This course provides a comprehensive overview of issues in community health including a synopsis of the social determinants, health disparities, community and public health organizations, mental health, substance abuse, workplace safety, environment, and health care delivery. The course will examine prominent community and public health challenges confronting the United States and World. Students will design a health communication campaign to address a community health problem within an underserved community in the United States.

Communications skills are essential for community assessment, program planning, implementation, evaluation, and advocacy. This course prepares students to understand factors that influence communication such as the lifestyle, attitudes, beliefs, social norms, barriers to change, and health information source used by the target audience. Communication theories and models will be used to develop an effective communication campaign targeted at addressing a community health need. Students will develop situation specific communication strategies and select appropriate channels to deliver message to the target audience. These channels include social media platforms (such as Facebook, X and Instagram), traditional print materials (including posters and bulletin boards), electronic communication methods (such as e-mails, conference calls and webinars), and face-to-face interactions (such as motivational interviewing and presentations). Students will develop an evidence-based health communication campaign designed to solve a complex community health problem at local, national, state, or global level.

This course gives students a general knowledge and understanding of the demographics, psychosocial perspectives and biomedical components of the human aging process. Students examine the effect of aging on the individual, their families and communities, as well as society as a whole. Students explore family relationships, the role of the caregiver, housing requirements, health care services, public policies and the marketing of products and services. The course also addresses the various lifestyle changes, health changes, and physical changes affecting aging individuals.

This course will explore different practical applications to health education and promotion within community settings. These include historical, philosophical, theoretical, ethical and practical applications. Students will gain a solid foundational understanding of health necessary to enable individuals and communities to make informed choices that promote well-being and prevent disease. This course will delve into topics of health behavior, social theories, communication, health promotion planning, implementation, evaluation, assessment, cultural competence, social marketing, emerging trends, and technologies in the field. These issues will be analyzed by examining the historical perspective, current developments, and future innovations in the field.

The purpose of this course is to explore the multifaceted dimensions of health policy and the regulations stemming from them, encompassing political, cultural, scientific, and social contexts within the healthcare system. This course encopasses various elements of the Community Health Worker program, integrating perspectives from economics, political science, management, communications, technology, and public health. It is important for health professionals to develop the roles and skills required for comprehending and contributing to the policymaking process within their local, state, and national communities.

This course is an overview of the design strategies and interventions used to meet the health care needs of individuals and communities. These strategies encompass preliminary needs assessments, stepwise sequences of development, problem identification and problem-solving, data collection, and analysis to determine outcomes.

This course combines required seminar participation and supervised internship hours. The internship allows students to apply theories learned in classroom in various health settings. Students are required to submit internship logs highlighting learning activities and to participate in assigned field-based activities. Specialization areas may include reproductive health, substance abuse, and community health education, among others. Senior Standing.

The Capstone course is a community focused, group-based, mentored service-learning course explicitly based on promoting community health, human rights, health equity and social justice. The Community or Public Health issue can be addressed through the lens of management, quality improvement, community assessment, program planning (including needs assessment, implementation, or evaluation), policy, or practice. Students will apply the knowledge acquired in the community health program to develop a community-designed project in collaboration with a host organization. The class sessions will allow students to convene, reflect and collaborate on their capstone project.