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HETH 4213 Syllabus

Course Syllabus

HETH 4213 - Community Healthcare: Issues and Services

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course provides a theoretical background for community health needs. It is based on the integration of social science theory and public health science.  The course emphasis is on health promotion, health maintenance, illness prevention among populations, and resources available and/or needed. This course assists students in recognizing and evaluating the interrelationships among individuals, families, population groups, and communities in determining the health needs of each.

Course Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

  • Integrate concepts from behavioral, biological and natural sciences, with emphasis on epidemiology, in order to review the needs of communities and diverse populations.

  • Discuss organizations that help shape community health including governmental as well as non- profit agencies.

  • Examine the role of the health care professional and discuss appropriate health care interventions that promote and maintain health throughout the lifespan.

  • Identify the multidimensional influences on aging and how these affect the health status of older adults.

  • Evaluate strategies that can be used by public and community health care professionals to improve the health status and eliminate health disparities of vulnerable populations, including those with mental illness.

  • Describe school health services and coordinated occupational health programs.

  • Explain the relationship between the environment and human health and illness.

  • Discuss trends in lifestyles that will affect the health of communities and the future challenges for health care professionals. 

Prerequisites & Co-requisites:

None

Course Topics:

UNIT ONE: Foundations of Community Health 

  • Community Health: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
    • Historical Context of Community & Public Health
    • Outlook for Community Health in the 21st Century
  • Organizations that help Shape Community Health
    • Government Health Agencies 
    • Quasi-Governmental Health Organizations
    • Non-governmental Health Agencies
  • Epidemiology: Study of Diseases and Health Conditions
    • Sources of Standardized Data
    • Epidemiological Studies
    • Classification of Diseases and Health Problems
    • Prevention, Intervention, Control and Eradication of Disease
  • Community Organizing/Building & Health Promotion Programming
    • Community Organizing
    • Process of Community Building
    • Health Promotion Programming
    • Developing Health Promotion Programs
  • School Health Program
    • Need for School Health
    • Components of a Coordinated School Health Program
    • Issues and Concerns Facing School Health Programs

UNIT TWO: The Nation’s Health and Health Care Delivery 

  • Maternal, Infant, Child Health and Adolescents
    • Family and Reproductive Health
    • Maternal Health
    • Infant Health
    • Child Health
    • Adolescents
    • Community Programs for these Populations
  • Adults and Elder Adults
    • Community Strategies for Improving the Health of Adults
    • Myths Surrounding Aging
    • Health Profile of Elders
    • Needs for Elders
  • Community Health and Minorities
    • Racial and Ethnic Classifications
    • Americans of Hispanic Origin
    • African Americans
    • Asian Americans and others
    • Health Equity in Minority Health
  • Community Mental Health
    • Mental Illness in America
    • History of Mental Health Care in America 
    • Mental Health Care Concerns
    • Community Mental Health and Managed Care
  • Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: Community Concerns
    • Factors that Contribute to Drug Abuse
    • Types of Drugs Abused and Resulting Problems
    • Prevention and Control of Drug Abuse
  • Health Care Delivery in the United States
    • History of Health Care Delivery in United States
    • Health Care Structure
    • Health Care System Functions
    • Health Care Reform in United States 

UNIT THREE: Environmental Health and the Environment 

  • Community Health and the Environment o Air, Water, Food
    • Where We Live
    • Natural Hazards
    • Psychological and Sociological Hazards
    • Responding to Hazards
  • Injuries as A Community Health Problems
    • Unintentional Injuries
    • Intentional Injuries
  • Safety and Health in the Workplace
    • Occupational Safety and Health Problems
    • Occupational Injuries, Diseases and Death
    • Resources for the Prevention of Workplace Injuries and Diseases 

 

Specific Course Requirements:

Internet access with Microsoft Word or other word processing software that generates a .doc or .docx extension. If in question, this is to be approved prior to your course work submissions. Please take a moment to review grading procedures. 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course. Move your cursor over the "Books" link in the navigation bar and select "Textbooks & Course Materials." Select your Program, Term, Department, and Course; then select "Submit."

Supplementary Materials:
Hardware and Software Requirements:

Minimum hardware requirements can be found here.

Minimum software requirements can be found here.

Common applications you might need:

Web Resources:

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab (for APA, MLA, or Chicago style)

The Writing Center Online Writer's Handbook

Student Resources:
  • Technical support information can be found on the TN eCampus Help Desk page.
  • Smarthinking virtual tutoring is available FREE of charge. to access Smarthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smarthinking under Course Resources. You also view sample sessions to see what Smarthinking offers and how it works.
  • Information on other student issues or concerns can be located on the TN eCampus Student Resources page.

