Course Descriptions
Required courses and elective course options are listed below.
CHB 550 Public Health Population Well-Being
3 Credits, Fall Semester
Prerequisite: None
The course will provide students with an understanding of and appreciation for population approaches to improving the health of our nation and the world, as well as knowledge of various career paths in public health. Course content includes: public health perspectives on health, wellness, illness, and population well-being; key influences on the health and well being of individuals and populations; assessing public health problems from a population health perspective; using the five core components of public health to address health problems; effectively utilizing health information to address public health issues; and career paths in public health and the training/expertise required to pursue them. Students will engage in critical assessment of historical and current public health events, and creative application of their foundational knowledge to new public health problems. The course is particularly applicable to students preparing to pursue a health-related career and to students in health professions programs desiring a knowledge of public health approaches.
CHB 601 Principles of Community Health and Health Behavior
3 Credits, Fall Semester
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive, doctoral-level overview of principles and theoretical perspectives on the determinants of health behavior and community health. Using a biopsychosocial perspective we will examine biological influences, psychological, social, and policy determinants of health behavior and health.
Format: Seated
CHB 602 Community Health and Health Behavior Interventions
3 Credits, Spring Semester
This course is a designed to give students an in-depth understanding of the state of the science in health behavior and community health interventions, including individual, family, community, and policy interventions. Students will be prepared to critically assess and apply strategies for individual and community health promotion.
Format: Seated
CHB 605 Basic Research Methods for Community Health and Health Behavior
3 Credits, Spring Semester
Prerequisite: Instructor permission is required for enrollment unless student is in the CHHB PhD Program.
A doctoral level course designed to provide you with a broad overview of issues related to engaging in research in the interdisciplinary science of health behavior and community health. The central focus of the course is the interplay of theory development and empirical testing in health behavior and community health research. The major topics addressed will include understanding key elements of conducting research such as how hypotheses are developed, design of empirical research, practical issues related to conducting research, and thinking about the role of research design in data analysis and interpretation. In addition, ethical issues, research presentation, and writing will be covered. At the end of the course, you should have developed a set of practical skills necessary to both conduct your own high quality research and to effectively evaluate the research conducted by other health behavior scientists.
CHB 610 Community Health and Health Behavior Prosem
1 Credit, Spring/Fall Semester
Prerequisite: None
This course provides graduate students with the opportunity to learn and discuss professional aspects of their training, in anticipation of their future careers as academics and/or public health professionals. Based on student interests and inputs, the lineup of topics has varied across different semesters. In the past, topics have included time management/productivity, effective writing and creativity in research.
Instructor: Collins
Electives
CHB 625 Health Equity
CHB 525/625 Health Equity
3 Credits, Fall Semester
Health Equity is designed to give students an in-depth understanding of the social determinants of health and how their ills and benefits are unequally distributed across society. We will cover differences in health status associated with race, ethnicity, immigrant status, education, income, disability, geographic location, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. We will examine the multiple pathways through which these inequities produced and reinforced, including structural and interpersonal discrimination and stigma. We will also discuss methods for conducting research and intervening in disadvantaged communities. The course will provide historical and theoretical perspectives on the problem, provide a critical examination of empirical support for various explanatory pathways, and will cover approaches to studying and reducing health disparities.
Format: Online
CHB 513: A Public Health Perspective on Aging
3 Credits, Summer Semester
Prerequisite: None
This course provides you with a survey of topics related to aging and health in contemporary society. We cover how interactions of biological, psychological, emotional, spiritual, socioeconomic and environmental factors effect older adults. Readings and discussion include a review of the epidemiology and demographic trends of aging, theoretical and developmental models in aging, health policies, intergenerational relationships, retirement preparation and support resources related to illness and end of life. The course also presents an overview of health behaviors and morbidities related to aging in U.S. society.
This course completes some of the requirements for the Strategies in Eliminating Health Inequities Micro-Credential.
Format: Online
CHB 500 A Public Health Approach to Understanding and Reducing Sexual Risk Behaviors
3 Credits, Fall Semester
Prerequisite: None
The course will introduce students to historical trends in the population burden of sexual risk behaviors, the social ecology of these risks, and current controversies in practice and policy. We will also examine surveillance systems and nationally representative samples used to monitor trends in high-risk sexual behaviors and related consequences. Students will critically examine the logic and impact of current domestic standards for sexual health policy and practice through a comparative look at sexual health needs (e.g., contraceptive use, STI prevention and treatment, and HIV-related services) in a range of diverse clinical and social settings with different populations (adolescents, young adults, older adults). Using a variety of teaching methods, students will receive an overview of the dynamics of high-risk sexual activity among individuals, communities, and populations. Topics will include an assessment of current peer-reviewed research and professional guidelines for effective sexual risk reduction, federal and state policies related to sexuality, pregnancy, contraception, and HIV/STI prevention, and current curricula at the national and state level for sexuality education.
CHB 516 Creating Media for Public Health
3 Credits, Spring Semester
Prerequisite: None
This course is an introduction into the field of health communications, with an emphasis on the production of health education digital media. As defined by Healthy People 2020 (p. 11-20), health communication is the "art and technique of informing, influencing, and motivating individual, institutional, and public audiences about important health issues." The course emphasizes the development of strategies to advocate and promote healthy behaviors, public health policies, and social norms by planning, producing, and creating various media content for these purposes. This course offers a hands-on approach. Students will create their own media products, utilizing video production equipment and computer editing software.
