Health Promotion Sciences (HPS)

Prerequisites: Master's-level student. In this course, students will be introduced to the logic of qualitative research methods; will analyze several qualitative case studies; and will practice conducting a qualitative project from design through data acquisition and analysis through dissemination. (Fall I, Summer II)

Introduction to basic concepts of social and behavioral sciences in public health theory and practice. Social factors influencing health outcomes, theories of health behavior and health promotion at the community level are emphasized.

This course reviews the relationship between aging and health status and the factors that affect health services utilization by older people.

Prerequisites: HPS 5503 or permission. Introduction to theories of health behavior and behavior change at individual, group, organizational, community and social levels. Emphasis is on the examination of major theoretical concepts, discussion of similarities and differences, and their application.

Prerequisites: HPS 5503 The course addresses knowledge and skills for facilitating community organization and empowerment for health promotion. Topics addressed include defining community and an ecological approach to community development; assessing community needs and assets; building upon community capacities; gaining trust and entry into communities.

Course emphasizes individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, public policy and cultural interventions to reduce the social burden from chronic diseases.

An overview of the historical, behavioral sciences, epidemiological and conceptual foundations of health education and health promotion. Stresses stages of program development, models of practice, and professional issues.

Prerequisites: HPS 5213; HPS 5563 The purpose of the course is to introduce key concepts used in program evaluation and to provide the student with the conceptual tools needed to participate meaningfully in program evaluation activities. The course integrates many previous courses, including biostatistics, research methods, and theory. The stress is on practical evaluations that can be conducted in applied settings.

Prerequisites: HPS 5503; HPS 5213; & HPS 5463 Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is defined as systematic inquiry, with the collaboration of those affected by the issue being studied, for the purposes of education and action for social change. This course will examine CBPR theory, methodology and practice with diverse populations and health issues.

Covers basic components of the program planning process in health education, including problem analysis, needs assessment, intervention design, implementation and process evaluation.

Study of the internal and external factors (social, cultural, physical, economic and psychological) affecting the family and the relationship of changing family forms and functions to other major institutions related to public health.

Prerequisites: HPS 5213, or Instructor permission. This course provides graduate-level students with a foundational understanding of lifestyle medicine and its applications for individual, family, and population health, including health promotion, disease prevention, and prescriptions for disease management. (Fall I, II, III, IV)

Prerequisites: HPS 5213 is preferred. This course provides an exploration of social programs in the United States, examines the health impact of social policy, and applies theories of policy making and setting a policy agenda. (Sp II)

This course will draw from public health, medicine, behavioral sciences, exercise physiology, and epidemiology to examine physical inactivity as a public health problem. The course will provide students with skills and knowledge to plan, implement, and evaluate physical activity programs.

This course will focus on methods for the assessment of health issues and public health interventions for adolescents. Psychosocial, psychodynamic, sociocultural and ecological perspectives on adolescents will be examined. Influences of biological factors, cognition and creativity, peers, sexual development, and adolescent subculture will also be studied. A variety of early intervention and treatments will be explored.

Emphasis is on the attitudes, customs, traditions, perceptions and beliefs held by ethnic minority groups and the impact these attitudes have upon the abilities of public health workers to interact with these individuals.

Health needs, beliefs, and practices of American Indian groups will be explored as they relate culturally. Content areas include: American Indian health needs, problems and resources history; problems of reservation and urban Indians; Alaskan natives; and the interrelationship of health, property ownership, and social organization.

Research design, measurement, methods of data collection, analysis and interpretation of results and application in the behavioral sciences.

May be repeated with change of content; maximum credit 6 hours. Intensive reading in special areas with staff.

May be repeated; maximum credit 4 hours. Research for Master's Thesis

May be repeated; maximum credit 6 hours. Topics of a special nature or of unusual interest to the individual student which are not adequately covered in curriculum.

May be repeated; maximum credit 6 hours. Topics change with each offering, and include contemporary issues in public health, health education and health promotion.

Prerequisites: HPS 6933 A valuable qualitative research method used in health promotion. For those students who intend to conduct focus group research during their careers to develop a thorough understanding of the concepts involved. Includes discussion on appropriate use of research, planning phase, implementation phase, data analysis, collaboration and budgeting, and reporting results.

Prerequisites: Admission to doctoral program or completed HPS 5453 and departmental approval. Introduces students to advanced theory regarding strategies and concepts of health behavior, health behavior changes and health outcomes of individuals and small groups. A comprehensive understanding of the theoretical foundations of health promotion sciences and the capacity to evaluate and utilize theory in the development of health promotion strategies and interventions is stressed. Addresses history and the scientific foundations of health promotions.

Prerequisites: Admission to doctoral program or completed HPS 5453 and departmental approval. Introduce students to the major theories of health behavior and behavior change at group, organizational, community, and policy levels. Emphasis is on the examination of major theoretical concepts, discussion of similarities and differences, and their application.

Prerequisites: HPS 5503 or HPS 5453 The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the technique of social marketing. Students will identify an issue they wish to address through a social marketing effort and work through the social marketing planning process.

Explores the evaluation methodologies for specific application in health education programs. Uses health education and evaluation models in contrast to the biomedical models. Laboratory utilizes computers to solve simulation problems and perform measurement functions.

Prerequisites: Admission to doctoral Program or Permission of Instructor. The purpose of this course is to provide a thorough background to the ecological model of health that fully acknowledges the complexity of the social determinants of health and how interventions at each level of the ecological model can be designed and implemented to improve population health.

Prerequisites: Admission to the doctoral program or permission of the instructor. This course will identify the intellectual foundations of qualitative research in the context of multiple research methods. Rationales for most appropriate use of qualitative techniques will be delineated. Qualitative research design construction will be specified. The use of a coding scheme as a simultaneous research technique and analytic device is emphasized.

Prerequisites: Admission to doctoral program or completed HPS 5543 and departmental approval. This course provides the student with knowledge and skills necessary to conduct program evaluations for a variety of programs in diverse public health settings. The course builds on the HPS master level program evaluation course by providing students with an in depth examination of the program evaluation process, methods, and goals. Current issues emerging with the area of program evaluation are also addressed.

Emphasis is on development of research proposals and preparation of manuscripts for publication. Each student prepares a proposal for a social or behavioral research project in public health which will be critiqued by faculty and students.

Prerequisites: HPS 5221 or HPS 6933 and BSE 5163, or course director approval. This course will provide an introduction of mixed methods (integrated quantitative and qualitative) research. Rationales and feasibility for most appropriate uses of mixed methods will be discussed. Mixed methods research design construction will be identified and practiced. Research ethics, integrity, and successful dissemination of mixed methods research and evaluation projects will be addressed. (SP III, IV)

May be repeated; maximum credit 16 hours. Research for Doctoral Dissertation