HEA: Health

HEA 501. Integrative Health. 3 Credits.

A comprehensive evaluation of alternative and complementary medicine aimed at describing how these modalities are being integrated with allopathic care. Focus will be on Eastern, African, and Native American traditions; homeopathy; naturopathy; botanical medicine; energy work; and mind/body health.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 502. Human Development Implications Health Education. 3 Credits.

This course examines human development from an applied perspective. Health educators and others working with preschool and school-aged children, as well as adolescents will examine physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Course participants will explore developmentally appropriate approaches to education and mentoring of children and youth. The course includes the use of readings on contemporary issues and policy initiatives affecting children and youth, along with case studies.

HEA 503. Foundations of Public Health. 1 Credit.

This course is designed to provide foundational public health knowledge for students who have not completed a degree from a program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). It will provide a foundation for public health practice by exposing students to the factors related to human health and the profession and science of public health. This course must be completed in the first year of the MPH program.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

HEA 511. Stress Management Techniques and Program Development. 3 Credits.

The first half of the course is devoted to examining basic stress concepts, the psychophysiology of stress, common stressors and their effect, and the relationship between stress and disease. The second half consists of a comprehensive review of stress management techniques that deal with cognitive restructuring, relaxation, and relationship building. Considerable emphasis is placed on personal application and group interaction in the classes.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 512. Challenge of HIV/AIDS: ISS-IMP-PREV-CONT. 3 Credits.

Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS; natural history of HIV infection, psychosocial, economic, educational, ethical, legal, and health care issues related to HIV/AIDS will be addressed. Impact on social groups (minorities, women, and adolescents) will be discussed. Heath promotion and disease prevention strategies will be highlighted.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 513. Legal Aspects of Health Care. 3 Credits.

An analysis of the basic legal concepts and major legal issues that are important to and directly affect the health services administrator. Topics include legal frameworks of health organizations and health practitioners, administrative policy, contracts, consent, patient's rights, legal death, insurance, liability, and research.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 514. Approaches to Health Care Delivery. 3 Credits.

The future of managed care depends on the performance of the managed care industry, especially the goal of providing high quality health care at the lowest costs possible. This course will discuss the challenges faced by managed care organizations and strategies used to overcome them.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Summer.

HEA 516. Health Care Management. 3 Credits.

Administrative and management techniques acquired in the administrative core are applied to the problems involved in health administration/management. Topics will include federal, state, and local health agencies; health care centers; organization principles; personnel factors; public relations; and fiscal management.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

HEA 520. Public Health Epidemiology. 3 Credits.

An overview of the epidemiological model of disease causation. Various epidemiological study designs and their applications will be presented.
Pre / Co requisites: HEA 520 requires a prerequisite of MAT 121 or equivalent.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

HEA 526. Biostatistics for Public Health. 3 Credits.

An overview of scientific methods, research designs, sampling, and survey techniques pertinent to the study of health issues will be presented. Choice and use of epidemiological and statistical software to analyze health data sets will be emphasized.
Pre / Co requisites: HEA 526 requires a prerequisite of MAT 121 or equivalent.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

HEA 531. Community as a Basis for Health. 3 Credits.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to examine the foundations of community health and community health assessment. Emphasis will be placed on the development of a community health needs and assets assessment and a service learning project in community health. The instructor and students will explore concepts and methods of community health improvement and the role of assessment in community health. The impact of social, cultural, and economic factors on current community health issues will be examined throughout the course.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 537. Women's Health Issues A Transcultural Perspective. 3 Credits.

Using a life cycle approach, a comparative analysis of women's lives and their health status across different cultures and nations will be made. Women's health status as related to their mutiple roles in the family and society.

HEA 538. Evaluation of Health Programs. 3 Credits.

A health program evaluation course designed to acquaint students with the fundamentals of health program evaluation. This course focuses on models and procedures for evaluating health programs and is designed to address competencies related to evaluation design, use, and implementation. Although the course emphasizes general qualitative and quantitative evaluation methodologies, specific health program applications from a variety of settings are employed as illustrations. The course also explores participatory evaluation in practice and the role of evaluation research in health program and policy development.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 539. Community Health Program Planning & Technologies. 3 Credits.

