HLTH 1520 - Prevention in Community Health

4.5 Credits

This course introduces and applies the principles of public health and study design needed to support population-based and community-health assessment and evaluation. It focuses on how individuals and groups approach issues of health behavior, health communication, and health promotion. Basic and more advanced methods are covered as appropriate, with application to public health and community contexts.

Lecture Hours: 4.5
Lab Hours: 0.0
Internship Hours: 0.0
Clinical or Practicum Hours: 0.0

Course Objectives

Types of health care institutions, hospitals, e.g., different types, skilled nursing and rehabilitation, custodial nursing, hospice, community health centers, mobile units, treatment centers.
Types and roles of health care providers, e.g., physicians, including hospitalists, nurses, doctors of nursing practice, social workers, therapists, health education specialists, and other health professionals, as well as the relationships among them.
Health care, community health systems, and continuity of care, e.g., confidentiality, referral, institutional transfers, community-based resources.
Accessing medical care, e.g., first contact care and specialty care, in-patient and outpatient, emergency care, community-based services, palliative care.
Accessing long-term care and other outpatient/community resources, e.g., custodial nursing homes, home health services, community-based services.
Role of public health agencies in health care delivery-licensure, regulation, communicable disease control, disaster planning, environmental protection, safety net roles, etc.
Diagnostic process-medical history taking and testing, e.g., family history, description of symptoms, past treatments, review of systems, allergies, types of testing.
Types of diseases, e.g., cancers, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, infections, mental illness and diseases altering mental functioning, communicable diseases.
Types of treatments including the process, goals, and general types of side effects, e.g., surgery, medicines, radiation and chemotherapy, physical therapy, alternative approaches.
Structure and functions of medical records, including the use of electronic health records.
Principles for communicating with clinicians and other health professionals verbally and in writing.
Continuity and coordination of care-the importance of clinical and administrative continuity, and the consequences of lack of coordination including implications and prevention of hospital readmission.
End of life care and decision making-medical power of attorney, living wills, bioethics review boards.
Quality and safety of health care, e.g., accreditation, certification, licensure, quality assurance and safety, and legal issues, e.g., privacy and confidentiality, second opinions, and malpractice.

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