Upcoming Courses

How do people form opinions about health, health care, and health policy, and what happens when those opinions shape behavior, policy preferences, or conflict with scientific evidence? This course examines the role of public opinion in public health and the U.S. health care system, with particular attention to how people develop beliefs about health, how those beliefs vary across the public, and how opinion influences health behavior, trust, and support for health policy. Alongside readings and discussion on contemporary and historical cases, students will learn to apply the tools of public opinion research to a topic of their own choosing at the intersection of public health and opinion. The semester centers on an original research project using survey experiments and in-depth interviews, developed in stages from a research question and proposal through instrument design, data analysis, presentation, and a final research report. By the end of the course, students will be able to formulate an original research question, use public opinion methods to investigate it, and explain what their findings reveal about the relationship between public opinion and public health.

Offered Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00-4:30, with Professor Brehm.

This course focuses on theoretical foundations of health behavior program research and putting such research into practice. Course assignments will emphasize the critical analysis, development, and application of the role of theory in health education interventions. Course learnings will serve as the foundational guide for students to effectively develop programming to promote health behavior changes in practical settings.

Offered Monday and Wednesday, 10:30-11:45, with Dr. Sadowski.

This experiential and community engaged course introduces the student to concepts of Community Health utilizing the city of Richmond, Virginia as a case study. Class topics include exploring social and structural drivers of health, community health needs assessments and community health improvement plans, models of health care provision for the marginalized, how to utilize data tools and maps to visualize community health, the impact of racism and bias on health outcomes, public health advocacy, and the wide variety of career paths that exist in healthcare and public health. This course also features Richmond area healthcare experts, practitioners and leaders as guest lecturers and a Center for Civic Engagement sponsored bus tour of Community Health sites across the city of Richmond.

Offered Tuesday, 5:30 to 7:00, with Dr. MacPherson.

This course introduces students to the theory, tools, and practice of inter professional collaboration (IPC) in healthcare settings. This course prepares students across health-related majors and adjacent fields to work effectively in interprofessional teams. Students will explore the roles of key healthcare team members and understand why excellent patient care and clinical excellence require coordinated work among clinical, clinical support, logistical, and strategic teams. Students will develop applied competencies in team communication, leadership, conflict engagement, shared decision-making, and collaborative practice. They will learn to recognize and address the cultural, structural, and professional barriers that undermine collaboration. By the end of the course, students will build foundational skills for becoming effective collaborative practitioners.

Offered Thursday, 12:00-2:30, with Dr. Deegan.