Public Health Courses

PUBH-101: Introduction to Public Health (Credits: 3)

The course will familiarize students with the various, multidisciplinary aspects of public health, including the history of public health, overview of public health professions, basics of epidemiology, health information and communication, health policy and law, health promotion, overview of infectious and chronic diseases, access to healthcare, health care systems, and disaster preparedness and management.

PUBH-190: Public Health Seminar I (Credit: 1)

The art and science of public health is constantly changing, with new public health issues emerging on a daily basis, as well as new and novel methods of addressing these issues. This course will cover a variety of topics relating to contemporary issues in public. Topics related to the practice of the public health professional will also be covered. Topics such as leadership, systems thinking, public health competencies, professionalism, and continuing education will be covered in this class.

PUBH-210: Infectious and Chronic Diseases (Credits: 3)

The course will review the major organisms that cause infectious disease will be discussed, as well as lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that predispose to both infectious and chronic disease. Individual diseases will also be discussed, reviewing basics of epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical features and treatment for the disease. Finally, a broader overview of the ecology of disease will be discussed, such as the epidemiologic and demographic transition; the emergence and re-emergence of diseases once thought to be controlled; the challenges of preventing, controlling and treating chronic diseases; and the increasing evidence showing the link between infectious agents and chronic diseases.

PUBH-240: Applied Quantitative Method Publc Health (Credits: 4)

This course is an introduction to selected important topics in biostatistical concepts and reasoning. This course represents an introduction to the field, provides a survey of data and data types and covers the basic tools for the collection, analysis and presentation of data in all areas of public health. It provides examples of data used to evaluate public health decisions, programs and policy. Specific topics include general principles of study design; tools for describing central tendency and variability in data; methods for performing inference on population means and proportions via sample data; statistical hypothesis testing and its application to group comparisons; issues of power and sample size in study designs; and review of methods for comparison of discrete and continuous data including ANOVA, t-test, correlation and regression.

PUBH-250: Global Health (Credits: 4)

The course will introduce students to public health concepts related to global health, the role of globalization in the spread of illness, the link between socioeconomic factors and health, the role of politics and governments in health, key diseases and conditions in global health, the role of culture and social factors in health, and key organizations and their role in global health. (WCore: EWRLD)

PUBH-305: Epidemiology (Credits: 4)

The course will focus on the development of epidemiology, concepts and elements of infectious and chronic disease, and measurement and study design for epidemiological research. Students will gain knowledge about developing preventative programs and addressing overall ongoing health concerns using epidemiological data.

PUBH-310: Social and Behavioral Science in Public,Health (Credits: 4)

The course will cover the basic theoretical underpinnings of human behavior, both at the individual and population levels. Utilizing this framework, this course will analyze the social and behavioral determinants to health, such as culture, socioeconomic class, gender, etc. Finally, these theories will be applied to various real-world settings, from schools to mass communications to special-needs populations.

PUBH-320: Environmental Health (Credits: 4)

This course will cover health issues, scientific understanding of causes, and possible future approaches to control of the major environmental health problems in industrialized and developing countries. Topics include how the body reacts to environmental pollutants; physical, chemical, and biological agents of environmental contamination; vectors for dissemination (air, water, soil); solid and hazardous waste; susceptible populations; biomarkers and risk analysis; the scientific basis for policy decisions; and emerging global environmental health problems.

PUBH-330: Health Promotion and Education (Credits: 3)

This course introduces the student to the discipline and profession of health education. Students will examine the concepts of health and wellness, the determinants of health behavior, national health status, the history of health education and health promotion. The student will recognize health education as an important foundation for population-based healthcare.

PUBH-340: Health Policy (Credits: 3)

Policy decisions shape our healthcare landscape. The US spends the highest percent GDP on healthcare in the industrial world, but this does not translate into high quality care or health outcome measures. In fact, over 50 million people in the US have no health insurance. People without health insurance (public or private) tend to forgo or delay care, ultimately seeking medical intervention when conditions are more advanced and thus more costly (and difficult) to treat. This course will examine how health care policy is created and adopted in the US, with a focus on Utah. Students will learn the ins and outs of policy, advocacy, lobbying, and the impact policy decisions have on the public and on the medical system. Topics include national and Utah health reform, issues for vulnerable populations, public programs, the health insurance industry, and effective advocacy. The class will be a "hands-on" approach to learning policy, structured around Utah's legislative session. Students will be expected to attend relevant committee hearings, caucuses, coalition meetings, and legislative debate at Utah's Capitol complex during Utah's legislative session. Students will follow proposed legislation through the session, actively working in support or opposition. Students will have the opportunity to work with local advocacy groups and meet Utah's key policy makers.

PUBH-350: Program Planning and Evaluation (Credits: 3)

The course is designed to provide students an overview to develop public health programs and interventions to address the most important health issues affecting our communities at local, national, and international levels. Students will learn the process of public health programming including assessment, design, planning, implementations and evaluation. The course will also include an overview of effective public health interventions using the socio-ecologic framework (individual/behavioral, environmental/social/community and policy) as a foundation to explore various levels of interventions. The course integrates several knowledge and skill areas including: research methods, epidemiology, biostatistics, proposal writing, budget planning, project management, and program evaluation. Students will develop a plan to implement and evaluate a public health intervention to address a health need of their choosing.

PUBH-390: Public Health Seminar II (Credit: 1)

The art and science of public health is constantly changing, with new public health issues emerging on a daily basis, as well as new and novel methods of addressing these issues. This course will cover a variety of topics relating to contemporary issues in public. Topics related to the practice of the public health professional will also be covered. Topics such as leadership, systems thinking, public health competencies, professionalism, and continuing education will be covered in this class. This course will cover more advanced topics than the companion PUBH 190.

PUBH-401: Directed Studies (Credits: 1 to 4)

A tutorial-based course used only for student-initiated proposals for intensive individual study of topics not otherwise offered in the Public Health program. This course is repeatable for credit.

PUBH-440: Internship (Credits: 1 to 6)

An internship experience is strongly recommended to acquire real-time public health experience. Students will be graded on assigned coursework and evaluation by their site supervisor. Prerequisites: 60 college credits completed (for transfer students at least 15 hours competed at Westminster or permission of instructor), minimum 2.5 GPA, and consent of faculty advisor and Career Center internship coordinator. Interns will work for 42 hours per each registered credit. This course is repeatable for credit. Some majors limit how many internship credits may count towards the major, consult your faculty advisor. REGISTRATION NOTE: Registration for internships is initiated through the Career Center website and is finalized upon completion of required paperwork and approvals. More info: 801-832-2590 https://westminstercollege.edu/student-life/career -center/internships.html

PUBH-440S: Internship (Credits: 1 to 8)

PUBH-480: Public Health Research Methods (Credits: 4)

This course provides an introduction to the fundamentals of research study design and methods and data collection. It serves as an introduction to quantitative, qualitative, mixed method and participatory approaches to research, as well as ethical issues in conducting research. Through the mix of texts, articles from the public health literature and course work, students will build skills for conducting research and evaluation.

PUBH-490: Public Health Capstone Project (Credits: 4)

The course will provide students with an opportunity to synthesize all previous course work and practical experience to generate an evidence-based public health research project. Students will, with the guidance of a faculty mentor, choose a research topic, and by attending periodic workshops and lectures and by submitting intermediate assignments during the duration of the research project, generate a submission-quality research paper and present the results in a seminar. The course will culminate in a presentation of the research project by the student at a seminar, and the potential submission of a publication-quality research paper or poster. Prerequisite: completion or concurrent enrollment of all required courses in the major. (WCore: SC)