The following courses are offered by the Health Studies Department:
Health Education
- This is an introductory survey course to health education. The course provides students with the knowledge, skills, and behavioral models to enhance their physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual health as well as facilitate their health decision-making ability. The primary areas of instruction include: health and wellness; stress; human sexuality; alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse; nutrition and weight management; and physical fitness. Students who have completed HED 110 - Comprehensive Health Education will not receive credit for this course.
- This course in health educations offers a comprehensive approach that provides students with the knowledge, skills, and behavioral models to enhance their physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual health as well as facilitate their health decision-making ability. Areas of specialization include: alcohol, tobacco and abused substances, mental and emotional health, human sexuality and family living, nutrition, physical fitness, cardiovascular health, environmental health and health care delivery. HED 110 fulfills all degree requirements for HE 100. Students who have completed HED 100 - Health Education will not receive credit for this course.
- This course explores the intersections of sexuality and culture, looking at the social construction of sexuality, the development of sexual and relationship norms through history, and the role of media and popular culture in shaping our understanding of sexuality, gender, and relationships.
- Students will examine American dining rituals and patterns from colonial times through the 21st Century. Students will examine how historical events of colonization, trade, war, industrialization and weather impacted food consumption and diet in America. Using a socioecological model, students will also examine how American meal patterns are influenced by religion, race, culture, economics and politics.
- This course will develop positive health related attitudes, values, and habits to promote physical, mental and social wellness. The student will attain a broad spectrum of exercise information and skills and apply that knowledge to those skills in a laboratory fitness program, utilizing appropriate equipment to assess the function of muscular systems during physical performance. Individuals will explore the body's adaptations to aerobic, anaerobic, and resistance training.
- This course examines the use of licit and illicit drugs across cultures within the context of personal health and wellness. The historical, pharmacodynamics, psychological, emotional and social aspects of licit and illicit drug use, as well as drug abuse, will serve as the foundation for this examination.
- An advanced seminar in health education, this course concentrates on an in-depth investigation of selected health problems. Emphasis is placed on social aspects of health.
- This course academically examines topics that health education professionals have identified as: 1) critical to the health and wellbeing of specific populations, 2) relevant to the current state of the nation's health and healthcare system, 3) representative of recent trends in health practices/theory, or 4) a significant health concern attributable to personal health behavior(s). This course provides for an in-depth analysis of the array of topics germane to the health field. Each semester one or more topics will be offered through this course.
Prerequisite: HED 100 or HED 110 - This course covers causes of alcoholism and drug abuse. It discusses ways people are introduced to harmful substances, social and personal effects of alcoholism and drug abuse, prevention, and rehabilitation techniques. Methods and materials for professional students are given special consideration.
- This course deals with the physiological, psychological and social aspects of human sexual development and functions.
- This health course is aimed to be a practical course for students and to affect their lives in a positive way. It provides an opportunity to gain information and insight into the physical, psychological, and social aspects of women's health concerns.
- Historical events and contemporary factors affecting the availability, control, and monitoring of American Health Care products and services are explored. Such factors include: the private and public financing of health care, public and private monitoring of health care; and the ethical issues of medical care in America. The purpose of the course is not to advocate any particular health care philosophy, product or service, but to provide the student with the skills and factual base for making informed decisions in the health care marketplace.
- This course examines what the National Academy of Sciences recommends for meeting onea??s nutritional needs. It examines the food, beverages, and supplements that comprise onea??s diet and assesses their impact on health following digestion, absorption, and metabolism. The course is designed to help students make health informed choices regarding nutritional needs and goals.
- Students in this course acquire knowledge essential for safe living, including the causes and preventions of accidents. The student learns the practical skills of first aid and cardio pulmonary resuscitation. Students are eligible for certification provided they meet Red Cross standards.
- This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the psychological, physical, and social understanding of the stress response. The course will explore the divergent ranges of the human stress response, while emphasizing the use of positive stress in an academic setting. Opportunities will be provided for students to learn concrete scientific measures, gain practical insights, and adapt viable stress management techniques. The purpose of the course is not to advocate any one particular technique, but rather to enable students to make informed decisions about stress management approaches toward enhancing health.
- An introduction to the United States and International field of health communication with an emphasis on theoretical constructs, practical models and applications. This course of study examines the multifaceted nature of health communication and its role in personal health behavior and public health interventions.
- This course focuses on preventive heart care utilizing: nutritional plans, cardiovascular stress management, cardiovascular knowledge, and individualized cardiovascular fitness programs. In the classroom and fitness laboratory, students explore, devise and practice educational and fitness strategies to improve their overall cardiovascular health.
- The course experience provides students, utilizing Dubos' Multidimensional Health Model, an understanding of death and dying from a physiological, emotional, spiritual, and behavioral perspective with additional emphasis on legal and ethical issues. Topics to be explored include: therapeutic care plans as they relate to diseases and disorders of the terminally ill; medical preparation for death, inclusive of DNI (do not intubate), DNR (do not resuscitate) and health proxy laws; an examination of the emotional and physiological impact on the health of the caregiver as well as that of the terminal patient,; an examination of funeral rituals and grieving practices involved in the healing process of bereavement, as well as unique circumstances of death involving suicide and euthanasia. Overall, the course explores death within the multiple dimensions of health and wellness on the continuum of the life cycle. Prerequisite: HED 110 or HED 100 for which a "B" grade or above has been earned.
