Health Promotion Sciences

The Department of Health Promotion Sciences prepares public health professionals for leadership roles in the development, promotion, and application of educational and behavioral science theory as well as methods for solving community health problems.

Role of the Health Promotion Professional

Health promotion is the application of the social and behavioral sciences, educational strategies and techniques, and epidemiological methods to reducing health risks in individuals, families, social networks, neighborhoods, organizations, and communities.

Organizational Settings:   Public health agencies at the National, regional, state and local levels, including health maintenance organizations, health departments, clinics, industry, community agencies, schools, colleges, and universities.
Professional Roles:   Graduates provide planning, implementation, and evaluation skills to local, state, and national organizations.
Specific Learning Objectives: Skills developed through the program include community assessment, diagnosis and development, program planning, program implementation, and program evaluation.

Curricular Areas:

• Knowledge and skills related to program stages, including community assessment, program planning, program implementation and program evaluation.
• Knowledge and skills related to levels of intervention, including working with individuals and small groups, network strategies, organizational development and change, community development, public policy, and mass media.
• Content areas, including chronic diseases, communicable diseases including sexually transmitted diseases, health promotion/disease prevention strategies for screening, stress, exercise, nutrition and tobacco use, and intentional and unintentional injuries.
• Knowledge base of social and behavioral science theories, research methods, epidemiology, and biostatistics.
• Familiarity with varying populations, including racial and ethnic groups, children, adolescents, adults, elderly, the poor and disenfranchised, rural and urban residents, and genders.
• Familiarity with health promotion settings, including schools, work sites, hospitals and health care providers, government agencies, and other community organizations.
• Professional issues, including philosophy, principles and ethical issues in health promotion, the history of public health, and knowledge of the various professional organizations.