

    70 minReleases Dec 1
    • Trace how a bill becomes law and how rulemaking differs from legislation
    • Explain authorization versus appropriation and home rule versus Dillon's rule
    • Separate advocacy from lobbying and state the limits on public employees and grant funds

Domain 10: Health Outcomes and Population Perspectives

  1. Lesson 17

    CPH Domain 10: Needs Assessment, Ecological Model

    74 minReleases Dec 2
    • Plan a needs and resource assessment and choose among secondary data, surveys, focus groups, key informant interviews, and windshield surveys
    • Classify interventions by social-ecological level, including the often-missed interpersonal level
    • Distinguish cultural competence from cultural humility and apply the CLAS language-access rules

Capstone: Synthesis, Exam Strategy, and Mixed Review

  1. Lesson 18

    CPH Synthesis: Essential Services, Core Competencies

    73 minReleases Dec 3
    • Map the 10 Essential Public Health Services to assessment, policy development, and assurance
    • Describe the eight Core Competency domains and three tiers and how they differ from the CPH content outline
    • Explain Public Health 3.0, the chief health strategist role, and the Foundational Public Health Services
  2. Lesson 19

    CPH Exam Strategy, Mixed Review, Recertification

    78 minReleases Dec 4
    • Pace 200 items across four hours at about 72 seconds each, with checkpoints and one break
    • Apply predict, eliminate, and compare, and guess rather than skip
    • Recognize common distractor patterns such as adjacent domain and wrong sequence

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Questions, corrections, or a topic the course should cover?

Who it is for: MPH students, recent graduates and working public health professionals preparing for the CPH exam.

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CPH Exam Pathway is an independent course produced by Subthesis for educational purposes. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE), and completing it does not confer certification. Confirm fees, eligibility, and exam rules against the current NBPHE candidate handbook.