Public Health - Health Promotion & Behavioral Science (PHPB)
Subject-area course lists indicate courses currently active for offering at the University of Louisville. Not all courses are scheduled in any given academic term. For class offerings in a specific semester, refer to the Schedule of Classes.
500-level courses generally are included in both the undergraduate- and graduate-level course listings; however, specific course/section offerings may vary between semesters. Students are responsible for ensuring that they enroll in courses that are applicable to their particular academic programs.
Course Fees
Some courses may carry fees beyond the standard tuition costs to cover additional support or materials. Program-, subject- and course-specific fee information can be found on the Office of the Bursar website.
PHPB 501. Introduction to Public Health Behavior3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.
Description: This course reviews theoretical constructs of the causation of health-related behavior, including preventive, early diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitative behavior.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 611. Community-Centered Engagement and Assessment3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the MPH program in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences or instructor permission.
Description: Students in this course develop and apply the knowledge, skills, and methods for conducting community health assessments. Students will identify factors that affect the health of a population and discuss the assessment process as a tool for community organizing.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 612. Health Communication: Theory and Practice3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
Description: This course uses health communication theories and methods to design and evaluate health communication materials that capitalize on opportunities afforded by the current context. Students will learn the concepts of effective public health communication across multiple media and levels of the social ecology, considering a variety of audiences, and achieving multiple purposes. Students will also learn to critically analyze examples of communication and develop culturally responsive communication material oriented towards public health interventions. The course will emphasize the development of delivering health information in a meaningful, actionable, and accessible manner.
Note: Cross-listed with COMM 652.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 614. Public Health Intervention Design, Implementation, and Sustainment3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences or instructor permission.
Description: The course establishes basic skills for public health program planning and implementation. Students will learn how to apply the results of a community assessment to create a theory of change, and to design and describe the implementation of public health interventions to enhance population health and promote health equity. In this course, students will develop skills regarding the purpose, procedures, terminology, and specific techniques in public health intervention design and implementation at multiple levels of the social ecology. Students will also consider factors that impact interventions sustainment and achieve health outcomes.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 615. Program Evaluation3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
Prerequisite(s): Completion of PHPB 614 or instructor permission.
Description: This graduate level course presents advanced concepts in program evaluation and builds on PHPB-614 Public Health Intervention Design, Implementation and Sustainment. Students who enroll in this seminar-oriented course will complete a program evaluation project and apply program theory, principles and methods in program evaluation. Students will learn about formative research, process evaluation, impact assessment, cost analysis, and theory-based evaluations. Students will gain experience by designing a logic model, selecting indicators and data sources, and designing an evaluation plan to measure both processes and impacts of interventions.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 630. Social and Structural Determinants of Health3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the MPH program in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences or instructor permission.
Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce social and structural factors that impact health, including theories and evidence that support multiple underlying determinants of health in populations. This course will explore how social influences such as socioeconomic status, the natural and physical environment, education, employment, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and housing/neighborhood quality affect population health. This course will also consider intervention approaches to improve population health outcomes and address health inequities. This course examines structural factors that impact population health in the US as well as structural interventions to address health inequities.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 635. Health Promotion Policy Development3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the MPH program in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences or instructor permission.
Description: This seminar and lab-structured course will provide a review of social justice as a foundation of public health. We will focus on equity and inclusion in the policy process as core principles and a mechanism toward health equity. Policy development is a process and an outcome and in this course, students will also learn by doing field-based research. Finally, students will understand how principles of political sociology can apply to population health and inform policy development.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 650. Advanced Topics in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences1-3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
Description: An in-depth treatment of one or more advanced topics in health promotion and behavioral sciences, designed to advance the student's understanding in the field and not covered in other courses.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 651. Equitable Leadership and Program Management in Public Health4 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
Description: This course exposes students to the principles of effective leadership, applying leadership and ethical principles and theories to enhance professional capabilities in the context of creating an equitable work setting and intervention delivery. The course will examine the design, management, and leadership of teams in organizational settings focusing on the interpersonal processes and structural characteristics that influence the effectiveness of teams, the dynamics of intra-team relationships, and sharing of knowledge and information in teams. Students will also learn to manage resources within a framework of managing people, processes, budgets, and organizational design focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The course covers the role of grants in funding, implementing, and evaluating public health interventions with particular emphasis on identifying grant opportunities, understanding the components of a grant, and developing a grant to fund a public health interventions.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 652. Evidence-Based Practices in Public Health3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
Description: This course provides an overview of the design and conduct of research in the social and behavioral sciences as applied to public health. Students will learn how to write a literature review, including where to find public health literature and how to critique presented evidence as it influences evidence-based practice. Students will also examine the formulation of a research question, selection of a research design, selection of a study site and population, methods of data collection, and measurement validity and reliability. The aim is to give students a broad background and an understanding of strengths and weaknesses of research designs used in the social sciences so they can be thoughtful producers, and/or critical and skeptical consumers of research.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 654. Foundations of Health Equity2 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
Description: This course provides a foundation with which to facilitate community assessment, identify and advocate for interventions and policies that can remediate and eliminate inequities in health across the population.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 701. Theoretical Basis of Health Promotion3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program or instructor permission.