An advanced course in program planning that provides the students with the opportunity to apply the theories, models, and the best practices in community health program development. Students will use technologies to design (1) a needs assessment using publicly available information, based on which they will propose (2) a health program plan, and (3) an implementation plan. Finally, they will design (4) a comprehensive technical report that will include an executive summary; program background and rationale; program description, goals, objectives, inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes; description of need and target population, budget, longitudinal and overall report on program outputs and outcomes; Gannt timeline chart; SWOT analysis; and recommendations for next steps.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 543. Strategic Communication for Health Equity. 3 Credits.

An introduction to the principles of strategic public health communication applied to health equity. Students will develop skills to communicate health information effectively to specific audiences to promote health equity. The overall aims of the course are to: (a) ground students in an understanding of health inequities affecting communities and their root causes; (b) introduce foundational concepts, methods, and strategies of public health communication design and planning, including theory, research and best practices; (c) practice planning effective public health communication campaigns, including conducting situation analyses, audience segmentation, and formative research; (d) develop frames and messages tailored to specific audiences and channels to promote health equity in marginalized communities and populations; (e) synthesize course material in the production of an equity-focused social media campaign; and (f) use social media analytics to critique their work product.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 544. Program Administration in Health and Human Services. 3 Credits.

This course will provide students with the skills needed to develop and administer programs in public health settings. It will focus on providing students with the skills necessary for grant writing to fund a community health program. Using a hands-on approach, the students will learn to identify existing funding opportunities and to develop a comprehensive grant proposal for a health agency. The proposal document will include (but is not limited to): mission statement, goals and objectives, target population analysis, a fiscal plan and resource allocation, post-award grant administration, and a sustainability plan.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 545. Mind/Body Medicine. 3 Credits.

A comprehensive evaluation of the mind's role in disease prevention and healing. Emphasis will be placed on learning and practicing mind/body techiniques and assessing the mind's role in preventing disease and promoting healing.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 548. A Life Span Approach to Public Health. 3 Credits.

Using a life span approach, this course will examine how disability, disease and other poor health outcomes at end of life are associated with a range of adverse social and behavioral health risks incurred across the life span and stemming from early life conditions and experiences. Using this approach students will learn about current public health programs for older adults, develop and evaluate such programs and refine or develop interventions designed to prevent/delay poor health outcomes.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

HEA 551. Science and Theory of Applied Mindfulness. 3 Credits.

Creates a historical context for the current growth of secular programs of applied mindfulness, examines the historical and theoretical underpinnings for applications of mindfulness meditation in health and wellness programs and educational settings, presents and critiques the robust scientific evidence base for such applications, and surveys the scholarly literature on pedagogy of mindfulness. Students acquire a facility in accessing and assessing multidisciplinary sources of knowledge, including scientific research-based knowledge, theoretical insights, and historical practices, to assist them in development, justification, and promotion of applied mindfulness programs for a wide range of potential audiences. As a final project, students complete a comprehensive literature review for applying mindfulness with a population that fits their professional interests.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 552. Applied Mindfulness I. 3 Credits.

This introduction to mindfulness practice and teaching assists students in developing and maintaining a personal mindfulness practice, and defines four essential skill sets of teaching mindfulness programs: stewardship, homiletics, guidance, and inquiry. The course includes experience of the full, eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum, with students as the participants. Students reflect on and critique the MBSR course, class by class. In the other six weeks of the course, students work to develop basic competence in two of the four essential skill sets: homiletics, which is the preparation and delivery of informational talks on mindfulness and its applications, and guidance, which is the process of leading a group or individual in formal or informal mindfulness practice. There are focus sessions on mental health awareness and trauma-sensitive practice. As a course-long project, students design a 90-minute mindfulness workshop for a population that fits their professional interests.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 555. Women's Health Issues A Transcultural Perspective. 3 Credits.

