Principles of Community Health – HLTH 630

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

This course provides an overview of public health issues as they relate to community health promotion and disease prevention. Theories and models relevant to community health programming as well as the connections between local, state, and national public health initiatives are presented. Emphasis is placed on acquisition of pertinent public health data to enable practical, applied, community-wide planning and cooperation among varied stakeholders.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale


This course sets the foundation for the other courses in the Health Promotion specialization for the MPH degree. A proper understanding of the role of the community within the context of public health provides the framework for evaluating health disparities and developing programs to solve the critical health issues.

Course Assignment

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

The student will complete 3 Discussions. Each discussion will consist of a thread and at least 2 replies. The instructor is looking for substantial, thoughtful, and critical discussions. 

The student will identify research articles from the peer reviewed literature addressing a community health problem from Healthy People objectives or The Community Guide. The student will then write a 3-4 page summary of the content of the article and evaluate research methodologies. Additional sources may be needed to validate the main points of the article under review. 

The student will explore a community related health issue identified in the Healthy People objectives. The goal of this study is to go beyond the basic framework on the Healthy People internet sources and thoroughly research printed professional literature. The student will write a 15–20 page research paper that must include a thorough discussion of the science behind the issue as well as the theory, political and policy challenges, and resources for meeting the objective.