Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 605 Social Determinants of Health – Fall A 2019

Credits - 3

Description

Type of Course Enrichment

Elective Course

Overview

This course will expose, explore and examine disparities in health and health care. These two interests are related, but not the same. Resolution of disparities in health insurance and access to adequate and culturally appropriate health care, while vitally important and necessary, cannot resolve the disparity in health. New models are needed and the foundations for them will be explored.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

School of Social Work Program Outcomes:

Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:

1. Practice social inclusion to enable people, populations, and communities to fully participate in society, enhance human bonds in the context of cultural diversity and ensure improved quality of life and equitable resource distribution. EPAS Competencies 2 & 3
2. Engage in culturally-informed relationship building, being respectful of the complexity and diversity of contexts and circumstances. EPAS Competencies 3 & 6
3. Utilize theories of human behavior, social systems and social inclusion when offering interventions with people and their environments. EPAS Competency 8
4. Promote ethical reflection, critical consciousness and shared decision-making based in social work values and with consideration of the broader contexts of the world in which we live. EPAS Competency 1
5. Balance the roles of helpers, activists, and advocates through collaboration with communities to build healthy and sustainable resources. EPAS Competencies 2, 5, & 6
6. Engage as critical consumers and producers of research as it relates to assessment, intervention and evaluation of clinical and community practices. EPAS Competencies 4, 7, 8 & 9
7. Practice person-centered and collaborative community partnerships across diverse settings. EPAS Competency 6

Course Objectives:

Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Utilize Reflexivity including examination of belief systems, life experiences, and assumptions that social determinants have on society. Program objective 1 & 7 (As measured by Discussions, Group Paper, and Infographic assignments).
2. Analyze, research and present how to reduce health disparities, including the relationship between wealth and health, and the impact of class/ethnicity on morbidity/mortality. Program Objective 1 & 2 (As measured by Discussions, Group Paper, and Infographic assignments).
3. Describe the concept of the various pathways related to social determinants of health from inequity to its physiological and psychosocial embodiment. Program Objective 4 & 6 (As measured by Discussions, Group Paper, and Infographic assignments).
4. Recommend appropriate methods for enacting social change based on the social determinants identified in a specific community. Program Objective 3. (As measured by Discussions and the Infographic assignment.)
5. Evaluate social- and health-preventive policies, based on population-based research. Program Objective 6 (As measured by Discussions, Group Paper, and Infographic assignments).
6. Design an infographic to assess the impact of SDOH factors on service utilization and outcomes. Program Objective 5 (As measured by Infographic assignment).

Assignments

Discussion Forums (Includes Participation)

Discussion Board: The entire collection of discussions in the main course room.

Discussion Forum: The individual forum (venue) for each question.

Discussion Question: The actual question within the discussion forum. Each week there are discussion questions within the main classroom discussion board area. The discussion question requires an initial response by the end of Saturday, midnight, ET. However, feel free to post your work earlier in the learning week if you choose. The goal is for everyone to be actively engaged in this conversation and participate over at least three different days during the class-week totaling at least 3 replies or comments in addition to the initial response. This is a minimum requirement and does not mean maximum points will be earned.

What are initial responses?

Initial responses are those that you post as a direct response to a discussion forum and must include at least 400 words and two integrated/cited sources; one from the text and one from a scholarly journal article. The use of APA style citations is required (6th Edition APA Manual). Note, there are different types of discussion questions each week – these questions are scholarly discussion question(s) where you will focus on demonstrating excellent writing skills, critical thinking, and reflection and integration of course materials. The initial responses are due on Saturdays (on Friday in Week 8).

Remember (Regular Discussion Question)!

• 400 Words
• APA format
• 1 source from text
• 1 source from journal article

What are responses?

Responses are posts that demonstrate that you are responding to another student. These are generally what you think of as “participation” posts. You are expected to actively participate in the forums each week. To actively participate in the forums means to respond to anyone on at least 3 different days per week. You can respond to one student on three different days or 20 students on three different days! You can respond to students in one forum only, or spread out your responses among any forums assigned for the week! However, what is important is that you are actively present in the forums responding to other students on three different days. Your initial posting does not count towards responses to others.

Responses to others must add substantively to the discussion by building upon classmates’ ideas or posing critical questions to further the discussion. For example, a posting of “I agree with what people are saying” is not sufficient. What is considered sufficient is initiating further discussion; promoting further thought; providing critical or integrative dialogue; providing effective support or encouragement; challenging by showing supporting literature or other documentation, and/or self-reflecting regarding the topic.

The weekly points available for the discussion board include participation. Your instructor will review the weekly contributions in the discussion forums by taking note of each of the criteria listed in the “Discussion Forum Rubric” accessible in the course.

Assignments

Grading Policy

The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Point Value	% of Grade
Discussion Questions (Includes weekly participation)	330 pts (30 pts each discussion X 11 discussion forums)	33%
Infographic Assignment	270 pts	27%
SDH and Social Care Assignment	400 pts	40%
Total	1,000	100%

Grade Scale

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