Introduction to Public Health - HLT 228 at Virginia Western Community College
https://courses.vccs.edu./colleges/vwcc/courses/HLT228-IntroductiontoPublicHealth
Effective: 2022-05-01
Course Description
Provides an overview of public health systems in the United States and globally with an emphasis on core functions, essential services and health determinants. Explores the history, core areas and current trends within public health as well as how public health affects individuals and populations. The assignments in the course require college-level reading fluency and coherent communication through documented written reports.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
HLT 228 introduces basic public health concepts and the public health systems framework in the United States and globally. This course covers core skills and knowledge needed for entry level employment in public health organizations.
Course Objectives
- Communication
- Communicate openly and accurately with others regarding national and international public health trends and issues
- Critical Thinking
- Analyze the relationship between public health and American healthcare systems
- Create an public health plan to reduce a leading cause of mortality or morbidity within a specific population
- Social and Cultural Understanding
- Identify major historical milestones in the development of public health systems
- Describe the five core areas of public health: biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health administration, and health education/promotion
- Discuss the influence of government, law and policy on public and population health
- Identify determinants of health and their role in health disparities
- Discuss current domestic and global public health trends and issues
- Explore public health careers
- Information Literacy
- Select and utilize credible sources of information about public health
- Scientific Reasoning
- Identify sources of data commonly used in public health
- Analyze public health data and how it is used to make public health policy and program decisions
- Personal Development
- Explore professional certification options in the public health field such as Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Community Health Worker (CHW), etc.
- Introduction to Public Health
- Describe the purpose of public health
- Define key terms used in public health
- Identify prominent events in the history of public health
- Describe the core public health functions and services
- Describe the role of different stakeholders in the field of public health
- Identify determinants of health
- Describe how individual determinants of health affect population health
- Public Health Systems and Framework
- Identify four approaches to public health
- Describe the core functions of public health
- Identify the ten essential health services
- Define key terms used in public health
- Identify key public health organizations
- Describe the public health approach to various population health risks
- Describe the outcomes and impact of public health interventions.
- Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health
- Define health and well-being
- Describe the components of wellbeing
- Explain the role of health in the practice of health promotion
- Discuss the ways in which individual well-being influences public health
- Describe the various types of social diagnosis used in assessing population health
- Describe how well-being is correlated to population level health
- Describe the levels of disease prevention
- Discuss the influence of culture on health
- Identify the social determinants of health
- Define health disparity
- Identify factors that influence health disparities
- Discuss the factors that shape health and health behavior change
- Describe various behavioral change models (Social Cognitive Theory, Health Belief Model, Stages of Change Theory, and Social Norms Theory)
- Discuss the role of public health in shaping health behaviors
- Health Education and Promotion
- Define health education and health promotion
- Differentiate between health education and health promotion
- Identify the competencies of certified health education specialists
- Identify characteristics of effective health education programs
- Describe various theories in health education and health promotion
- Identify examples of health education and promotion theories in practice
- Identify the leading health education organizations in the U.S. and across the globe
- Define health informatics
- Explain the importance of informatics to the public health mission
- Describe the role of the informatician in public health practice
- Differentiate between public health informatics and information technology
- Identity career pathways in health education and promotion
- Public Health Surveillance
- Define public health surveillance
- Describe the goal of public health surveillance
- Describe the uses of a public health surveillance system
- Discuss the legal basis for public health surveillance in the United States
- Compare active and passive public health surveillance
- Identify sources of data commonly used for public health surveillance
- Describe the public health surveillance process
- Epidemiology
- Define epidemiology
- Describe basic terminology and concepts of epidemiology
- Identify types of data sources
- Identify basic methods of data collection and interpretation
- Describe a public health problem in terms of time, place, and person
- Identify the key components of a descriptive epidemiology outbreak investigation
- Identify career pathways in epidemiology
- Communicable and Non-communicable Disease
- Distinguish between communicable and non-communicable diseases
- Identify the characteristics of various non-communicable diseases
- Describe the public health approach to disease prevention
- Explain how different agents of infection spread disease
- Describe how the body protects itself from infectious disease
- Identify appropriate immunization schedules for various age groups
- List ways to reduce risk for the cold or influenza
- Explain the dangers of overuse or misuse of antibiotics
- Assess personal risk for chronic diseases
- Describe the early symptoms and risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and various cancers
- Identify management strategies for cardiovascular disease and diabetes
- Discuss strategies for reducing risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease
- Describe how cancer develops
- Identify the risk factors for the most common types of cancer
- Describe cancer treatment and prevention strategies
- Identify career pathways in disease prevention
- Environmental Health
- Define environmental health
- Explain the relationship between environment and public health
- Identify and define the different facts of environmental health
- Identify environmental factors that have a significant impact on human health
- Identify environmental pollutants and the pathways/routes to human exposure
- Explain the toxicological paradigm
- Identify adverse health effects associated with environmental pollutants and the groups most vulnerable to these agents
- Explain the different models for environmental health interventions
- Discuss possible solutions moving forward
- Identify career pathways in environmental health
- Global Approaches to Public Health
- Identify the 10 threats to global health established by the World Health Organization (WHO)
- Compare and contrast public health approaches in the United States and globally
- Discuss the strategies employed to address global health threats
- Identify the Healthy People goals related to global health
- Discuss why global health is important to the safety and security of the people of the United States
- Identify the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) areas of focus for global health
- Explain how globalization affects global burdens of disease
- Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics
- Identify examples of laws that led to public health achievements in the last 100 years
- Identify key terms and definitions that explain the relationship between U.S. law and public health practice
- Identify the five sources of law necessary for public health practice and examples for each
- Discuss the balance between individual rights and community needs with respect to public health
- Distinguish between constitutional and unconstitutional law examples related to individual rights and public health
- Differentiate between public health law and public health ethics
- Identify key terms and definitions related to ethics and morality in public health
- Identify different ethical and legal issues embedded in public health law and policy
- Identify the key components of the Ethics Guide for Public Health Decision Making
- Use the Ethics Guide to make decisions related to public health actions in given case studies
- Identify the components of the Public Health Code of Ethics
- The Future of Public Health
- Identify future trends in public health
- Discuss how these future trends will impact public health practice
- Identify potential new public health career pathways to address these trends
- Identify resources needed to equip public health practitioners and organizations to address these trends
Major Topics to be Included
- Introduction to Public Health
- Public Health Systems and Framework
- Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health
- Health Education and Promotion
- Public Health Surveillance
- Epidemiology
- Communicable and Non-communicable Disease
- Environmental Health
- Global Approaches to Public Health
- Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics
- The Future of Public Health