Public Health Classes and Scheduling

Overview of the healthcare industry and the issues that confront this dynamic system, including the changing roles of components of the system as well as technical, economic, political and social forces responsible for those changes.

Introduces students to the field of environmental health, which is dedicated to protecting human health by preventing harmful exposures in the environment. Covers the major sources of environmental pollution and how contaminants in our air, water, soil, and food can cause disease and illness in the population. Students will also learn the important role played by local health departments in protecting the public from these harmful exposures. Major regulations and other strategies for eliminating or reducing environmental exposures that put our health at risk are presented.

Survey of the policy and legal issues related to public health, health care delivery, and environmental health. Examination of how the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government at federal, state, and local levels interact and create law. Focuses on public policy and transformational ethics as a tool to improve population health, interactions between private and public sector, and legal issues health professionals commonly encounter.

Explores the development of interventions aimed at public health prevention, with an emphasis on collaborating with local communities in the design and evaluation. Outreach efforts and best practices amongst priority groups, such as rural communities, will be investigated and discussed.

Analyzes the relationship between the mental, emotional, and social dimensions of wellbeing from a public health perspective. This course will cover evidence-based approaches to assessing and promoting these interrelated dimensions of wellbeing, with a focus on practical applications in a range of workplace, educational, caregiving, family, and community settings.

Evidence-based health interventions have a sound theoretical basis. Learn about the social and environmental influences that impact the initiation, maintenance, and change of health behaviors. Learn how to apply these principles when creating interventions focused on improving health and preventing disease.

Introduction to practices of health and wellness emphasizing lifestyles and measures of health. This course will cover general concepts related to the human body and chronic and infectious diseases, as well as how organ systems are affected by disease.

Provides a comprehensive understanding of the environmental, social, and cultural factors that influence health. This course will cover topics, theories, and public health methods associated with determinants of health. Topics include gender, ethnicity/race, relationships, socioeconomic status, built environment, community, political systems, stress and adverse childhood experiences, and culture their influences on individual and community health.

Evidence-based Public Health provides advanced study in public health prevention strategies, with an emphasis on coalition development, assessment, and evaluation of community-based prevention and health promotion strategies.

Examines program evaluation as a systematic way to improve and account for public health actions. Covers the utilization of various tools to measure if a program meets the strategic plan or contract outcome goals for the program. Topics include the development of strategic plans, logic models, and evaluation methods.

Design of experiments, methods of analysis, interpretation and communication of results, and use of research to support evidence-based practice.

Study of the distribution and determinants of disease within human populations.

Examines community assessment of public health needs and issues through the lens of the 10 Essential Public Health Services (EPHS) utilizing a variety of community assessment models. Utilizes the policy development and assurance of program delivery phases in the EPHS framework.

Evaluates delivery of health programs from Idaho’s major urban areas to its frontier and rural counties. Coverage of program delivery models from local public health districts, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, non-profit organizations, and for-profit organizations. Particular focus on the importance of collaboration between various agencies and organizations to promote community health.

Familiarizes students with the prominent theories, issues, and topics in the field of health communication with a range of topics, including illness and health, historical and contemporary issues, patient and provider experiences, cultural differences in health, public awareness/prevention/intervention campaigns, and the role of media and relationships in health communication.

Social change and community work relies on cross-sector collaboration. This course investigates key tools and theories that empower and engage communities to address their own issues.

Explores how the identification and amelioration of public health issues change over time. Current leading health threats, including the root causes, social drivers and resulting disparities, will be examined. The application of real-time analysis and intervention will be discussed. May be repeated for a maximum of nine credits.

Design and engage in a capstone project that synthesizes healthcare and/or public health concepts and addresses current health and wellness-related issues within various contexts.