This course explores the concepts and methods for assessing the health of a community. Topics include qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment, identifying social determinants of health, prioritization of identified health needs, and systems thinking approaches. Students use two online tools to create a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) map and a Network map which they will incorporate into a comprehensive community health assessment.
GPH 719 Research Methods
GPH 722 Introduction to Environmental Health
GPH 726 Social and Behavioral Health
GPH 738 Program Planning & Evaluation
The course will be delivered in 8 weekly online modules, with each module beginning on Wednesday at 12:01 am and ending the following Wednesday at 11:59 pm, except for the last week (Week 8), which will begin on Wednesday and end on Sunday. Students will watch online lectures produced by the course instructor and field experts, engage in readings and other media provided by instructors, and will learn from one another through the discussion board and written assignments. Each section of this course will be facilitated by an instructor with significant professional and academic expertise in the area of study. Individual meetings with the course instructor will be up to the student to schedule
PC 8: Collaborate with priority populations, partners, and stakeholders to develop and adapt public health education interventions to achieve desired outcomes
PC 9: Examine evidence-informed findings related to identified health issues and desired changes
PC 18: Source credible public health information to inform practice
PC 19: Execute public health research, evaluation, policy, and/or practice using informed data analysis and interpretation
PC 20: Demonstrate comprehensive public health approaches to health equity
FC 2: Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
FC 3: Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate
FC 4: Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice.
FC 7: Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health
FC 18: Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
FC 22: Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than a standard narrative
Students are expected to complete all course requirements outlined below. Each course is worth 100 points, and student work is evaluated based on achievement of learning objectives as measured by criteria outlined in the respective scoring rubrics for assignments and discussion boards.
Class Discussions: Discussion forums are an essential part of the online course experience. Discussion prompts build on readings, lectures and course content, and allow students to contribute to the learning experience through collaboration with the instructor and peers. Read the prompts carefully and use the rubrics to confirm how discussions will be graded.
Your original contribution to a discussion must be submitted by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET of the week it is assigned. Responses to colleagues must be completed by Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET of the week it is assigned.
Foundational Assignments: In weeks 1 through 5, you will complete assignments intended to support foundational learning, skills, and tools that will be used in your final culminating project.
Final Project: This culminating project allows you to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in this class to write a compelling report to policy makers and public health professionals, including demographics, information, and recommendations for the community in which you reside.
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Assignment | Points |
---|---|
Week 1 Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement Quiz | 1 |
Discussions (Weeks 1-5 @ 5 points each; Week 6 @ 8 points; Week 8 @ 6 points) | 39 |
Weekly Assignments (5 @ 8 points each) | 40 |
Week 7 Assignment: Final Project | 20 |
Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Week 1: Jan 15 – Jan 22
Week 2: Jan 22 – Jan 29
Week 3: Jan 29 – Feb 5
Week 4: Feb 5 – Feb 12
Week 5: Feb 12 – Feb 19
Week 6: Feb 19 – Feb 26
Week 7: Feb 26 – Mar 5
Week 8: Mar 5 – Mar 9
Select three health conditions (those that can be diagnosed by a health care provider) and use the attached social determinants of health template to fill in the empty cells. Support your descriptions with at least one scholarly reference.
Prompt 1: Introduce yourself to your instructor and peers. Describe any education or experience that you have with conducting a community assessment, and any fun facts about you. Include in your post the community that you will use for your final project – this could be a city, county, or census tract. (If you live in a small city, it is advisable to use the county so that you can have access to sufficient data with which to write your final project).
Response posts are encouraged but not required.
Prompt 2: Using about 500 words, describe one area of health inequity in the city or state where you reside. Your post should include a strong justification for why it is an equity issue. Use data and scholarly articles to support your discussion.
(If you live outside the US, and have limited access to data, you may use scholarly articles only.)
Response (required): Select the post of one peer and provide a detailed critique of how well their initial post justified the selected health issue as one that relates to inequity. Then identify at least two essential public health services that could address the inequity they identified.
Initial Post: You are conducting a health assessment of the city in which you live. You have your thoughts as to what the major issues needing attention are, but you want to obtain feedback from members of the community since they are major stakeholders in the community assessment process. You plan to obtain feedback on their perceptions about their use of existing community resources using a qualitative data collection method. Based on the information in this week’s readings on different qualitative approaches (individual interviews, group interviews, observation, or community meetings), which ONE approach would you select and why? Support your selection using at least one scholarly source.
(There is no one correct answer, the goal is for you to be able to provide a strong justification for your selection.)
Response: Compare and contrast your post with that of a co-learner. What are the specific similarities and differences in your approaches? Describe at least one advantage of the qualitative data collection approach they selected over other approaches. Support your post with at least one scholarly source.
