Community Health (CH)
The course covers the main principles of global health along with additional topics such as health determinants and disparities, socioeconomic status and health, human rights, culture and health, unintentional injuries, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, and infectious diseases.
This course introduces concepts of occupational safety and health, including regulatory agencies, financial and human impact of occupational injuries and illnesses, and workers' compensation. It covers basic safety terminology and how to access safety information and resources.
The Introduction to Human Disease course is designed to bring students to a level of understanding of basic human biology, health, and disease, as well as modern biomedical science that will enable them to make rational decisions on personal, ethical, and political issues in their health. Focused analysis of the causes and mechanics of human illness and death will be presented for each of the major human body systems. Selected diseases will be studied in greater detail including etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, sociology, and therapy.
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to environmental health and disease. Using the perspectives of the population and community, the course covers factors associated with the development of occupational and environmental health problems. Students gain an understanding of the interaction of individuals and communities with the environment, the potential impact on health of environmental agents, and specific applications of concepts of occupational and environmental health.
This course will focus on the complexities of health service delivery to diverse populations using social-ecological models to provide a deeper understanding of the impacts of health policy, social justice, structural inequities, and the value systems of diverse groups, as well as variables related to gender, age, lifestyle, religion, culture, social class, race, geography, and developmental level and how this relates to health status and health service needs.
The course examines health-related motivation and behavior through the study of relevant psychological, sociological, and educational theory and research. Emphasis is on application of behavioral and behavior-change theories and constructs in designing effective health education and promotion programs.
This course offers students an opportunity to obtain practical experience in community health work. Students will contract for 50-100 hours at an internship placement and participate in a weekly seminar to discuss their fieldwork and apply academic theory to practice. Students will work in settings that familiarize them with concrete examples of the core competencies in the Community Health major. Students will also gain an understanding of industry and organizational structures, cultures, and ethics, and will strengthen their critical thinking, research, and problem-solving skills. They will keep logs of their activities and complete other written assignments for class.
The senior capstone course integrates the knowledge, concepts and professional skills gained from prior coursework in Community Health. Students choose between two different options: (1) an applied project in which the student develops a hypothetical applied case and intervention program for a group or organization in order to synthesize and demonstrate the ability to understand, develop, and advance the principles of Community Health or (2) conduct a research project in which the student displays the development of research techniques, including the ability to define a research problem, write hypotheses, review the literature, apply a research design, collect and analyze data, and interpret the results.