Using a life cycle approach, a comparative analysis of women's lives and their health status across different cultures and nations will be made. Women's health status as related to their multiple roles in family and society.

HEA 581. Special Topics: Health. 1-3 Credits.

In-depth study of selected health topics current to the interests and needs of professionals serving in various health and health-related areas. Topics will be announced prior to the first day of each semester.
Typically offered in Spring & Summer.
Repeatable for Credit.

HEA 601. Research/Report Writing. 3 Credits.

The M.Ed. candidate selects a school health issue or a critical topic for review of the literature and produces a scholarly manuscript for publication in a professional journal.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

HEA 605. Utilizing Systems Thinking in Public Health. 1 Credit.

The purpose of this course is to introduce MPH students to concepts of systems thinking and demonstrate how it may be used in public health policy with applications to community health, environmental health, and healthcare administration. Many health problems are intertwined and connected in a series of complex relationships. Failure to understand these relationships may lead to unintended consequences. The process of developing a system model far outweighs the actual model itself. In this process, professionals and lay people reach across discipline boundaries and each make contributions to understanding the nature of the problem and its system components, which will present opportunities for policies and interventions. The model development process engages a multitude of skills, perspectives, and tacit knowledge that incorporates the reality of socioeconomic relationships, political structure, and social institutions.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

HEA 609. Independent Study and Special Projects. 1-3 Credits.

Research projects, seminar papers, reports of special conferences, and reading in health.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.

HEA 611. Field Placement. 3 Credits.

A project for students in health concentrations. All core course work should be completed before beginning the project.
Consent: Permission of the Department required to add.

HEA 612. Health Care Financial Analysis and Management. 3 Credits.

This course is an introductory health care finance course for graduate students. Emphasis is placed on the most important accounting and financial management principles and concepts relevant to organizations that provide health care services.
Distance education offering may be available.

HEA 613. Advocacy and Quality of Health Care Services. 3 Credits.

An introduction to patient advocacy for graduate students in health professions. Topics include ethics, health care financing and policy, health advocacy for special populations, and key strategies for system change.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 614. Health Care Technology and Information Management. 3 Credits.

This course will provide future health care managers with the knowledge and skills they need to work effectively with information systems technology. Topics covered in this course include emerging technology, information systems, the internet's impact on health care organizations, and system standards, among others.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 615. Policy in Public Health. 3 Credits.

This course is designed to generate competencies in (1) discussing the public health policy process including the roles of ethics and evidence in the development of policy options; (2) proposing strategies to identify stakeholders and develop coalitions to influence public health policy; (3) advocacy for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations; and (4) evaluating policies for their impact on public health and health equity. The course contributes to these competencies by (1) building the knowledge base for health policy issues using an economic perspective as a foundation for evaluating policy; (2) exploring aspects of the health policy process including the use of evidence and political feasibility; (3) practicing policy analysis on a topic of choice using a defined sequence of stages from problem statement to recommendation; and (4) examining the art of political decision-making via values and narratives used in the policy development process.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

HEA 616. Strategic Leadership in Health Care. 3 Credits.

Healthcare industry requires visionary, creative and transformational leaders who can navigate effectively through a dynamic and complex landscape. This course will provide foundational concepts and principles necessary for exercising strategic leadership.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 620. School Health Programs. 3 Credits.

This course provides the theoretical underpinnings of the profession, professional responsibilities, and programmatic and critical issues in comprehensive school health programs.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 622. Principles of Curriculum and Instruction for Health. 3 Credits.

This course will address the foundation, philosophy, and practice of comprehensive school health education. Major focus in on the development, implementation, and evaluation of K-12 comprehensive school health education.
Typically offered in Fall.

HEA 632. Social and Behavior Aspects of Public Health. 3 Credits.

