Global Health through Film provides first and second year students a film-centered introduction to an array of complex real-life social issues and health challenges facing our contemporary world. Students will be introduced to a variety of filmic genres and will screen films produced to meet diverse aims by individuals and organizations from five continents. They will explore how communities in different areas of the world meet their basic human needs and how they contend with new challenges to: the spread of chronic and communicable diseases; occupational and environmental health; substance addiction and gun violence; and human health threats caused by climate disruption. Students will analyze these and other health issues by synthesizing, evaluating and applying knowledge from social and biological sciences and the humanities. The course provides a broad and image-packed introduction to the discipline and practice of global health.
A semester-long study of topics in Public Health. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary study of public health. It covers fundamental public health theories, concepts and methods, and emphasizes evidence-based decision-making involving both quantitative data and qualitative narrative. It highlights the social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental conditions and structures that shape the health of populations at local, state, national and global levels. It also explores the myriad career fields and professional roles of public health practitioners. Course balances scholarly readings and current issues with visits from local public health practitioners, advocates, and leaders to discuss their ongoing work. Course required for PHEAL majors but open to all students with interests in health-related studies and work.
This course covers the core science of understanding the causes and distribution of population health so that we may better intervene to control and prevent disease and promote health. It surveys the historical emergence of public health epidemiology, and the range of essential methods and practices involved in measuring population health, assessing trends and patterns, investigating outbreaks, and evaluating interventions. Case studies and current controversies are featured, including health data gaps, health disparities, and reconciling equality, efficiency and equity.
A semester-long study of topics in Public Health. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
This course focuses on the roles of ethics, advocacy, and leadership in public health theory and practice. What is involved in becoming an ethical public health practitioner? What sorts of ethical criteria and procedural conditions are necessary to ensure the normative rightness of research design, empirical analyses, and programmatic interventions in public health? Given demonstrable inequities in the distribution of health, morbidity, and mortality, how can social justice attentive to underserved and vulnerable populations be advanced through public health? Through case-studies students will practice evidence-based ethical deliberation and advocacy. Intended for HEAL majors, but open to all students with health and justice-related interests.
A significant challenge for current public health practitioners is identifying and understanding the social determinants of health that contribute to disease patterns. Grounded in the urban and medical sociology literature, this course interrogates how policies, plans and designs that create our built environments in cities and communities result in differential exposures, health behaviors, and health outcomes across demographics and space. Each semester, a major theme will be chosen such as transportation systems or housing (see instructor for the term plan). Students will learn how these built environments are shaped by political and social environments; how the resulting built environments create differential exposures and behavior changes; and the public health outcomes of concern. Embedded into the course are field work days for data collection and analysis skills through a range of audit-like methodologies.
This course helps students prepare for senior capstone by covering qualitative and quantitative research designs common to equity-oriented public health programmatic, policy, and research analysis/evaluation. Students will leave with a mixed-methods capstone proposal that clearly links theory from prior courses to an actionable research and/or field experience.
A semester-long study of topics in Public Health. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
A semester-long study of topics in Public Health. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.
A writing-centered capstone course in which they exercise and demonstrate their abilities to engage independently and collaboratively in public health theory and practice. Students may meet this requirement through one of four structured options: (1) on-site internship, (2) on-site role-shadowing and service, (3) community-based research or service, or (4) independent research paper. Individual option undertaken to be determined in consultation with PHEAL faculty. All options involve appropriate scholarly literature review, written reflections, draft and final report, peer-editing, and formal presentation of results.
Willamette University
Ford Hall
900 State Street
Salem
Oregon
97301
U.S.A.