Introduction of Community Health Education

Health educators promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health by assisting individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors. This is accomplished primarily through the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, polices, and environments. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of the field of community health education and an opportunity to develop skills in needs assessment and program planning. We will review the importance of health behavior as a contributor to current public health problems, as well as the role of health education and health promotion in addressing these problems. Students will learn how to use the planning frameworks for conducting needs assessments and designing and evaluating health promotion programs. Theories of health behavior change will be introduced and their applications explored. Examples of health education and health promotion programs will be presented from health care, community, school and workplace settings.

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