Public Health & Wellness (HW)
HW 1000 - Personal Health - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
This course will introduce the student to all the major areas of health and how they affect their lives. Health promotion, wellness and empowerment will be discussed and analyzed in relation to each health component. Upon completion of this course, students will have a better understanding of the importance their personal decisions make on their health.
This course meets the General Education Wellness requirement.
HW 1001 - Principles of Public Health & Wellness - 3 credits
Fall Semester
This course introduces students who are interested in Public Health & Wellness to the disciplines of Public Health, Health Education, and Health Promotion. Emphasis is place on the history of public health, health status, health care philosophy, health and wellness, chronic and infectious diseases, health-related behavior, and health theories and program models. Students will learn skills that are essential to ensure success in the Public Health & Wellness program including learning to use library databases and writing a review of health-related literature.
HW 1500 - Stress Reduction Based Mindfulness - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a 3-year academic cycle
Teaches a student to focus attention on the present moment and current tasks by using the breath as an anchor. Encourages students to learn how to take breaks of “being” in the midst of busy “doing” lives. Uses various practices to help learn intentional awareness (or mindfulness), such as the body scan (being guided through various parts of the body with the attention), yoga, walking meditation, and sitting meditation. Conceptual learning includes discussions of stress reactivity and responsively, effects of stress on the human body, communication patterns, and nutrition.
HW 2000 - Foundations of Community Health Education - 3 credits
Fall Semester
This course is designed for health majors and others interested in the promotion of health behavior and lifestyles, which contribute to the reduction of risk factors associated with human morbidity and mortality. Emphasis is placed upon complex community health issues and settings, as well as disease prevention and prolonging life. Topics include, but are not limited to, historical perspectives of community health, local health departments, solving community health problems, community health; methods & materials, chronic disease, communicable disease, safety education, mental health environment, health & sanitation, radiological health, and organization & administration of official, voluntary and private agencies.
Pre or Co-requisites: HW 1000 and HW 1001, or permission of the instructor.
HW 2010 - Health Education, Behavior, and Promotion - 3 credits
Spring Semester
This course will allow the student to develop health education curricula and teaching strategies for individuals and groups across the life span and in a variety of settings. Based on an understanding of the breadth and depth of health education content and the health educator role, responsibilities and competencies, students will explore curricular design theory, health education need assessments, instructional strategies, learner characteristics, teaching materials and aids, learning environments, and evaluation methods. Health education ethics will also be explored.
Pre or Co-requisites: HW 1000 and HW 1001, or permission of the instructor.
HW 2150 - Introduction to Holistic Health - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a 3-year academic cycle
This course will introduce and explore the concepts of holistic health and its philosophical underpinnings. Sample issues include trends in holistic health care, the science of holistic health, views of health and wellness, examination of the impact of Western and non-Western values and belief systems, creation of healthier workplaces with holism, critical assessment of research and evaluation of treatment options. Selected integrative health modalities will be explored. Issues will be studied with both a personal wellness focus and a focus on working with health care consumers for wellness promotion. Discussion, writing, reading, and reflective practice will be the main learning activities. It is recommended that the student have completed HW 1000 prior to taking this course.
HW 2200 - Social Determinants of Health - 3 credits
Fall Semester
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the social determinants of health and their influence on population health. The course will utilize the concepts of social justice as the underpinning of an understanding of the social determinants of health. It is designed to expand students’ perceptions of the causes of and solutions to the health challenges facing the United States and globally. The course will focus on developing an understanding of the influence of public policy in diverse spheres on population health. Students will develop an understanding of the policy making process and how health promotion specialists advocate for health-enhancing policies on the local, state, and national level.
Pre or Co-requisites: HW 1000 and HW 1001, or permission of the instructor.
HW2300 - Environmental Health - 3 credits
Spring Semester
This course is designed to introduce the learner to relationships between the global environment and the health of individuals, communities, and populations. Topics to be explored include but are not limited to environmental epidemiology, the influence of various agents (e.g., toxins) on the environment, the impact of pollution on the air, water, and the land, and the effect of local, state, national, and international policy on the condition of the environment. The learner will explore and discuss issues pertinent to environmental health with the aid of documentaries (e.g., An Inconvenient Truth with Al Gore), case studies, group discussion, and a final project that incorporates the principles of social justice.
Prerequisite: HW 1000, HW 1001, or permission of the instructor.
HW 2500 - Global Public Health - 3 credits
Why are some people in different countries around the world healthier than others? This course will explore health and well- being around the world as it has been shaped by individual, community, economic, and political landscapes. Students will learn about a variety of topics including the critical global health concepts, social determinants that shape health and well-being, the effect of poverty, burden of disease globally, global health care systems, human rights, aspects of demography and health, and an introduction to culture and its influence on health.
