HEA 308 (3 credit hours)

Introduction to Public Health

Department of Public Health Education

Fall Semester, 2005-2006 Academic Year

Instructor:	Robert Aronson, DrPH, MPH, Assistant Professor Department of Public Health Education 437J HEHP Building Greensboro, NC 27402 336-256-0119 rearonso@uncg.edu Office Hours: Mon & Wed 1:00-2:00, HHP 437J
Location:	HHP 347
Time:	Mon. & Wed. 2:00 – 3:15
Course Description:	Prerequisities: Public Health Education/Health Studies major or minor; or permission of instructor. For whom planned: This is the entry-level course for majors/minors in Public Health Education and Health Studies, providing a broad overview of the field, including concepts needed as a foundation for subsequent courses. This course will introduce you to the profession of public health. You will start your professional development by exploring the nature of health, and the determinants of health within populations. You will also compare and contrast the fields of public health and medicine. You will then investigate how the health of populations have changed over time, and the role of public health in these changes. You will also explore future trends for the practice of public health. Catalog description: Introduction to the profession of public health education (terminology, purposes, settings, etc.) and roles of professional health educators; foundation course preparing students for the public health education major.
Student learning outcomes:	At the end of the course, you will be able: Define the following terms: health, risk, public health, health education, health promotion, social ecology, demographic transition, epidemiologic transition, health disparities and determinants of health. Compare and contrast public health with medicine. Explain the core functions and essential services of public health. Describe the role of government in providing public health services. Explain the concept of “risk” and its importance to public health. Explain how theories of disease causation influence public health strategies. Explain reasons for the reduction in infectious disease over the 20^th century. Interpret and explain public health data from maps and tables. Analyze an important health problem in terms of its distribution across the population, determinants within the population and strategies and settings for intervention. Analyze current public health problem in terms of social, behavioral and environmental factors. Recognize the important journals and professional associations relevant to the field of health education and/or health promotion.
Required text:	Schneider, M. Introduction to Public Health. Aspen Publishers, 2000. Any additional course readings will be made available through UNCG’s library system or through links to web-sites which will be posted on the course’s blackboard space. · Students are expected to have completed the required reading assignments before each class session and to bring the text/readings to class on the days we are discussing them.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The success of this course depends on how much you, your classmates, and I put into our work here together. This syllabus is the beginning of a learning contract we will share. The outline of topics to be covered and readings to be done - as well as the course objectives - lay out part of my commitment to you in what learning I will facilitate. The course requirements and the assignments listed below lay out part of your commitment to you and to your classmates to what learning you will undertake and facilitate. Please note that this course relies on your adherence to the Academic Integrity Policy (honor code). Refer to UNCG web site for full listing of UNCG’s Academic Integrity Policy http://studentconduct.uncg.edu/policy/academicintegrity/ai.2003.pdf Students will be expected to know what plagiarism is, and how to appropriately cite the work of others. Assignments containing plagiarized material will be given a grade of 0. Here are some of the course requirement specifics:
Attendance:	You are expected to be in class every session, on time, and for the full class period. Because attendance is so important to our work here, I will keep track of your attendance. You will start the semester with 10 participation points. Each absence will cost you two of those points. If you make it through the semester without any absences, you will receive 2 bonus points. If you miss class, you are responsible for coming to the next class prepared, having been updated on what happened in your absence. If you are late to class (or leave early from class) more than 3 times, you will start accumulating absences for your tardiness.
Participation:	Our learning process depends on your participation and commitment to learning. Before-class ways that you will demonstrate this commitment include reading and thinking about the readings and completing your assignments. In class, you will demonstrate this commitment by: listening, sharing your insights about the readings and topics at hand, asking questions, and participating in activities. To ensure that everyone has opportunities to contribute, I will call upon those who are not participating to help us out, but the primary responsibility for contributing falls on you.
Workload:	Expect to do 6-10 hours of homework per week for this class, if you are a more-or-less typical student. As with other classes, some weeks will have more work than others. This course is both reading- and writing-heavy. For some of you, that will mean you need to put in extra effort to produce high-quality work. Because this is a “writing intensive” course, you will each be expected to produce a well-written document which has been revised after receiving feedback from the instructor. Please plan accordingly.
Assignments & Grading	Class participation (10%) Short Writing Assignments (15%) [SLO #’s 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10] Exams (75%). [SLO #’s 1-10]
Policies Regarding Assignments	All assignments should be submitted to the instructor prior to the beginning of the class on the day they are due. You will be expected to turn in your assignments on time. Assignments turned in late will be graded down 1 grade/equivalent for each day late (counting weekends and holidays). Staying on top of assignments is key to your success in this course. There is no make-up for in-class assignments you’ve missed because of an absence. Written assignments: Writing is a key skill for all professionals, and it is likely that your future job performance will partly be measured by the quality of your writing. Your written work will be showcased this semester. Writing can also be an effective teaching tool, helping you to critically think through issues in the process of developing a polished piece of written work. In this course you will be challenged to strengthen your writing skills and your critical thinking skills as you explore important issues in public health. Two types of writing will be addressed this semester. Informal writing will be used primarily to get you engaged in a topic, and to help you brainstorm key conceptual issues. Formal writing will be used to help you produce polished written inquiries into a specific health problem. Multiple drafts with instructor feedback will be expected for the formal writing assignment. Your formal writing needs to be organized so the flow of information makes sense. You also need to demonstrate your high standards of quality by ensuring your writings adhere to correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation standards. It may be useful to visit the Writing Center prior to turning in an assignment. The Writing Center is a campus service made available to you for free, please use it and expand your abilities! Information on the Writing Center: 101 McIver Building; Hours: Monday-Thurs. 9am - 8pm, Friday 9am - 3pm; Students may call 334-3125 for information for an appointment or just drop in. Visit their web site at http://www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter/index.html Typing: All assignments need to be typed/word processed (double-spaced, 1” margins, 12pt. font) unless otherwise announced. Some small homework assignments, in particular, will not need to be typed; I will announce those times. If in doubt, assume typed.
Internet:	The course instructor will be setting up a course homepage utilizing the Blackboard Course Management System for intra-class communications. This list may be used to inform students of any changes in the assignments, room or scheduling changes, etc. It may also be used by students to ask questions of classmates and the instructor, or to further discussions outside of the classroom. Students will be asked to provide an email address that is used and checked by the student on a regular basis. Students will be held responsible for any course announcements made through the Blackboard Course Management System.
Teaching and Learning Strategies:	This course uses a combination of lecture, small and large group discussion and reflective writing assignments to integrate material learned in the text-book.
Syllabus:	Learning is an organic process. As every strong health educator knows, learning needs to be tailored and re-tailored to both meet the needs of the participants (that’s you, in this case) and to meet the objectives of the program (PHE). This syllabus may change. You will need to keep up with these changes, and you will receive information on any changes and/or a new syllabus (with a new date in the upper right corner) as necessary. You are expected to keep up with these changes both so that you complete the right assignments and so that you are informed of any changes. Please bring your syllabus to each session.
This class will be full of interesting discussion and innovative program ideas. I look forward to learning from you and to facilitating your learning!

