Minor in Community Health Outreach

About the Program

With chronic disease at historically high rates and continuing to rise, the need for a workforce trained in community health issues, outreach, and program implementation is greater than ever. The courses included in the Community Health Outreach Minor provide a solid basis for understanding health issues that affect diverse communities, how behavior (individual and group) influences health outcomes, how to plan, prepare, conduct and evaluate community-level health interventions, and leadership skills necessary to involve community partners and stakeholders essential in promoting health within communities.

Program Goals

The Community Health Outreach Minor will:

• Enhance students' understanding of health issues that affect diverse communities and the impact of culture, socioeconomic status, on behavior and health.
• Provide students the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in advocacy, building community partnerships and developing evidence-based impact-driven health programs.
• Provide students the opportunity to engage with faculty and practitioners as they integrate research with evidence-based analysis and programming in the community health sector.
• Prepare students to plan, develop, implement and evaluate community-level health interventions. Introduce students to leadership theory, methods and models as the underpinning to responsible leadership behavior.
• Develop leadership skills necessary to involve community partners and stakeholders essential in promoting health within communities.
• Prepare students to serve as a responsible leaders in Community Health Outreach programming.

Learning Goals

As a result students will:

• Examine pressing health issues that affect diverse communities and the impact of behavior on health.
• Design relevant educational programs.
• Engage with faculty and practitioners to distinguish how research drives evidence-based analysis and programming in the community health sector.
• Plan, develop, implement, and evaluate community-level health programs and interventions essential to informing and engaging constituents to make knowledgeable decisions about personal and community health.
• Recognize and apply leadership theories, methods and models as the underpinnings to responsible leadership skills and behaviors.

Courses

Required Courses (16 credits)

11:607:200 Principles of Leadership (3)
Described as "a complex, multidimensional process," leadership can be conceptualized as "a trait, an ability, a skill, a behavior or a relationship" (Northouse p. 9, 2012). Learning about leadership is useful regardless of one's professional position or status as each of us may need to assume a leadership role. This course provides students with an introduction to today's popular topic of leadership. Students examine their leadership philosophy and its impact on their leadership style. Topics covered include: the nature of leadership, leadership traits, style and skills. Leadership obstacles along with strategies for effective leadership are addressed.

11:607:381 Presentation Skills: Advocating for Change (3)
For better or worse, leaders are often measured on their public speaking skills. Ironically, public speaking is frequently identified as one of the top-ten fears. Yet public speaking is a skill that can be developed. This course is designed to strengthen students' presentation and public speaking skills with a leadership focus on advocating for change. Upon completion, students will be able to enhance the public dialogue, a powerful vehicle for professional and personal growth. With a foundation of communication and leadership knowledge and application, students build a presentation skill set, which is useful for other college courses, the workforce and community at large.

11:607:401 Foundations of Program Planning (3)
While the pragmatic Maine expression of 'You can't get there from here' is often associated with driving directions, its meaning extends beyond the map. Course syllabi, Degree Navigator and MapQuest are all tools used to chart a course, without which the journey can be longer and more costly than anticipated. Likewise successful programs, whether the focus is on environment, agriculture, or social areas, require well designed plans that include organized intentional events resulting in valued outcomes for a clearly defined audience. Through this course students develop the skill set to methodically design, develop, implement, and evaluate educational programs that are effectiveness-based and impact-driven. Students identify client needs and develop a plan to create relevant educational programs to meet these needs. This course is beneficial for students pursuing careers in healthcare, public health, human services, education, community development, non-governmental organizations (NGO), faith-based organizations, non-profits, government (local, state, federal), foundations, and businesses and corporations.

11:607:402 Building Community Partnerships (3)
Building and mobilizing community coalitions and partnerships is a well-developed strategy for leveraging resources towards solving complex community problems. These solutions require the engagement of multiple community sectors. In this course students learn the essential elements for building collaborative partnerships across disparate groups. Students examine various coalition/community partnership frameworks and develop leadership skills necessary to initiate, build, evaluate, and sustain durable coalitions and community partnerships. This course is beneficial for students pursuing careers in healthcare, public health, human services, education, community development, non-governmental organizations (NGO), faith-based organizations, non-profits, government (local, state, federal), foundation and business and corporations.

11:193:421 Wellness Behavior (3)
In today's world, health and wellness are headline news. What can you do to change your behavior to ensure a long and healthy life along with helping to improve the health of those people around you? Getting and staying well is a worthwhile goal no matter where you are right now. You can make positive changes for yourself and you can be an agent for change for your family, friends and community.

11:193:440 Community Health Outreach Practicum (1)
Students will participate in a community health outreach experience-based practicum. Students will gain knowledge, skills and practical hands on experience in community health outreach. This is a 'by arrangement' course. Interested students should contact Dr. Jennifer Shukaitis, program director, at shukaitis@njaes.rutgers.edu.

Electives (6–7 credits)

11:193:413 Community Interventions in Obesity-Related Chronic Diseases (3) Spring Only

11:709:255 Nutrition and Health (3)

11:709:352 Nutrition & Behavior (3)

11:709:427 Obesity: Biology, Behavior & Management (3)

11:709:441 Life Span Community Nutrition (4)

11:709:442 Nutrition Communication (3)