- This course will provide an overview of the social and behavioral factors which influence the transmission as well as the prevention of HIV/AIDS throughout the world. Students will become familiar with the determinants and distribution of AIDS, and the psychosocial, bio-behavioral, environmental and community factors related to the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. Students will have an opportunity to explore their own beliefs, values and approaches to the issues regarding HIV/AIDS, in addition to the cultural, political, social, legal, ethical, spiritual, and public health issues and the perspectives of people living with HIV infection and AIDS that are needed to inform practice and policy. Prerequisite: HED 110
- This course introduces students to physical, chemical and biological hazards found in the environment and public health risks associated with workplace and community exposure to them. The historical, economic, and cultural forces contributing to and inhibiting solutions to occupational and environmental safety and public health problems are analyzed. Topics include air and water quality, climate change, waste disposal, occupational health issues, exposure to toxic materials and others.
Prerequisite: HED 110 - This course will examine the history of health and illness from a population perspective. The course will present students with past, present and future key public health topics and their application to public health strategies to prevent or minimize health problems among culturally diverse populations and across the lifespan. This course will present students with foundational knowledge in public health by examining policy, practice, and methods in the United States and abroad. Prerequisite: HED 110
- This course present students a cognitive and affective foundation to explore psychological, social, and cultural determinants of health behavior. Students will explore the several theories and principles that can be used to define how human behaviors and social factors influence health in general and their application for public health professionals in community settings. The course will cover social issues and factors that place people in various socioeconomic groups (gender, race, ethnicity, and place of birth) at different risk levels for premature mortality and poor health.
- This course is designed to instill in students a foundation knowledge in the social and behavioral determinants that influence health status. Students will develop writing skills for effectively communicating about psychological issues in public health. The course will provide students with an opportunity to examine the causes of behavior in the home, school, and community settings, examine how environmental variables may be manipulated in order to increase appropriate behavior, models of behavior change for students, and learn about the legal and ethical issues in behavior change. Prerequisite: HED 110 and HED 280
- This course presents basic principles and methods of public health epidemiology. Particular emphasis is on applying epidemiologic methods to public health problems such as measures of disease frequency, study designs and bias, effect modification, outbreak investigations, screening, causality and ethical issues. Students will develop skills to interpret and evaluate health information from published epidemiologic studies. Prerequisite: HED 110 and HED 280
- This course will provide students with the basic knowledge and skills of data management, statistical techniques, and measurement in public health research. It will concentrate on interpretation and comprehension of graphical and statistical techniques most often used in public health research and practice. Topics covered will include vital statistics, descriptive and inferential statistics, multi-variable analysis, and measurement methods. Students will acquire practical skills of data management and statistical analysis through the use of computer software. Prerequisite: HED 110, HED 280 and MAT 150
- Health educators promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health by assisting individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors. This is accomplished primarily through the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of the field of community health education and an opportunity to develop skills in needs assessment and program planning. We will review the importance of health behavior as a contributor to current public health problems. Students will learn how to use the planning frameworks for conducting needs assessments and designing and evaluating health promotion programs. Theories of health behavior will be introduced and their applications explored. Examples of health education and health promotion programs will be presented from health care, community, school and workplace settings. Prerequisite: HED 110 or [HED 100 with an earned grade of "B" grade or above]
- This course is designed to provide health education students with an understanding of theories and models upon which behavior change is based and with strategies to impact health behavior change. Students will acquire basic health behavior counseling and coaching skills and practice principles involved in motivation and program adherence and retention. Each student will gain experience working in the field of community health education through a field placement assignment.
Prerequisite: HED 110 or [HED 100 with an earned grade of "B" grade or above] - This course will investigate health issues related to aging from a global perspective. Students will understand how culture influences individual responses' to the elderly and the aging. The relationship between aging, chronic and degenerative diseases will also be reviewed with special consideration given to the effect of biological changes on elders' process, health functioning and prevention of the effects of physical and mental deterioration of the individual.
- This course explores the global aspects of nutrition in relation to health and disease. Students will examine factors that contribute to hunger, malnutrition, nutrition-related diseases and chronic diseases. Students will examine nutrition epidemiology and consequences of malnutrition in terms of morbidity and mortality. Students will also examine political mechanism that affect delivery of quality food and nutrition services, such as legislation, policies and practices. Students will develop cultural competencies needed for effective nutrition intervention as well as explore agricultural techniques needed for sustainable development. Prerequisite: HED 110
- This course examines current concepts in human nutrition as applied to individual needs that are based upon research conducted with gender and age groups in each stage of the life span.
Prerequisite: HED 110 - This Study Abroad course will expose students to the rich history and culture of inhabitants of the Andes. Class sessions will be based in the city of Cusco, Peru, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Cusco is an ancient colonial city built on Inca monuments, and has been declared a World Heritage site by the UN. Field trips and hosting with local families will expose students to the culture, health practices, and beliefs of the Andean people. The course will be based at the Centro Tinku, a cultural center dedicated to exchanges between students and inhabitants of the Andes. Students will compare and contrast Peruvian and U.S. access to health care in colonial times and the present, complementary and alternative medicines, and health outcomes.
Prerequisite: HED 110 or NUR 112
Health Studies
- This course explores personal health through the lens of the socio-ecological model, emphasizing social responsibility. The socio-ecological model of health acknowledges that individual health and societal health are deeply intertwined and influence each other in multiple ways. Recognizing this, the curriculum delves into the intricate interplay between personal, interpersonal, and broader socio-ecological factors. By examining how these layers collectively influence well-being, students gain insight into their own health and wellness. The course aims not only to guide students in adopting healthier lifestyles but also to inspire collective action for healthier societies, acknowledging that individual well-being is deeply connected to social and environmental factors.
