PUBHLTH481: Public Health Practice and Professionalism
Undergraduate level
Residential
Fall term(s) for residential students;
3 credit hour(s) for residential students;
Instructor(s): Staff (Residential);
Prerequisites: PUBHLTH 200
Advisory Prerequisites: PUBHLTH 381 or PUBHLTH 382 or PUBHLTH 383
Description: Students will apply their knowledge and skills to address current public health challenges. Professional development and engagement with public health agencies will prepare students to work in the field.
Learning Objectives: By the end of the course students should (be able to): 1. Explain what public health practice is and distinguish it from public health research; 2. Integrate knowledge with theory and practice to propose solutions to current public health challenges (esp. those that impact population health and contribute to health disparities); 3. Describe public health infrastructure, including the systems, competencies, frameworks, relationships, and resources that enable public health agencies to perform their core functions and essential services; 4. Assess community health needs, identifying key problems and assets, and create a conceptual framework that informs decision making; 5. Prioritize working with communities, agencies and other stakeholders in culturally appropriate ways; 6. Engage in cross-disciplinary, team-based discussion and project design; 7. Collect high quality data to analyze, evaluate and disseminate as public health information via appropriate channels; 8. Develop a strategy to promote health - from broad policy to direct intervention - that accounts for available resources, stakeholder interests, and community needs; 9. Describe a process for evaluation that assesses and improves the quality of a public health strategy and determines its effectiveness; 10. Exhibit professionalism and an ability to think critically while communicating and practicing public health; 11. Recognize the importance of public health work that is performed outside of an academic setting, and how learning in this context contributes to professional advancement in the field.
