Syllabus

Schedule

Each week opens on Wednesday at 12:01 AM Eastern Time. Each week closes on Wednesday at 11:59 pm ET, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday.

Week 1	Aug 29 – Sept 5
Week 2	Sept 5 – Sept 12
Week 3	Sept 12 – Sept 19
Week 4	Sept 19 – Sept 26
Week 5	Sept 26 – Oct 3
Week 6	Oct 3 – Oct 10
Week 7	Oct 10 – Oct 17
Week 8	Oct 17 – Oct 21 (Sunday)

Weekly Schedule

*See Blackboard for required and suggested weekly readings.

---

Week 1: Introduction to and Overview of Community Health Assessment

Weekly Outcomes

• Examine what constitutes a community needs assessment.
• Explore communities to determine appropriateness for assessment.

Lectures

• Course Overview
• Final Project
• Week 1 Lecture: The “Community” in Community Needs Assessment

Assignments

• Week 1 Introductory Video

  • Introduce yourself in a 3-minute biographical video. Share as much information as you wish about your background and experience, educational journey and your family and leisure activities. In your video, identify what you hope to learn in this course and your experience, if any, in conducting the community needs assessments. 

    This course requires you to conduct a community needs assessment. As you select a community to assess, you should consider the following: 1) the community must be geographically (town, city, county) defined (Do not define your community based on socioeconomic or health issues such as a homeless or HIV/AIDS population.); and 2) the community must be accessible to you, since you will be visiting the community to make observations and conducting two interviews in the community.

• Week 1 Discussion: Communities for Assessment Project
  • Initial Discussion Post: In an essay, reflect upon two possible communities you are considering for your assessment project. In your post, provide brief information about each community such as physical description (urban, suburban, rural) and the location of the communities in relation to where you reside. Explain why these communities are of interest to you and what you would hope to learn by assessing either community. Support your post with a minimum of two external references.
• Week 1 Assignment: Selection of Final Community
  • In a 2-page paper (excluding title page, abstract, references, and appendices), identify variables you will consider as you make your final selection of a community in week 2. Explore how you will decide which community to assess for your final project. Be specific as to your decision-making process. Follow AMA formatting for your paper. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. Provide a minimum of two, external scholarly references to support your positions in the paper.

---

Week 2: The Use of Logic Models in Community Health Assessment

Weekly Outcomes

• Identify variables for selecting a community to assess.
• Explains steps of a theoretical model for planning a community health assessment.

Lectures

• Week 2 Lecture: Logic Models
• Week 2 Lecture: PRECEDE-PROCEED
• Week 2 Lecture: MAPP
• Week 2 Lecture: MAP-IT

Assignments

• Week 2 Discussion: Community Selection

  • Initial Discussion Post: In an essay, identify your final selection of the community you will be assessing. Why did you select this community over the other one you considered? Identify two possible challenges you may encounter in assessing your selected community and how you may approach these challenges. Support your post with a minimum of two external references.

    Response Post: Compare and contrast your reasons for selecting your community with that of a co-learner. Of the challenges and possible approaches to the challenges you identified, compare the similarities and differences to those of the co-learner. Support your post with a minimum of one external reference.

• Week 2 Assignment: Theoretical Framework
  • In a minimum 2-page (excluding title page, abstract, references, and appendices) paper, describe the theoretical framework (logic model) you have selected to conduct your community assessment. Identify which phases/steps in the logic model you will employ in conducting your assessment and why you think the step(s) are relevant for your assessment. Follow the AMA format example paper for this assignment. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. Provide a minimum of four external, scholarly references for this paper. 

---

Week 3: Creating a Community Demographic and Socioeconomic Profile

Weekly Outcomes

• Demonstrate ability to conduct qualitative data collection.

• Identify quantitative data related to the socioeconomic and demographic factors that may impact health in a community.

Lecture

• Week 3 Lecture: Community Profile

Assignments

• Week 3 Discussion: Windsheild Survey

  • Before you complete this week’s discussion and assignment, please complete the following tasks:

    a) Collect qualitative data by conducting a windshield survey in your community. Take pictures of your key observations and be prepared to include them in your final project paper. 

    b)  Conduct a face-to-face or telephone interview with someone who is considered a leader (chief of police, hospital administrator or another hospital leader, director of The United Way or other community agency, etc. ) in your community. Take notes/quotes that you can incorporate into your weekly discussion post, week 3 assignment and the final project paper. 

