HLTH 509 Social and Behavioral Theory Applications in Public Health

This course is one of six required courses taken by the student in the Master of Public Health program. It provides a comprehensive review of the social and behavioral influences on human health and the theoretical foundation that undergirds the practice of public health.

Textbook readings, journal articles, and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

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

Discussion: Local Community Assessment

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete 1 discussion assignment for this course which will set the stage for a later assignment—the Interprofessional Collaboration Assignment. The discussion will consist of a thread and a minimum of 2 replies to 2 other students’ threads. The student’s initial thread should contain 400-500 words and adhere to current AMA writing style guidelines. Each reply should contain 200-250 words and also adhere to current AMA writing style guidelines. The initial thread must utilize at least 1 scholarly citation in current AMA format. Each reply must utilize at least 1 scholarly citation in current AMA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last 5 years. (CLO: A)

Theory Application Paper Assignments (3)

This assignment will be scaffolded and submitted in 3 separate stages all building toward the Theory Application Paper: Final Submission Assignment. (CLO: A, B, C, E, & F)

 Theory Application Paper: Topic and References Assignment

The student will select a public health problem and a specific priority population affected by that problem that can be addressed by an application of health behavior theory. The student will name a behavioral program intervention strategy they could use to address it, and will identify 1-2 theoretical constructs to use in the behavioral intervention to mitigate or ameliorate the problem. The student will also provide at least 10 current references (with a minimum of 6 peer-reviewed journal articles and no more than 4 government or professional reports). The assignment must include a title page and follow current AMA formatting guidelines. 

Theory Application Paper: Outline Assignment

The student will create an outline of their paper in 750-800 words (excluding the title page and listed references). The outline must follow the Roman numeral outline sections and headings provided. Major sections must include assessment of the situation/problem, introduction to the theory, application of the solution (which includes a goal and at least 3 measurable outcomes), evaluation and assessment, advocacy, and references. The outline must include a title page and follow current AMA formatting guidelines. 

Theory Application Paper: Final Submission Assignment

This paper should fill out the outline previously submitted within the Theory Application Paper: Outline Assignment. The paper should be 2,000-2,500 words in length. It must include a title page, reference page, and an abstract of no more than 150 words (all which do not count toward the word count requirements). The paper should follow current AMA formatting guidelines and include at least 10 current references (with a minimum of 6 peer-reviewed journal articles and no more than 4 government or professional reports).

Health Disparities Reflection Assignment

The student will watch the relevant APHA presentations and then respond in essay form to 15 relevant questions stemming from the material. The essay must include biblical integration and utilize current AMA guidelines for formatting and any citations used. (CLO: F & H)

Management Interview Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to equip the student with practical advice necessary for applying public health practice in context. The student will interview 3 individuals in management. One must be in business/finance, another in a non-profit sector, and the last can have a specialty of the student’s choosing. The student must come up with a list of at least 12 open-ended questions to use for each of the interviews revolving around the themes of best practices in budgetary management, conflict resolution, and leadership development. The submitted assignment will consist of 3 components: a brief summary of each of the individual’s qualifications, a summary of each interviewee’s responses to the student’s questions, and a synthesis of the 3 interviews in response to 2 key takeaway prompts. The assignment must follow current AMA formatting. (CLO: D & G)

Interprofessional Collaboration Assignment

This assignment builds upon the Discussion: Local Community Assessment. Because public health practitioners often work with different stakeholders, it is important to know how to build coalitions and integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to advance population health. To begin this collaboration assignment, the student must identify a team of individuals that are willing to help with a service-learning project. The team can be made up of family, friends, or colleagues. Over the course of this semester, the team will find 1 opportunity to serve for 8-hours or 2 opportunities to serve for 4-hours. If needed, the student may build multiple teams/coalitions to accomplish these goals. The student will then complete a reflection paper in current AMA style where they will identify a need in the community to address, briefly describe the individuals on the team, identify objectives for the project, evaluate the success of the project with future recommendations, reflect on the contributions of the group, and discuss how approaching a public health problem in an interprofessional nature affects the implementations of the public health plan. The student should use the provided headings to label each section of their reflection paper. Each section should contain a response of at least 250 words, totaling at least 1500-words overall.

NOTE: This assignment will require 8-hours of service-learning experiences led by the student and with a coalition/team addressing a public health problem. (CLO: A, B, & G)

Logic Model Assignment

For this assignment, students will write a logical model, which is used in public health for organizing outcomes and objectives in program planning and evaluation.

Quiz: Midterm Exam

This quiz will be based on Learn items from Modules 1-5 and is open-book/open-notes. The student will have 2 hours and 25 minutes to choose the correct answers to 50 multiple choice and true/false questions. There are also 3 short answer questions on articles in Module 5 as well as a question on biblical integration. This quiz allows for 1 attempt. (CLO: B, C, F, & H)

Quiz: Final Exam

This quiz will be based on Learn items from Modules 5-8 and is open-book/open-notes. The student will have 2 hours and 25 minutes to choose the correct answers to 50 multiple choice and true/false questions. There is also 1 essay question on the concept of justice as described in the book of Proverbs. This quiz allows for 1 attempt. (CLO: C, F, & H)