Community Health

This course provides an understanding of the principles and scope of health education and health promotion. People often have firm views about what health education means and interpretations are guided by professional background, experience, and connotations of the words “health” and “education.”

Health is more than a personal matter. People do not live in isolation, unaffected by others; their health is very much determined by the world they live in and the dynamic relationship that they experience with their community. The goal of the Community Health course is to provide an understanding of population-based health as opposed to individual health.

Each health problem is viewed uniquely by the population involved with a specific problem, related to the physical, social and cultural factors within the geographic and political boundary which defines them. This course examines Community Health perspectives in light of sociological, historical, educational, environmental and medical influences. The role of the health professional in community health planning will be explored in the public and private agency and within the realm of the independent health professional involved in their community.