Description: Explores historical developments in the health promotion, current state of the health promotion discipline and main emphases are PRECEDE/PROCEED and other planning models, and research issues for the future.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 703. Health Promotion Research Methods and Design3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program or instructor permission.
Description: Behavioral sciences, such as health promotion are dependent on rigorous studies carried out by well-trained researchers. In this course, we will explore the commonly used research designs. Students will learn how the validity of information and data gathered is limited by, among other factors, the research methods chosen, the carefulness and attentiveness of the researcher, the willingness of the participant, and the selection of statistical analyses.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 705. Policy to Advance Health Equity3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Even Years
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program, or instructor approval.
Description: This seminar-structured course provides a review of the extent and nature of community health problems requiring community-based solutions, as opposed to solutions for individuals. Included in the course will be concepts of community organizing, empowerment and processes of policy advocacy and formation. The course will develop practitioner competencies as well as an agenda for addressing the issues.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 709. Philosophy of Science & Evaluation Theory3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences Specialization program or instructor permission.
Description: Students in this course develop a deeper understanding of the ethics and politics surrounding epistemology and ontology and apply this to the theoretical underpinnings of evaluating public health programs.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 710. Social Justice and Health Equity Research3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program, or instructor approval.
Description: This course presents concepts and approaches in Social Justice and Health Equity Research. Students will learn about emancipatory approaches to research, social justice movements in health, and community-engaged research practices.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 711. Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program, or instructor approval.
Description: The course presents theories and methods in qualitative research design and inquiry. Students will apply qualitative data collection, coding, and analysis skills to public health problems.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 722. Health Risk Communication3 Units
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program, or instructor approval.
Description: This course presents the principles and theories of health risk communication and promotes an understanding of the psychological responses to risk and risk messages.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 730. Teaching Seminar in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences1 Unit
Grading Basis: Pass/Fail
Term Typically Offered: Summer Only
Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in the PhD program in Public Health Sciences or instructor permission.
Description: This course will introduce students to a variety of pedagogical theories and practices. In addition, students will be introduced to concepts regarding trauma-informed and culturally responsive educational practice.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 731. Teaching Lab in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences2 Units
Grading Basis: Pass/Fail
Term Typically Offered: Summer Only
Prerequisite(s): Completion of or concurrent enrollment in PHPB 730.
Description: This course in designed as a practice lab for doctoral students interested in teaching at the college level. Building upon the Teaching Seminar course, this lab will provide students with a guided forum to develop and test classroom and learning tools, activities, and assessments to further their teaching skills, and will address classroom management topics and strategies. This course is required for PhD students in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences to be able to teach a course for the department independently at the undergraduate level.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 740. Race, Racism, and Public Health3 Units
Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program, or instructor approval.
Description: This class examines anti-Black racism and its impact on public health in the US. It emphasizes interpersonal, internalized, and institutional factors that affect the health status of the populace. It also engages in an analysis of historical and modern social movements to address racism and facilitate health equity.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 750. Doctoral Seminar in Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences1 Unit
Grading Basis: Pass/Fail
Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the PhD in Public Health Sciences with a specialization in Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences.
Description: This course is designed as a professional development seminar for doctoral students in Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences that will focus on navigating specific aspects of the PhD program, such as qualifying exams and dissertation, as well as building personal and professional skills and preparation for success in a leadership position.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
PHPB 753. Independent Study in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences1-6 Units
Prerequisite(s): Doctoral student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences PhD in Public Health Sciences, Health Promotion Specialization program, or instructor permission.
Description: Provides students an opportunity to develop a research project or investigation of a health promotion and behavioral health topic under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
For class offerings for a specific term, refer to the Schedule of Classes
