HUS 1353 - Issues in Community Health Services

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 47
Effective Term Fall 2016 (520)

Course Description

This course provides an overview of current issues and topics in community health services with a focus on health disparities (including socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and age), vulnerable populations, and the social determinants of health. Students will gain an understanding of these determinants to develop strategies to improve the health of communities and populations. Topics include communication and education, foundations of health, professional responsibility, advocacy, resources, socioeconomic factors in health, social and behavioral determinants of health, access to healthcare, community/public health, the concept of community, and how we study communities/populations and the health issues they face.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will demonstrate essential communication and teaching skills when working with clients/families by:
    1. applying effective, expressive and receptive communication skills (verbal and nonverbal) that are culturally and linguistically competent.
    2. mastering the core competency skills of non-clinical health assessment, advising, service coordination planning, and client-centered informal counseling.
    3. applying educational/training methods to help clients/families modify behaviors to reduce the risk for chronic diseases.
    4. using effective adult learning, teaching, instructional and/or presentation skills.
    5. providing culturally appropriate health information and social supports to members of the community seeking health/social services.
    6. employing effective principles and skills in listening, conflict resolution and crisis management to resolve dilemmas when presented with actual and hypothetical issues found when working with clients.
  2. The student will examine basic health topics and foundations of health and propose practical solutions for improvement to the challenges presented by:
    1. discussing the basic structure of the US health care delivery system in addition to the infrastructure and health education components of local and state health departments.
    2. discussing basic knowledge of primary risk factors and prevention.
    3. discussing epidemiological concepts and uses for community health assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
    4. analyzing health issues and inequalities from biomedical, public health, and cultural perspectives, including the social determinants of health.
    5. analyzing the patterns of health disparity affecting various racial/ethnic, gender, income and sexual orientation groups, including health indicators, rates of disease, and health-related behaviors.
    6. reviewing case studies of evidence-based health promotion programs.
    7. critically analyzing a community health issue, the population it affects, and listing the agencies that address the issue.
    8. conducting outreach and providing education to meet community health/social service needs.
  3. The student will display professional responsibility and ethical and professional conduct by:
    1. assessing and applying professional skills including ethics, scope of practice, professional boundaries, cultural humility, and self-care practices.
    2. describing the distinguishing characteristics and emphases of a variety of professional codes of ethics (including the Florida Certification Board) and relating the codes to ethical issues Community Health Workers (CHW) may encounter.
    3. maintaining confidentiality in accordance with state and federal laws.
    4. interpreting the CHW’s Scope of Service, specifically, what can and cannot be performed.
    5. discussing cultural humility principles and practice in working with diverse clients and communities.
  4. The student will develop strategies to provide appropriate linkage services to clients for local, state and national health resources by:
    1. researching and identifying resources providing information on community and population health.
    2. developing a resource file and relevant health education materials.
    3. applying typical methods used for assessment and screening to assess a client/family’s strengths and areas of need.
    4. examining ways to build individual and community capacity to access health/social service.
    5. identifying barriers to services and access appropriate resource to care.
    6. evaluating healthcare delivery systems, including eligibility and community resources.
  5. The student will demonstrate advocacy skills by:
    1. identifying methods to assist and support clients on how to advocate for themselves within systems and develop skills to increase their own capacity to access needed health/social services.
    2. developing effective interventions to assist client/families in goal setting and achievement.
    3. applying key features of successful advocacy approaches to hypothetical situations regarding individual and community needs related to health/social services.
    4. summarizing the process of community organizing, advocacy, and policy development as appropriate to the scope of practice for CHWs.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

C&I Approval: 11/20/2015, BOT Approval: 03/15/2016, Effective Term: Fall 2016 (520)

Related Programs

  1. Community Health Worker Certificate (CHW-CT) (595) (Active)
  2. Social and Human Services (HUS-AS) (640) (Active)