California State University, Chico

California State University, Chico

Community Health: HCSV 321 Spring 2009

Professor: Julie Freelove-Charton, PhD Phone: 530-898-4816

Office: Butte 628 Email: jfreelove@csuchico.edu
Class Time: 9:00-9:50AM, MWF Room: PLMS 106

Office Hours: Monday 10:00-12:00, Wednesday 10:00-12:00, & Friday 10:00-11:00 & by appointment.

Course Description:

This web-enhanced course presents an analysis of the fundamental principles upon which school, community, and population health are based. The contributions of federal, state, and local organizations to national goals for health promotion and disease prevention are examined. In addition, the course explores the fundamental social, political, organizational, and behavioral aspects of public health in school, community, and worksite settings.

Required Textbook:

· McKenzie, J.F., Pinger, R.R., & Kotecki, J.E. (2008). An introduction to community health. (6th ed.) Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

• Additional readings will be assigned in class and made available on Vista or elsewhere.

Helpful Websites & Readings:

· Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: www.cdc.gov

· Central Intelligence Agency: https://www.cia.gov

· Healthy People 2010: http://www.healthypeople.gov

· U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov

· California Park and Recreation Society: http://www.cprs.org

· http://132.241.182.52/RECR/apareferenceguide.pdf [APA Reference Guide]

· Jones & Bartlett Publishers: http://health.jbpub.com/communityHealth/6e/index.cfm [Textbook assistance]

Course Objectives:

To engage students in an understanding of the major community and public health issues

facing our nation. After completing this course, the student should be able to:

1. Discus the history of public health, major advances in public health, and the primary professional areas of practice in public health

2. Identify and describe today’s major public issues and possible solutions

3. Identify community health education needs in relation to the nation’s health objectives as described in Healthy People 2010

4. Describe the basic characteristics and functions of community-based organizations that address the public’s health

5. Describe the basic steps for conducting community-based participatory research, evidence-based program planning, and program evaluation

6. Search online databases, Internet resources, and print-sources of current research and events

Logistics and Class Format:

A variety of instructional methods are used in this course including, but not limited to, lectures, site visits, writing assignments, small and large group discussion, experiential class exercises, guest speakers, and required field work. In-class use of PowerPoints is necessary to obtain all potential exam materials. To be successful in this class, students must download PowerPoints prior to class. Use of laptops, cell phones and text messaging during class is prohibited and will be viewed as poor participation.

Due to class activities, guest speakers, and the community project this syllabus is subject to change as needed. Students will be informed of all changes.

Class Assignments:

Students are expected to attend class regularly, participate in required field activities, class discussions and any group work, and complete required readings.

Additional requirements include:

· Opinion Papers and General Assignments: During the semester we will have guest speakers, web-based exercises, and non-textbook materials to read or review. To enhance the integration of key concepts, students will write about their opinion, questions, or ideas regarding these events, current events or related materials. We will discuss comments in class. Opinion papers may be assigned as in-class assignments or as homework assignments. Further details will be provided in class. Opinion papers are no-more than two pages in length.

· Interview with Community Health Organization: Students will conduct face-to-face interviews with community health organization. Students may work in teams or individually for the interview process. Class-determined questions will be assigned for all class members to promote common discussion and comparison. Additional questions are expected as well. The purpose of the interview is to learn how community-based organizations plan and achieve their goals and objectives, and to present this information to the class. Selected organizations will correspond to Chapter Assignments based on chapters in the textbook. Interview sites must be pre-approved by the professor. Information from each interview will also be applied to the below assignments. Further details will be provided in class.

· Community Health Organization Paper: Each student will complete an academic paper that incorporates information from the interview process and material covered in the textbook (limit of five text pages; up to two optional pages of figures and tables; include three or more scholarly references). Your report must be literature-based and use existing data (e.g., to address prevalence of the issue addressed by the organization). Although group members may interview the same organization, reports must address different topics and demonstrate individual learning. The paper must be well-organized and clearly written in APA format. Further details will be provided in class.

· Community Project: As a class, we will play a key role in a community-based fall prevention and active living program for the Terraces Active Retirement Community and California Park Community. There will be class assignments, required fieldtrips, and related tasks to enhance our learning. Each student will sign up to complete one task to help with this event. In addition, each student will be required to attend the Terraces’ Healthy Living Event on the dates of April 18^th & _____at the Terraces. More information will be given in class. Students will receive class time off in exchange for these days.

· Exams: There will be two mid-terms and one final examination (e.g. multiple choice, true/false, matching, and short-answer format) based on lectures, discussions, and readings. Exam reviews will be conducted prior to all exams. The final is cumulative.

· Mini Quizzes: Mini quizzes will be conducted throughout the semesters to help prepare students for the exams. The lowest scored quiz or a missed quiz will be dropped from each students final grade. No make up mini quizzes will be offered.