Instructor Information

Please see "Instructor Information" in the Getting Started Module for instructor contact information, virtual office hours, and other communication information. You can expect to receive a response from the instructor within 24-48 hours unless notified of extenuating circumstances.

Participation, Assessments, & Grading

Testing Procedures:

No special program required for taking the unit exams. 

Grading Procedures:

All unit exams are timed and electronically graded. All assignments, discussion summaries, and community assessment paper must be placed in the appropriate dropbox prior to the deadline for that activity. 

DescriptionPoints
4 Written Assignments @ 50 points each200 Points
3 Discussion Group Questions @ 100 points each300 Points
2 Unit Exams @ 100 points each200 Points
1 Final Exam100 Points
1 Community Assessment Paper200 Points
Total Points1000 Total Course Points

 

Grading Scale:
Point RangeAssigned Grade
900-1000 PointsA
800-899 PointsB
700-799 PointsC
600-699 PointsD
under 600 PointsF

 

Assignments and Projects:

All due dates for all work assigned in this class are noted under the Assessments, Discussions, and Drop box tabs. These assignments should also be reflected in the Course Content and on the calendar.

Unit Exams will be available for each unit—three exams worth a total of 300 points. Last Unit Exam is also the Final Exam which includes Unit three content plus some comprehensive questions.

Assignments: These will require you to find the correct material to answer the questions. The material will not necessarily follow the weekly chapter reading as noted in the syllabus. Please review your calendar area for actual due dates. (Four during the semester worth 50 points each)

Discussions: There will be a discussion question three times during the semester. Times they will be open are listed on the calendar and on the discussion board. You will be graded based upon your reading the comments of others, supplying your own original thoughts and responding to the comments of others. You must post your original thoughts early in the discussion time in order to allow others to comment. Then, you will submit a one-page summary of your understanding of the group’s overall conclusions in the appropriate dropbox. (Three worth 100 points each).

Community Assessment Paper: Choose a target audience you would like to research (for example, Elderly, families living in poverty, migrant workers, disabled, teen parents, homeless, or an ethnic group.) You will prepare a 3-5 page assessment of your chosen community looking at the following items in relation to that target audience (worth 200 points):

  1. Health promotion strategies

  2. Problems encountered by the group

  3. Access to Health Care

  4. Health education and implementation measures/resources needed by this group 

Class Participation:

You must participate in all interactive aspects of this course particularly the discussion board groups. Please be an active participant within your group as this will help with your discussion question grade. You are also expected to communicate with the instructor as a learning resource. 

Late Policy:

All assignments/quizzes must be completed by the due date in the drop box or assessment tab. 

Course Ground Rules

The following two statements (1., 2.) were derived from the TBR System-wide Student Rules document, released January 2012:

RULES OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS STATE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF TENNESSEE SYSTEMWIDE STUDENT RULES CHAPTER 0240-02-03 STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS

Read the document in its entirety here.

1. Standards of Conduct:

  • Students are required to adhere to the same professional, legal and ethical standards of conduct online as on campus. In addition, students should conform to generally accepted standards of "netiquette" while sending e-mail, posting comments to the discussion board, and while participating in other means of communicating online. Specifically, students should refrain from inappropriate and/or offensive language, comments and actions.

2. Review the TN eCampus Academic Integrity/Academic Honesty Policy:

  • In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited.

Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • an attempt by one or more students to use unauthorized information in the taking of an exam
  • to submit as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs, or other products prepared by another person,
  • or to knowingly assist another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.

Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited.

Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are subject to disciplinary action through the regular procedures of the student’s home institution.  Refer to the student handbook provided by your home institution to review the student conduct policy.

In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or zero for an activity or to assign an "F" for the course.

Other Course Rules:

Students are expected to:

  • Participate in all aspects of the course
  • Communicate with other students
  • Learn how to navigate in Brightspace
  • Keep abreast of course announcements
  • Use the assigned course management (Brightspace) email address rather than a personal email address
  • Address technical problems immediately:
  • Observe course netiquette at all times.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussions:

  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in TN eCampus programs and courses. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading will be included within the course modules. To access the Virtual Library, go to the course homepage and select the Virtual Library link under Course Resources.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this syllabus is for general information purposes only. While we endeavor to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, there may be some discrepancies between this syllabus and the one found in your online course. The syllabus of record is the one found in your online course. Please make sure you read the syllabus in your course at the beginning of the semester. Questions regarding course content should be directed to your instructor.


Last Revised on July 12, 2021