Pre or Co-requisite: HW 1000 and HW 1001, or permission of the instructor.
HW 2520 - Nutrition - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
Introduces students to the basics of human nutrition. Macro and micronutrients are studied regarding their role in human physiology and health. The relationship between the foods we eat and the nutrients derived from them are explored through the study of digestion and absorption. Nutrition during the various life stages and evidence-based research regarding the role of nutrients and disease prevention are also discussed. Students are able to apply concepts learned by assessing the adequacy of their own diets and by investigating a current nutrition topic. (Same course as BIOL 2520).
Prerequisite: Any 3- or 4- credit BIOL, CHEM, or SCI course or permission of the instructor.
HW 2600 - Global Health Abroad - 3 credits
This short-term study abroad course will take students abroad to provide them with a first-hand glimpse into the dynamic ways in which another country approaches healthcare and public health. It will serve as an opportunity for students to learn about how other nations prioritize health services and equitable care, with a primary focus on universal healthcare. This course will consist of a combination of coursework at Curry and field visits to health facilities and programs in the destination country. Students will spend time preparing for our visit by learning about the destination country’s healthcare system and health successes through readings and instruction. Once abroad, students will witness the healthcare system in action by visiting local hospitals, clinics, and various other public health organizations as they explore the country’s rich culture and history. During the visits students will learn about health services provided and agencies whose mission includes health promotion and disease prevention. Students will leave this course experience with a more diverse perspective on global public health and will be able to compare another country’s health practices and system with that of the United States.
This course meets the General Education International/Global Interdependence requirement.
HW 3000 - Introduction to Epidemiology - 3 credits
Fall and Spring Semesters
This course introduces the student to the distribution, frequency, and determinants of patterns of disease and health conditions in various human populations.
Pre or Co-requisites: MATH 1150, HW 1000, HW 1001, HW 2200, and HW 2500 or permission of the instructor.
HW 3005 - Public Health Advocacy and Policy - 3 credits
This course introduces the learner to the role of policies, policymaking, and advocacy in public health and health care in the United States and internationally. Topics for this course include historical and current public health policy and advocacy campaigns (e.g., civil rights, environmental policy, the labor movement, the New Deal, Medicare/Medicaid, etc.), access, quality, cost and delivery of US health care, and management and leadership. Students will focus on privately and government financed insurance programs (e.g., Medicare) and emphasis will be placed upon both the favorable aspects and challenges of the Affordable Care Act. Students will be required to become familiar with writing policy memos for individuals, communities, and/or populations.
Pre or Co-requisites: HW 1000, HW 2200 or permission of the instructor.
HW 3010 - Senior Seminar in Public Health & Wellness - 3 credits
Spring Semester
The capstone course is designed to be the culminating academic experience for Public Health & Wellness majors. In this course, students will review important material from major coursework.
Pre or Co-requisites: HW 1000, HW 1001, HW 2000, HW 2200, HW 2500, and HW 3005, or permission of the Instructor.
HW 3020 - Current Issues in Health & Wellness - 3 credits
Offered periodically within a three-year academic cycle
This class is designed to inform the students of current health issues occurring in the world today. Topics will range from cutting edge information to older news in the health field that have been evolving. These areas will be discussed and explored with the emphasis on developing critical thinking skills.
Prerequisite: HW 1000.
HW 3050 - Race, Class, Gender and Health - 3 credits
Fall Semester
This course is designed for those students who are interested in exploring the impact that racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism have on a population’s overall health and well- being. This course will deconstruct these social concepts and their meanings in today’s society and contrast them to the health status of vulnerable communities. Major areas that are explored in this course include the impact of race/cultural on infectious and chronic diseases, the influence of discrimination on illness and death, social status and its relation to health care access, impact of acculturation and assimilation on health and well-being, and methods/strategies of working with diverse populations. Ideal for those who are interested in going into a health-related profession, students are provided with knowledge and skills that are necessary to work with diverse communities. (Same course as BLKS 3050).
This course meets the General Education Diversity requirement.
Pre or Co-requisites: HW 1000 and junior standing.
HW 4560 - Senior Practicum in Health - 3-9 credits
Spring Semester
Working in a selected agency with a preceptor, each student will develop, implement, and evaluate at least one health program. Emphasis will be placed on assessment, planning, implementing, and evaluation of health promotion programs, agency/community assessments, and professional collaboration at a beginning level. Additional learning activities will be utilized, as they become available within each agency. (Only 3 credits may count as an elective in the major).
Prerequisites: HW 1000, HW 1001, HW 2000, HW 2010, HW 2200, and HW 3000.
HW 4560SM - Senior Practicum in Health - 0 credit
Spring Semester
This weekly, one-hour seminar is taken in conjunction with HW 4560: Senior Practicum.