    Initial Discussion Post:  In an essay, discuss what you earned from your windshield survey and interview with a leader in your selected community. Be specific about your observations and the impressions of the individual you interviewed. Provide a minimum of two external citations to support your post.

    Response Post: Compare and contrast your windshield survey and interview with that of a co-learner. Specifically, what were the similarities and differences in your respective approaches and findings? Provide a minimum of one external citation to support your post.

• Week 3 Assignment: Socioeconomic and Demographic profile of your community
  • Write a minimum 3-page paper  (excluding title page, abstract and references) quantitatively describing the socioeconomic and demographic profile of your community. Use data to compare and contrast such indicators as housing, age, ethnicity, employment and other socioeconomic and demographic factors with those of a neighboring community, the county, state and national rates. Include charts and graphs of your data in appendices to support your findings. Identify and describe major community assets such as hospitals, colleges, churches, and community agencies.   Follow the AMA format example paper for this assignment. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. Provide a minimum of four external, scholarly references for this paper. 

---

Week 4: Creating a Community Health Profile

Weekly Outcomes

• Locate, analyze and use data on community health indicators to characterize the health status of a community.

Lecture

• Week 4 Lecture: Health Profile

Assignments

• Week 4 Discussion: Interview

  • Before completing this week’s discussion and assignment, please do the following:

    • Conduct a face-to-face or telephone interview with someone who is considered a health leader (hospital administrator or another hospital leader, director of health department, physician, nurse ) in your community. Take notes/quotes that you can incorporate into your discussion post this week, your week 4 assignment and final project paper. 

    Initial Discussion Post: In an essay, discuss the results of the interview with the healthcare leader in your community. Identify the role of this individual and his/her specific impressions about health, health care and health issues in the community. What strategies are currently being employed to address some of the health issues? Provide a minimum of two external citations to support your post.

    Response Post:  Compare and contrast your interview results with that of a co-learner. Be specific as to what the similarities and differences in feedback are between the individual you interviewed and that of your peer. Explore why those differences may exist. Provide a minimum of one external citation to support your post.

• Week 4 Assignment: Health Profile
  • Write a minimum 3-page paper (excluding title page, abstract and references) describing the health profile of your community. Examine indicators such as disease rates and compare those rates with a neighboring community, county, state and national rates. Include charts and graphs in appendices to support your findings.  Follow the AMA format example paper for this assignment. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. Provide a minimum of four external, scholarly references for this paper. 

---

Week 5: Selecting a Priority Health Issue or Problem

Weekly Outcomes

• Explain the rationale for the selection of a health issue or problem.
• Determine the relevancy of the health issue/problem to the community.
• List and categorize community assets for addressing a health issue/problem.

Lecture

• Week 5 Lecture: Priority Health Issues

Assignments

• Week 5 Discussion: Prioritizing Health Issues
  • Initial Discussion Post:  In an essay, describe why it is important to prioritize health issues in a community. Identify several criteria that public health professionals may use to determine priority health issues and outline the relevance of the criteria for your community. Provide a minimum of two external citations to support your post.

    Response Post: Review the essay of a co-learner. Describe how his/her prioritization criteria and approaches do or do not align with Hanlon’s Method for Prioritizing Health Problems outlined in Guide to Prioritization Techniques (NACCHO)? Outline a scenario where Hanlon’s Method would be the most applicable in prioritizing health problems. Provide a minimum of one external citation to support your post.

• Week 5 Assignment: Chosen Priority Health Issue
  • In a 2-page paper  (excluding title page, abstract and references), identify the priority (only one) health issue in your community. Use data to support why this is the priority issue for the community. Compare this health issue for your community with a neighboring community, the county, state and national data as a means to justify this health issue as a priority. Identify any socioeconomic, demographic, cultural or lifestyle factors that may contribute to the priority issue. Identify and describe three existing community resources available to address the priority health concern in your community. Follow the AMA format example paper for this assignment. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. Provide a minimum of four external, scholarly references for this paper. 

---

Week 6: Summarizing Community Health Assessment Results

Weekly Outcomes

• Analyze and synthesize assessment results.
• Summarize and use the results of the community profile to develop a community assessment report.

Lecture

• Week 6 Lecture: Summarizing Community Health Assessment Results

Assignments

• Week 6 Discussion: Additional Steps
  • Initial Discussion Post:  At this point in the course, you have completed an assessment of your community’ socioeconomic, demographic and health indicators, and you have identified the priority health issue for your community. In an essay, describe additional steps you would take if you were conducting a comprehensive community assessment. What other factors would you consider and how would you engage the community?  What methods would you use obtain perceptions about the community from the community-at-large? Provide a minimum of two external citations to support your post.

