Program Electives

SHM 850 Community Health Assessment: Needs and Capacity Assessment Strategies are designed for people planning to practice within the fields of public health, health promotion, or health education. Students will take an in-depth look at individual, group, and self-directed assessment strategies. The class will give students an opportunity to practice the learned skills, decipher what assessments are best for a given situation, and learn how to implement their new skills within their professional environments.

SHM 851 State and Local Health Planning: This course will review the role of social and community factors in both the onset and solution of public health problems. It will also identify critical stakeholders for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs, policies, and interventions. This course will show the student how to interpret results of statistical analyses found in public health studies and to recognize the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical, economic, and political discussions of health issues.

SHM 852 Evaluation of Community Health Services: Evaluation of health promotion programs in a variety of settings will serve as a guide for the development and evaluation of health promotion programs that will give students an opportunity for practical application in their work environment. Analysis and evaluation of a health program and its success after implementation will be the focus of this course.

SHM 853 Public Health Finance and Policy: This course is an application of policy analysis to the financing of public health in the U.S. It examines healthcare from a public policy perspective to understand the underlying social and economic issues which frame the political finance debates.

SHM 854 Public Health Policy and Politics: This course discusses the structure of the political process in health policy making. It covers the political roles of selected health professionals and the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government in health policy. The course provides practical mechanisms to intervene on behalf of programs or institutions.

SHM 855 Public Health History: This course will examine the health of human populations from a historical perspective and will investigate the science of improving human health. Case studies will be provided that will focus on the roots of contemporary public health knowledge and health policy. Topics will include responses to epidemics, racial and economic disparities in healthcare services, the development of policy infrastructures, and global health.

SHM 856 Community Based Healthcare: The development and maintenance of a community-based healthcare model will be the focus of this course. Administering programs to sustain and promote a state of healthy well-being in the community and activate community resources will be discussed as well as the impact of emerging models of community based healthcare programs.

SHM 857 Cultural Change in Geriatrics: Cultural changes have affected the perceptions of aging and its impact on intergenerational relationships. This course will discuss the impact those cultural changes may have on the future direction of the healthcare industry.

SHM 858 Death and Dying: Life and Living: Learners will review death, dying, and bereavement. During the exploration of these topics, the course will also cover the developmental perspective, legal and moral issues, and current events.

SHM 859 Multivariate Analysis of Learning: This course examines factor analysis, profile analysis, discriminatory analysis, and multidimensional scaling as applied to student learning research. Students will need to use a statistical program (Microsoft Excel® software or other program) to assist with computations.

SHM 860 Research Design and Analysis: Principles of research design applications are discussed in this course. Design and analysis of non-experimental research, laboratory experiments, field experiments, field studies, and survey research will be examined. Quasi-experimentation analysis and design issues for field research are explored and evaluated. Students will need to use a statistical program (Microsoft Excel® software or other program) to assist with computations.

SHM 861 Research Writing: Strategies designed to efficiently and effectively communicate written research results are presented and analyzed. Students will need to use a statistical program (Microsoft Excel® software or other program) to assist with computations.

SHM 862 Quality Assurance and Accountability: This course will provide an overview of the various quality assurance theories and policy systems in the U.S. higher education system. The topics of quality programming, including the development of goal achievement and outcomes, value-added assessment, and the impact of quality on reputation will be discussed. The course will trace the philosophical heritage and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of quality assurance policy systems such as accreditation, rankings and ratings, outcomes, licensure, program reviews, follow-up studies, and total quality management.

SHM 863 Instructional Technology in Course Development: This course will examine the use of instructional technology and its application to course development. An overview of the various technological tools for instruction will be provided. Topics will include historical, theoretical, and philosophical applications of instructional technology, and a review and evaluation of success in an instructional technology case study will be provided.

SHM 864 Diversity and Multiculturalism in Curriculum Development: This course will provide students with a theoretical foundation and practical application for effective use of strategies that will promote curriculum development that reflects various cultural learning styles and the diverse characteristics of students. The multicultural curriculum should provide all students with opportunities to develop a better sense of self. 

SHM 865 Ethical and Professional Principles of Executive Coaching: This course will provide an overview of coaching, its history, value, and appropriate uses within the realm of health management. Various types of coaching and the creation of environments conducive to coaching will be covered. Basic coaching skills will be addressed.

SHM 866 Interpersonal Communication Skills in Coaching: An understanding of personal behavioral and communication styles, learning to read behavioral and communication styles of others, and the amazing power of skillful listening will be the focus of this course.

SHM 867 Problem-Solving Skills in Coaching: The What, Why, When, and How model for coaching will be introduced. This course will cover how to help others meet their goals, how to coach yourself through your own needs and goals, how to work through anger (self and others), and how to deal with the range of emotions. Influencing others with power versus persuasion and coaching groups in collaborative problem-solving situations will provide the student with practical skills that can be applied in any setting.