· Extra Credit: Students will be offered extra credit opportunities. A maximum of two extra credit assignments will be counted towards the final grade.

The proportionate value of each requirement is shown below:

Component	Proportion
Final exam	25%
Midterm I	15%
Midterm II	15%
Mini Quizzes	10%
Community Organization paper (based on interview)	10%
Community project and attendance	15%
Class Assignments, Opinion papers, Attendance and Participation.	10%
Total	100%

Grade by Percent of Total*	Letter Grade	Grade by Percent of Total	Letter Grade	Grade by Percent of Total	Letter Grade
93 – 100	A	80 – 82	B-	67 - 69	D+
90 – 92	A-	77 – 79	C+	60 - 66	D
87 – 89	B+	70 - 72	C-	< 60	F

* All grades will be rounded down to the nearest whole number.

General Assignments Requirements:

All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the assigned due date; otherwise the assignment is late.

Homework assignments (does not include the Individual paper) turned in up to one class session after the due date will be accepted with a 20% penalty. After that date, no assignment will be graded.

Emailed assignments are NOT accepted unless previously agreed upon by the professor. Only hardcopy assignments are graded.

Make-up exams will be considered only for those students who contacted the instructor at least two days prior to the exam date, have a legitimate reason for absence and provide written documentation to substantiate their absence.

Students who miss an exam and contact the professor after the exam will not be allowed to make-up the exam at full point value: a ‘C’ is the highest grade possible in this case.

For all written work, use 1’ by 1’ margins, double spaced, 12 font. Arial Narrow or other difficult to read fonts will not be accepted. Use a cover sheet for the Individual Paper.

For all other formatting concerns, follow APA formatting style, particularly for references.

All written work assignments must be typed and stapled or your work will not be graded. Evaluation of work will be based on expected level of written and analytical thought for a 300 level class. Papers will be marked down for grammatical and spelling errors.

Class Schedule and Syllabus:

The class schedule and syllabus are subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. All changes will be announced in class.

Topic and Order of Assigned Reading

Week 1: Introduction, icebreakers, syllabus review, expectation reviews and over view-

Status Report, what do we know about our communities health? How to use/study the

course text. Assign readings from text Chapter 1.

Week 2: Chapter 2, History of Community Health and Government Organizations

Week 3: Chapter 5, Community Organizing & Health Promotion (A key chapter to your success)

Week 4: Chapter 5 continued

Chapter 9, Elders and Community Project Materials

Chapters 3 & 4, Epidemiology and Disease

Chapters 13 & 14, Health Care

Chapter 11, Community Mental Health

Chapter 6, School Health Program

Chapters 7 & 8, Children and Adolescents and Adults

Chapter 12, Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs

Chapter 10, Community Health and Minority Health

Chapter 15 & 16, Environment and Human Health

Date		Important Dates
Week 2	Feb 4^th	Guest Speaker, Joe Corby, Direct of Passages
Week 3	Feb 11^th	Field Trip to Terraces
Week 5	Feb 23^rd	Exam I
Week 5	Feb 27th	* Conference Day
Week 7	March 13^th	Exam II
Week 8	March 14^th	Spring Break
Week 10	April 3^rd	Community Organization Paper is Due
Week 12	April 18^th	Senior Fit Day at the Terraces * Attendance is mandatory for groups
Week 14	May 1^st	Senior Fit Day at the Terraces * Attendance is mandatory for groups*
Week 15	May 8^th	Mini Quiz
Week 17	May 18th	Finals Week

Dates may change due to class activities.

A Note on Writing:

Writing is a crucial component of effective health promotion practice, and students are expected to produce professionally written products. The expectation is that all papers will provide evidence of systematic thinking, integrate course material, be well organized and respect rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and use of nonsexist language. In other words, pay attention to both content and form in papers that are turned in for grading. For writing assistance you are

encouraged to visit the Chico State Writing Center. The website is http://www.csuchico.edu/uwc/.

Academic Honesty Policy:

The guidelines for the CSUC Academic Honesty Policy, as stated in the University Catalog, will be fully adhered to in this course. If you are caught cheating/plagiarizing on an assignment, test, or project related to this course, you will immediately FAIL the assignment, test, or project and be reported to Student Judicial Affairs. Plagiarism is considered cheating. For more information see Student Judicial Affairs.

General Conduct & Cell Phones:

Respectful conduct by all class members is expected. Failure to respect others will result in disciplinary action as defined per the university catalog. Cell phones must be turned off or in silent mode during class. Students using cell phones or texting during class will be asked to leave immediately.

Disability Accommodations:

Students with disabilities requesting reasonable accommodations must first register with Disability Services (DSS). For more information visit DSS services or go to http://www.csuchico.edu/dss/.