An advanced course on current theories in health behavior and the application of these theories to management methods in the health care field. Topics include trends in health behavior, health concerns, analysis of the decision-making process, and factors affecting health behavior.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

HEA 645. Global Community Health Promotion. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on the core concepts involved in the planning, assessment and implementation of global community health promotion among different cultures from around the world. Topics will include key concepts in global community health, how to measure global community health, tools to assess a specific country's health status, culture, and resources, as well as strategies to improve a specific country's health status, issues of health equity and aging around the world, and key organizations involved in global community health. Students will be asked to develop a country-specific community health promotion plan from a global community health perspective.
Typically offered in Fall and Winter.

HEA 648. Research Methods in Public Health. 3 Credits.

This course focuses on the theory and practice of research applied to public health problems. Students will be exposed to the design and implementation of public health research projects. The course is centered on the tools and techniques of research and their application to formal research design.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall & Spring.

HEA 649. Applied Learning Experience I. 1-3 Credits.

During this course students will participate in planning activities that will prepare students for ALE II - The MPH Practicum. The purpose of the MPH Practicum is to meet the needs of the participating organization or agency while the student learns to apply public health skills and competencies. Students will select their ALE placement prior to the start of this course. This course will include a comprehensive and integrated application of the MPH foundational and track competencies (selected by students) in the planning phase of assignments completed during ALE II. Students will also be introduced to the role of the host agency in the community setting with completion of the Agency Interview Reaction Paper, the Agency Report, and the Professional Practice Activities Plan. Students will select their professional practice products along with the required competencies (3 MPH foundational competencies and 2 MPH track competencies). Students will complete the products at the agency during ALE II. Students will need to commit to 200 on-site hours to complete ALE II. Students are required to complete ALE I and II in the last two semesters of the MPH program.
Pre / Co requisites: HEA 649 requires prerequisites of HEA 520 and HEA 526.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

HEA 650. Applied Learning Experience II. 3 Credits.

This course is intended as a capstone experience in the M.S. in health program. It is intended to bring students together from a wide array of subdisciplines in public health, and through field and research experience explore and share common principles of public health practice. Students will choose a project within their area of expertise and, under faculty guidance, produce an end product that meets professional standards. A formal student presentation of the final product is the culminating experience of the seminar.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.

HEA 652. Applied Mindfulness II. 3 Credits.

Building on HEA 552, this course deepens students' personal mindfulness practices, ensuring that they encounter a broad array of potential meditation experiences and thereby improving their understanding for teaching. Reviews and advances students' levels of confidence and competence in the skill sets of homiletics and guidance. Emphasizes the skill sets of stewardship, which shapes the relational dynamics of the mindfulness group, and inquiry, which is the dialogical exploration of another's moment-to-moment mindfulness experience. Offers experience as a participant observer in a six-week, low-dose Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR-ld) training in a group including participants from the local community. Explores the ethics of teaching mindfulness in relation to the codes of ethics of students' particular professions; continues focus on mental health awareness and trauma-sensitive practice begun in HEA 552. Final project is development of a curriculum and research project for a population that fits the student's professional interests.
Pre / Co requisites: HEA 652 requires a prerequisite of HEA 552.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Spring.

HEA 653. Applied Mindfulness Practicum. 3 Credits.

This course offers the opportunity for the student to apply and refine the four skill sets of stewardship, homiletics, guidance, and inquiry, through supervision, self-reflection, and empirical research on the student's own teaching. Students will deliver their applied mindfulness curriculum as developed in HEA 652 to the group or individuals of their choice, while receiving teaching supervision from certified faculty to ensure fidelity, safety, and refinement of skills of teaching. Students will maintain a reflective journal about the teaching experience, and will perform the mixed methods research study designed and submitted for IRB approval in HEA 652. Final project is a 5, 000-word paper integrating personal reflections on mindfulness practice and pedagogy, the supervision process, analysis of participant evaluations, and analysis of the outcome data of the research study. Paper will include plans for improving the future structure, content, and delivery of the curriculum.
Pre / Co requisites: HEA 653 requires prerequisites of HEA 551, HEA 552, and HEA 652.
Distance education offering may be available.
Typically offered in Fall, Spring & Summer.