	DATE	TOPIC	READING/ASSIGNMENTS DUE
1	8/15	Introduction to course What is health?
2	8/17	What is public health? How is it different from medicine? Prevention.	Schneider, Prologue and Chapter 1 ASPH web page http://www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=300 Assignment #1 due: Letter to family/friend
3	8/22	Why is public health controversial? Powers and responsibilities of government.	Schneider, Chapter 2 and 3
4	8/24	Epidemiology: The Basic Science of Public Health.	Schneider, Chapter 4 and 5
5	8/29	Risk Factors and Statistics	Schneider, Chapter 7 Assignment #1 re-write due: Letter to family/friend
6	8/31	Public Health data How do we measure the health of populations?	Schneider, Chapter 8
7	9/5	Labor Day Holiday!
8	9/7	EXAM 1
9	9/12	Library tutorial-searching literature and data	Assignment #2 due: Interpretation of public health data (tables and maps)
10	9/14	Decline of infectious diseases	Schneider, Chapter 9
11	9/19	Theories of disease causation Demographic and Epidemiologic transitions	McLeroy and Crump “Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: A Historical Perspective” Handout: Theories of Disease Causation Assignment #3 due: List of 5 journal articles (complete citations in APA format)
12	9/21	Resurgence of infectious diseases	Schneider, Chapter 10
13	9/26	Chronic diseases, Genetic diseases and inborn errors	Schneider, Chapter 11 and 12
14	9/28	The Lalonde Report The Ottawa Charter The New Public Health	Read “Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion” http://www.who.int/hpr/NOH/docs/ottawa_charter_hp.pdf Assignment #2 re-write due: Interpretation of public health data (tables and maps)
15	10/3	Healthy People, Healthy People 2000 & 2010	Read “About Healthy People” (including the six hypertext sub-topics). http://www.healthypeople.gov/About/ Read “Healthy People 2010 Fact Sheet” http://www.healthypeople.gov/About/hpfact.htm
16	10/5	EXAM 2
17	10/10	Fall break
18	10/12	Behavior and psychosocial factors	Schneider, Chapter 13 and 14
19	10/17	Smoking	Schneider, Chapter 15
20	10/19	Diet and inactivity	Schneider, Chapter 16
21	10/24	Injuries	Schneider, Chapter 17
22	10/26
23	10/31	Maternal and child health	Schneider, Chapter 18 Assignment #4 due:
24	11/2	Exam 3
25	11/7	Clean Environment	Schneider, Chapter 19
26	11/9	Clean Air and Water	Schneider, Chapter 20 and 21
27	11/14	Solid and Hazardous Wastes	Schneider, Chapter 22
23	11/16	Food Safety	Schneider, Chapter 23
24	11/21	Population	Schneider, Chapter 24 Assignment #4 re-write due:
	11/23	Thanksgiving	NO CLASS
25	11/28	U.S. Medical Care System	Schneider, Chapter 25 and 26
26	11/30	Aging and public health	Schneider, Chapter 28
27	12/5	Future trends	Schneider, Chapter 29
	12/12 (noon)	Exam 4