Based on this week’s reading on windshield surveys, conduct a windshield/walking survey of your community. Take at least two pictures of your key observations for each one of these five categories: housing, infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, streetlights, etc.), parks, health services, and any other category of your choosing. (You should have a minimum of 10 photographs total)
Following the AMA Style Guide, 11th ed., label each photograph as a Figure and include a brief title, numbering them consecutively. Display the Figure number and title above each photograph. For example, “Figure 1. Low-income apartment building on Broadway.” Then, for each photograph, develop an idea. In other words, what story does the photo tell you? Include the idea as a legend (caption) in 40 words or less below each photograph. For example, “Many rent-subsidized housing apartment buildings are old and in need of major repairs.”
You will have a total of 10 ideas. Then, group your ideas into themes. You should have a minimum of three themes and a maximum of five. Themes should be described in one sentence. The first part of your document will be your photographs, labeled as Figures with their ideas as legends, and the second part of your document should be a table containing the ideas and their related themes.
Initial Post: Demographic data describes who lives in the community, the characteristics of the community, and some of the social determinants of health. Create a demographic profile for your community. Use data, tables, and graphs as appropriate to compare and contrast at least FIVE demographic factors such as housing, age, race/ethnicity, employment, housing, poverty, health insurance status, or environmental factors with those of (1) neighboring community, (2) state, and (3) national rates. Please create your own tables and charts from your reference material. Don’t include screenshots of tables or charts from another source. Make sure to label your tables or figures (graphs) correctly using AMA formatting and cite your sources. Create your post in Microsoft Word, and then copy and paste it directly to the discussion board.
Response Post: Review the post of a peer. Select two demographic variables and compare them with the results from your community. In what ways are they similar or different? How could the similarities or differences affect a health department’s recommendations on interventions? For example, if the residents in your peer’s community are older, or wealthier, or mostly immigrants compared to yours, how could that affect the design or implementation of interventions?
Community health profile: Write a 750-word paper (excluding charts and references) describing the health profile of your community.
Review and collect the most recent quantitative health indicator data for at least FIVE health indicators such as disease rates, mortality rates, life expectancy, mental health and substance abuse rates, obesity rates, injury rates and other health-related factors relevant to your community. Risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, and lack of physical activity can also be included. Compare data to (1) neighboring community, (2) state, and (3) national data.
Create charts and graphs of your data using Microsoft Excel or any software of your choice to support the findings. Make sure to label your tables and figures (graphs) correctly using AMA formatting and cite your sources. Please create your own tables and graphs from your reference material. Don’t include screenshots of tables or graphs from another source.
Follow steps 5 – 7 in the Week 4 Complete QGIS Instructions document to prepare your data and create your GIS map. Paste the .jpeg image of your map into a Word document. Label your map as a Figure with a descriptive title using AMA format. Cite your data sources in AMA format.
Initial post: Based on the assignments from prior weeks, in a 350-500 word post, choose the top 5 health issues that need to be addressed in your selected community. Justify your selection of the issues based on comparisons to a neighboring community, county, state, or national data. Rate each of your 5 issues based on specific criteria you choose using the Hanlon method, then rank your 5 issues according to their scores. Include a table with scores for each health issue and criteria used, using Table 4.2 in the NACCHO document “Guide to Prioritization Techniques” in this week’s reading as a model. Choose one of the issues as a prioritized need for your community and justify your selection using the Hanlon rating method and comparison data.
Response: Review the post of a peer and comment on how well their selection of priorities aligns with Hanlon’s methods. What did they do well? What could they have done differently?
Initial post: Make sure to watch this week’s lecture before you start on the discussion post and assignment. We will be exploring a free online resource called Kumu to create a community asset map. Network mapping in public health can help us visualize our community partners and stakeholders, keep track of complex relationships, and help us understand our networks and the resources available to us in the community.
Response: Review the network maps of at least two peers and give constructive feedback on how their maps could be improved or what new information could be added. What are possible gaps and what other community partners or assets could be added?
Final Project: Community Health Assessment Report
Prepare a 20 – 25 page final paper presenting the work you have completed throughout this course. Your paper should be double-spaced, and size 12 font.
Now that you have completed 6 weeks of assignments and discussion posts, you have a good idea of the health status of your selected community.
You are the newly hired community health officer in your state/local health department tasked with assessing the health of your selected community and developing a plan to address the most pressing health issues. Your goal is to convince the governor/mayor’s office to support and fund the mitigation measures you will propose. In order to do this, you need to communicate the information you have collected to the major stakeholders: policymakers, public health professionals, and the public. This written final project allows you to apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired in this class to write a compelling report to policymakers and public health professionals. Next week, you will communicate your findings using audience-appropriate language.
Review the final project document for details on what is required for each section of the paper.
Initial post: You are the director for communications at your local health department, and you have been invited to a press conference to address the state of the state/county/city. Submit a 5-minute video that summarizes the findings from your report using audience-appropriate language. For effective communication, it is important that your face is visible in the presentation. See detailed instructions in the attached document.
Response: Watch the presentations of TWO of your peers. Provide each of them with a written review of their presentation no later than Sunday at 11:59 pm ET. See detailed instructions in the attached document.
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page
UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:
The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.
Online resources: AMA Style Guide
The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.
Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.
You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.
Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.
Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.
Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.
8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.