The social and behavioral sciences in public health address the behavioral, social, and cultural factors related to individual and population health, health behaviors and health disparities over the life course. This course emphasizes the importance of social context and cultural construction, and examines current issues in health from a social and behavioral sciences perspective. Students will choose a specific topic to explore from all of these different perspectives throughout the semester (examples of a special topic could be breastfeeding or childhood obesity). The course is designed to encourage students to think about the multiple and complex roots of behavior (“what people do”), and introduce students to the relationship between behavior and a selection of major health issues. To provide an introductory background to the kinds of social and behavioral theories that guide our understanding of health related behavior, and that form the background for health promotion and prevention efforts; and to explore some of the ways in which these theories and approaches are used in applied health promotion efforts.

Students in this class work independently to design an intervention project, that culminates as a grant proposal. They also post and respond to discussion prompts, as well as write journal entries/short essays on the reading.

Student work is evaluated with rubrics for each assignments. Below is a chart describing the percentage each category of assignments contributes to the final grade. Assignment Percentage of Grade Date Due Reading Reflections/ Journal/Essays 45 Throughout YellowDig Participation 10 Throughout Model and Proposal 10 Early February Podcast 5 Late February Book Reflection 10 Late March Grant Proposal 20 May – Finals Week