    Response Post:  Compare and contrast the additional steps you propose in the assessment process with that of a co-learner. What are the similarities and differences? Provide a minimum of one external citation to support your post.

• Week 6 Assignment: Summarization of Findings
  • In a 3-page paper (excluding title page, abstract, references, and appendices), succinctly and clearly summarize your findings from week’s 3, 4 & 5. Include summary charts and graphs appendices to support your findings. Do not “copy and paste” your work from previous weeks, but summarize your findings so that a reader with no knowledge of your community would gain a thorough understanding of the issues and challenges. Make three recommendations as to how the community might address the issues you have identified. Make your recommendations realistic for possible implementation. Follow the AMA format example paper for this assignment. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. Provide a minimum of four external, scholarly references for this paper. 

---

Week 7: The Community Assessment Report

Weekly Outcomes

• Organize and plan an assessment report.
• Identify limitations of the assessment process and possible mitigation strategies. 

Lecture

• Week 7 Lecture: The Assessment Report

Assignments

• Week 7 Discussion: Limitations of Assessment
  • Initial Discussion Post: Discuss the possible limitations in conducting a community assessment. Be specific as to what limitations you encountered in your assessment process. How might a public health professional employ mitigation strategies to minimize limitations?  Support your post with a minimum of two external citations.
• Week 7 Assignment: Final Project Part 1
  • Prepare a 15-20 page final paper presenting the work you have completed throughout this course. Your paper should be double-spaced, 12 font, Times New Roman. *Refer to the Final Project Document for complete instructions.

---

Week 8: Communicating the Results of a Community Assessment

Weekly Outcomes

• Develop a plan for communicating information about community health issues.
• Present a community needs assessment to an audience.

Lecture

• Week 8 Lecture: Communicating the Assessment Report

Assignments

• Week 8 Discussion: Communication Plan
  • Initial Discussion Post: In an essay, outline a plan for communicating the results of your community assessment to key stakeholders. Identify three communication methods and three stakeholder groups in your post. Support your post with two external references. 
• Week 8 Assignment: Final Project Part 2

  • Prepare a maximum 10-minute PowerPoint video summarizing the results of your community assessment. *Refer to the Final Project Document for complete instructions.

Student Resources

Online Student Support

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 Libraries:

• Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

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:

• UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

• ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

Passing Grade Statement

A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the course. A grade lower than 80% will result in you having to repeat the course. Obtaining two "Fs" in the program will result in dismissal from the program.

AMA Writing Style Statement

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

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement

Learning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly and ethically is an important skill in today’s society. AI is not a substitute for developing and enhancing skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing essential to a public health professional. If you choose to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E2, they must be used wisely and intelligently to deepen your understanding of a subject matter and support learning. You are not allowed to use AI tools to generate your work. Content produced using AI tools cannot be used as a substitute for your original work.

Students in the Graduate Programs in Public Health (GPPH) must take ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of AI-generated content used in any work. You are expected to think critically about the results and alignment with the questions or tasks in the assignment and never substitute AI-generated results for professional human judgment and logic. GPPH students are also expected to understand that the information generated is not always accurate and, in some cases, propagates discrimination and bias. You must stay abreast of AI best practices, and the changing risks and benefits, and monitor AI for biases and risks for vulnerable populations and underrepresented groups.

Within GPPH, using AI-generated content in academic work falls under our academic integrity policies. All instructors will continue to use our AI detection software for each assignment submitted so it will be flagged.

Using any AI tool in your work must be acknowledged in-text every time it is used, not in your list of references. You will include a summary of what the AI tool was used to do, followed by the AI tool brand name, version/extension #, manufacturer/owner, and date used in parentheses.

For example, 

Themes from participant responses were identified using a chatbot session (ChatGPT, model GPT-4, OpenAI, May 17, 2024).

Failure to acknowledge the inclusion of AI-generated content in any work submitted violates our academic integrity policies and will be considered an infraction with the associated penalties for plagiarism as outlined in the Student Handbook.

The Student Orientation has a module "Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Students", please refer to this module for more information about navigating the use of AI.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

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.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

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.

Late Policy

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.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

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.

Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your Enrollment and Retention Counselor if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. Tuition charges may still apply. Students are strongly urged to consult with Student Financial Services, as course withdrawals may affect financial aid or Veterans benefits.

Academic Integrity

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:

1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

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.