Courses

Provides an overview of the major areas of health communication including health communication campaigns, physician-patient communication, and communication among health professionals and individuals affected by health issues.

This course focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of communication programs designed to change health behavior of individuals, groups, and entire populations.

This course overviews majors themes of interpersonal health communication including issues such as physician-patient communication, relationships for individuals with health issues, and the relationship of communication to physical and mental health outcomes.

Focuses on how mediated communication is transforming health/medical practice and affecting health policy processes. Topics range from the way mediated communication sources affect the search for an acquisition of health information to the way these technologies are used to affect the behavior of individuals, groups and entire populations.

This class is designed to give an overview of the major fields of study in the area of health communication. This includes the areas of health communication campaigns, multicultural health communication, physician-patient communication, and communication among health professionals. The ultimate goal of health communication is to increase health and satisfaction by encouraging healthier behaviors, medical compliance, and more efficient communication of medical information.

The course is designed to introduce students to major areas of research and professional practice in the field of health communication, including: (a) patient-healthcare provider communication, (b) inter-professional communication in healthcare, (c) multilevel health promotion campaigns and interventions, (d) multi-/inter-cultural health communication, (e) e-health, m-health, and telehealth applications, and (f) risk and crisis communication, among others.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Define health communication and the relevant major areas of research and professional practice and explain how theories and practice are related.
2. Articulate how health communication informs and is informed by other disciplines and fields of study.
3. Describe communication-related challenges encountered in efforts to address health inequalities.
4. Identify strategies to reach various audiences and communities to achieve the goals of health communication campaigns and interventions.

Adapt approaches for conducting health communication research in the field to tackle case studies and address real-world problems.

This course provides an overview of theory and research related to the role of the media in promoting public health efforts and advances. The course reviews theories of health behavior change and message effects, and discusses applications of these theories to media-based health initiatives. Through the course, the students will examine the interplay among theory, research and practice and further discuss how theory informs practice and how research aids in theory construction and refinement.

Upon the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Compare major health communication and media effect theories and models.
• Explain the mechanisms through which media messages affect health behaviors.
• Apply theory and research findings in health communication to practical health concerns.
• Critique mediated health campaigns through the application of course theories and tools.
• Redesign a mediated health campaign that reflects theory-driven communication messages.

This course considers the design, implementation, and evaluation of public health communication programs that aim to influence the health-related behaviors of individuals, groups, and communities. The first part of the course reviews the theoretical foundations of public health communication campaigns, including key theories of health behavior change and communication theories that augment them. The second part introduces students to key planning and design considerations of successful public health communication campaigns. The third and final part of the course engages students with the versatile communication strategies and skills that health communication professionals employ routinely to influence people’s health-related decisions and behaviors.

By blending theory and practice, this course (a) provides a starting point for developing knowledge of health campaigns, (b) encourages thoughtful criticism of past campaigns based on solid theoretical ideas, and (c) equips students with creative problem-solving skills that can be applied to the design of actual campaigns. Through a series of individual and group assignments, students have an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in this class to the formulation, design, and evaluation of a communication campaign addressing a health problem of their choice.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe and compare major theories and models of health behavior change.
• Use a combination of theoretical tools and research insights to design and implement health communication campaigns that address specific, real-world public health problems.
• Demonstrate ability to critically assess the efficacy of health communication campaigns (process and outcomes evaluation).
• Communicate effectively with diverse groups of stakeholders to facilitate successful implementation of the campaign.

This graduate seminar examines issues of interpersonal dynamics when talking about health and healthcare. Discussion centers on the role of communication in healthcare interactions and examine how communication can facilitate, hinder, or create inequities of care that occurs among patients. The course will review communication among clinicians, patients, and significant others and families. Themes of discussion include patient-provider communication, culture in healthcare, medical mistrust, health literacy, and the role of close others in managing healthcare

Upon the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Identify important healthcare issues in interpersonal communication.
• Analyze health-related interpersonal communication through multiple lenses.
• Discuss main healthcare themes that emerge from empirical research and their implications.
• Recognize the multiple functions interpersonal communication contributes to managing health and healthcare contexts.
• Develop presentation material and activities.
• Evaluate empirical research about an interpersonal health issue.

New courses developed in response to emerging areas of interest, and courses in traditional areas given occasionally as student demand dictates.

As appropriate for each Topics class.

New courses developed in response to emerging areas of interest, and courses in traditional areas given occasionally as student demand dictates.

As appropriate for each Topics class.

New courses developed in response to emerging areas of interest, and courses in traditional areas given occasionally as student demand dictates.

As appropriate for each Topics class.