Syllabus

Schedule

Course Weeks

• Week 1: May 4 – May 11
• Week 2: May 11 – May 18
• Week 3: May 18 – May 25
• Week 4: May 25 – June 1
• Week 5: June 1 – June 8
• Week 6: June 8 – June 15
• Week 7: June 15 – June 22
• Week 8:   June 22 – June 26 (Sunday)

Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction to Community Assessment

Weekly Outcomes

• Define community for the purposes of CHA and CHIP 
• Describe major historical contributions to, and current contextual drivers for, CHA such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the IRS mandate 
• Describe processes and tools related to CHA and CHIP and the such as, PATCH, CHIP, APEXPH, PACE­EH, and MAPP 
• Select community for which each student will develop a community health profile

Readings

• Institute of Medicine. Improving Health in the Community: A Role for Performance Monitoring. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1997, Executive Summary, pages 1-11. Available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=5298. Seminal work that provides a conceptual basis for the community health improvement process and the use of performance indicators in this process.
• Institute of Medicine. Improving Health in the Community: A Role for Performance Monitoring. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1997, Chapter 4: A Community Health Improvement Process, pages 77-125. Available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=5298
• Rosenbaum, S. Additional Requirements for Charitable Hospitals: Final Rules on Community Health Needs Assessments and Financial Assistance. [Internet]. Health Affairs Blog: Following the ACA. January 23, 2015.  Available at: http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2015/01/23/additional-requirements-for-charitable-hospitals-final-rules-on-community-health-needs-assessments-and-financial-assistance/
• National Association of County and City Health Officials. APEXPH, PACE EH, and MAPP: Local public health planning and assessment at a glance. Washington, DC: NACCHO; 2007. Available at: http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/mapp/upload/MappPaceApex.pdf Fact sheet presenting an overview of the key similarities and differences among three NACCHO and CDC developed tools: APEXPH, PACE EH, and MAPP. This information will help users decide which tool is most appropriate for their needs.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials. Overview of the various phases of the MAPP process, recommended participants, and suggestions for success that was developed by the County of San Diego Health Department. Available at: http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/mapp/framework/clearinghouse/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageID=243828. Overview of the phases of the MAPP process, recommended participants, and suggestions for success that was developed by the County of San Diego Health Department based on the NACCHO MAPP materials.

Videos

• Introduction and Course Overview (John Gale) | Slides
• Definitions of Population, Community, Health, Assessment, and Community Health Assessment (Gib Parrish)
• Community health improvement process and community health assessment (Gib Parrish)
• Web based resources for community health assessment (Gib Parrish)

Assignments

• Discussion: Introduction
• Discussion: CHA Review – Presentation and Methodology
• Assignment #1: Select a Community

Week 2: Community Overview & Community Engagement

Weekly Outcomes

• In chosen community conduct a windshielding exercise and collect information on forms
• Compile data and pictures for online presentation to begin process of creating community health profile
• Using various data sources obtain more information about your community including community groups, stakeholders, relevant history, decision-makers, and others that will be important to CHA process
• Describe ways to quantify and qualify community participation, engagement, and sustainability as well as notions such as social connectedness and social capital
• Given a scenario, be able to organize and analyze data about your community
• Participate in focus group role play as part of community Health Assessment process

Readings

• Gale, J., Coburn, A., & Newton, H. Collaborative Community Health Needs Assessments: Approaches and Benefits for Critical Access Hospitals. Policy Brief # 36. May 2014. Flex Monitoring Team: Portland, ME. Available at: http://www.flexmonitoring.org/publications/pb36/
• US Department of Health and Human Services. Principles of Community Engagement, Second Edition. Washington, DC: USDHHS; 2011: Chapter 1, pages 7-17 and Chapter 2. Available at: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement/index.html.
• Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. Community Tool Box [Internet]: Community Assessment, Chapter 3, Section 21: Windshield and Walking Surveys. Available at: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/chapter3-section21-main.aspx. Accessed: 2013 Nov 17.

  This link provides instructions for windshielding from Kansas Health Department. This link provides background about what you might look at and how you might plan your time. Specific instructions for the assignment are given in the assignment description below.

Videos

• Module Overview
• Windshielding Assignment Intro
• Peer Review of Windshielding Assignment 

Assignments

• Assignment #2A: Windshielding
• Assignment #2B: Windshielding Peer Review

Week 3: Community Resources

Weekly Outcomes

• Describe the importance of community resources and assets in the community health improvement process
• Understand the difference between a community map based on needs and one based on assets
• Explore resources and assets that are available in your community

Readings

• Institute of Medicine. Improving Health in the Community: A Role for Performance Monitoring. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1997, Chapter 4: A Community Health Improvement Process, pages 106-113. Available at:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=5298.
• McKnight J, Kretzmann J. Chapter 10: Mapping community capacity. In Community Organizing and Community Building for Health, 3rd ed. Edited by Meredith Minkler. Rutgers Univ. Press. 2012. Pages 171-186. Available online at Google books, http://books.google.com/books?id=uVU6yuxq-E0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Meredith+Minkler&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sZwmUomiA8OzsATC9IHwDA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ.
• Community Tool Box. Chapter 3 section 8: Identifying community assets and resources. Contributed by Bill Berkowitz and Eric Wadud. Available at: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1043.aspx.

Videos

• Qualitative Interviewing (Sharon McDonnell)
• Avoiding Leading Questions (Sharon McDonnell)

Assignments

• Discussion: CHA Review – Engagement
• Begin working on Assignment #3 due in Week 4

Week 4: Indicators for Assessing the Health of a Community

Weekly Outcomes

• Become familiar with a community health profile (CHP) and the role it plays in a community health assessment (CHA)
• Discuss the components of a CHP and select core elements for the CHPs that we will develop during this course
• Review health status indicators and select a core set of such indicators for inclusion in every student’s community health profile (CHP)

Readings

• Institute of Medicine. Improving Health in the Community: A Role for Performance Monitoring. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1997, Chapter 5: Measurement Tools for a Community Health Improvement Process, 126-165. Available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5298/improving-health-in-the-community-a-role-for-performance-monitoring
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Community Health Assessment for Population Health Improvement: Resource of Most Frequently Recommended Health Outcomes and Determinants (.pdf). Atlanta, GA: Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, 2013.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials. Community Health Status Assessment Core Indicator Lists. Available at: http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/mapp/framework/clearinghouse/upload/Worksheet-CHSA-Indicator-List.pdf. Accessed: 2013 Aug 21.

Videos

• Overview (John Gale)  
• Community Health and Indicators (Gib Parrish)

• More About Community Health Indicators (Gib Parrish)

• Sample Indicators  (Gib Parrish)

• Geography in Selecting Indicators (Gib Parrish)

Assignments

• Assignment #3: Community Assets Interview
• Assignment #4A: Selecting Core Health Indicators

Week 5: Geographic, Demographic, and Socioeconomic Conditions and Health Status of a Cummunity

Weekly Outcomes

• Review methods of collecting data about the health of populations
• Review widely used sources of data about the health of populations
• Access U.S. Census Bureau and other Web sites to locate demographic and socioeconomic data on selected communities that can be used for a CHP
• Access various Web sites to locate health data on selected communities that can be used for a CHP

Readings

• National Association of County and City Health Officials. MAPP: A User’s Handbook .pdf . Washington, DC: NACCHO, 2004, pages 23-24, 56-64.
  • Pages 23-24 provide a timeline for conducting the MAPP process over an 18-month period.
  • Pages 56-64 describe the Community Health Status Assessment portion of the MAPP process.
• Institute of Medicine. Improving Health in the Community: A Role for Performance Monitoring. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1997, Appendix B, Methodological Issues in Developing Community Health Profiles and Performance Indicator Sets, pages 360-373. Available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=5298.

Videos

• Video tutorial that describes the NH Health Data Inventory and how to use it. Available at: http://www.applyit.unh.edu/tutorials-presentations/tutorial-using-nh-health-data-inventory (2:46 minutes)
• Video tutorial that describes the NH Health Web-based Query System (WRQS) and how to use it. Available at: http://www.applyit.unh.edu/tutorials-presentations/tutorial-using-nh-health-web-based-query-system (3:42 minutes)

Assignments

• Discussion: CHA Review – Use of Data
• Assignment #4B: The Search for Data

Week 6: Community Health Profile

Weekly Outcomes

• Review published community health assessments and profiles
• Complete a draft community health profile on a selected community

Readings

• There are no required readings this week.

Videos

• Overview of Community Health Assessment Assignment (John Gale)

Assignments

• Assignment #5A: Community Health Profile Draft

Week 7: Evaluating Community Health Assessments

Weekly Outcomes

• Review published criteria for assessing the usefulness of community health assessment
• Discuss the lack of evaluation of CHAs and suggested approaches to such evaluations
• Provide useful and collegial feedback to peers on written and verbal presentations

Readings

• Myers S, Stoto MA. Criteria for Assessing the Usefulness of Community Health Assessments: A Literature Review. Technical Report, Document #TR-314-CDC. Santa Monica (CA): RAND, 2006. Available at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR314.html.

Videos

• Evaluating Community Health Assessments (John Gale)

Assignments

• No assignments are due this week. Make sure to work on your Community Health Profile due Week 8. 

Week 8: Prioritizing Health Issues & Exploring Interventions

Weekly Outcomes

• Review methods for prioritizing population health issues
• Review strategies for addressing population health issues

Readings

• Hardy, L, Bohan, KD, Talbot Trotter, R. Synthesizing Evidence-Based Strategies and Community Engaged Research: A Model to Address Social Determinants of Health. Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Public Health Reports. 2013;3(128)
• Quality Improvement, Department of Public Health, County of Los Angeles. Priority Setting in Public  Health. September 2015.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials. First Things First: Prioritizing Health Problems. Posted on 2010 Oct 15. Available at: http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/accreditation/upload/Prioritization-Summaries-and-Examples.pdf.
• Jacobs JA, Jones E, Gabella BA, Spring B, Brownson RC. Tools for Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach in Public Health Practice. Prev Chronic Dis 2012;9:110324. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd9.110324. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2012/11_0324.htm.

Videos

• Prioritizing Health Issues and Exploring Interventions (John Gale)

Assignments

• Discussion: Reflection
• Assignment #5B: Final Community Health Profile

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 Blackboard/Brightspace.
• Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
• Library Tutorial: Find an article
• 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.

Policies

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

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 Turnitin Student quick start guide.

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 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.

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.

Attendance Policy

Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late 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.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

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.

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 UNE Plagiarism Policies.

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.