Updated 1/27/09
San Diego State University
Graduate School of Public Health
Division of Health Promotion
PH 663: HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Fall 2013
Tuesday 10:00 p.m. to 12:40 p.m.
SSW3630
John Elder
Distinguished Professor; and Senior Core Investigator, IBACH
Phone: 594-2997
E-mail: jelder@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
On Campus (usually right after this class) or at IBACH
9245 Sky Park, Ct., #224, San Diego, 92123
PH663 AND THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
The Mission of San Diego State University's Graduate School of Public Health is to
advance the public’s health through:
The preparation of professionals in public health practice through academic and
professional education, research, and service using methods that analyze and manage
unresolved community public health problems, and teach proactive , interactive and
accountable approaches to their solution;
The provision of interdisciplinary leadership and direct assistance by being a regional and
international resource in public health education, research and advocacy in defining and
solving public health problems in the various multicultural populations both nationally
and internationally, especially in the border region of California and the Pacific Rim; and
Serving as a catalyst and vehicle for forming and maintaining collaborative relationships
among public health, preventive and curative health-related academic, health care
delivery, and financing, and community and service organizations in both the public and
private sectors to strengthen capacities and services and to help resolve community public
health issues and problems.
Working within this broader mission, the Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral
Sciences trains students at the Undergraduate, Masters and Ph.D. levels in theory,
research and practical applications in planning, implementing and evaluating public
health behavior change efforts. PH663 students focus specifically on the planning,
implementation, and evaluation of health communication efforts.
Professional Development Seminars
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In accordance with the Council on Education for Public Health accreditation, all MPH
students are mandated to attend professional development seminars. For this semester
you will have to
Participate in a mock interview: This exercise is designed to allow students the
opportunity to interview with health professionals in a mock environment. Each student
will be assigned to an IBACH or CBEACH project manager to interview with. Students
are expected to contact their assigned project manager to set up an interview date and
time. Students are expected to prepare for the interview, dress professionally, and have a
resume. Interviews will last between 15-20 minutes each. At the end of the interview, the
project manager will provide a student with feedback. You will be assigned a project
manager at a later date and will have until the end of the semester to do the mock
interview. Please be cognizant of the fact that project managers are extremely busy and
are volunteering their time for this activity. Please do not wait too long to schedule your
mock interview.
Choose between attending:
2.a. A resume writing session presented by Dr. Hala Madanat held on September 23th at
11am on campus (room number will provided at a later date). Please bring your resume
if you want feedback.
OR
2.b. Attend a panel discussion comprised of five Health Promotion practitioners (the date
of this panel will be provided as soon as panel is confirmed).
If you choose to, you may attend both activities listed in #2.
DIVISION, SCHOOL and UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Students and instructor must work collaboratively to establish and maintain a productive
learning environment.
There are no bad ideas. All ideas are to be treated with respect for their creators and
acknowledgement that ideas of all types can contribute to ultimate success. It is always
wise to mentally review any idea before vocalizing it.
Constant student/instructor interaction and feedback are extremely important. Everyone
is expected to contribute.
Only one meeting/discussion can take place at a time, and it must be the one in which the
instructor is participating. Please avoid disconcerting side conversations.
Always pay attention, because to do otherwise is a sign of an unprofessional attitude.
Cell phones and pagers are to be turned off before class. Laptops may be brought to class
for group work.
Group Projects: students are expected to work in teams to develop the three group project
assignments. Your grade for these assignments will take into account evidence of active
and equal participation by each member in addition to teamwork and cooperation.
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Regardless if you are out of town or miss class, you still need to find a way to contribute
to the group projects.
Computers: every student must have access to the internet and a computer in order to
have communications with the professor, download course-material and conduct research
on the internet. You are strongly encouraged to keep computer backups of your work to
avoid losing information and time.
No assignments will be accepted via email. No late or make-up assignments will be
accepted.
All assignments are due in hard copy at the beginning of class, unless otherwise
specified. If you are unable to attend class on the day an assignment is due, have someone
bring the assignment to class for you.
All assignments must be typed using Microsoft Word or a similar word processing
program. Required format is double-spaced with a one-inch margin and 12-point font
(Arial or Times New Roman is preferred). In addition to spelling, grammar, and writing
style, your work will be evaluated based on professional appearance (examples of nonprofessional appearance: crinkled pages, stains, poor staple job). Please edit all written
assignments and turn-in written materials that are error-free and meet the quality
standards of the university.
Announcements, assignments, and class information will be posted on Blackboard. It is
your responsibility to check Blackboard on a regular basis.
SDSU complies with the requirements of Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as well as other applicable federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination. No
person shall, on the basis of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination in any program
of the California State University.
SDSU does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission or access to, or
treatment or employment in, its program activities. If you have an Authorization for
Accommodations form that indicates a need for academic accommodations, please let me
know so we can discuss this. Student Disability Services is located in Calpulli Center,
Suite 3100 (third floor), (619) 594-6473 and (619) 594-2929 (TDD/TTY).
SDSU does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual orientation in the
educational programs or activities it conducts. More detail on SDSU’s Nondiscrimination
Policy can be found in the SDU General Catalog, University Policies.
SDSU is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy living and learning environment
for students, faculty and staff. Sections 41301, Standards for Student Conduct, an
Sections 41302-41304 of the University Policies regarding student conduct should be
reviewed.
This syllabus may be subject to some change and adjustment throughout the semester in
order to accommodate timely, late-breaking topics and events, the unique needs of each
student and group of students. Students having any questions regarding assignments,
schedules, and other course issues should check with the instructor.
ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend all classes. Unexcused absences, tardiness, and failure to
meet deadlines will have a negative impact on the student's final grade.
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Students who unavoidably miss a class are still responsible for getting that classes’
assignments in on time, getting any new assignments from other students, and completing
the work by the assigned due date.
Planned absences for religious observances: By the end of the second week of classes,
students should notify the instructor of planned absences for religious observances. The
instructor will provide appropriate accommodations.
Coming to class more than 15 minutes late will count as an absence.
Medical emergencies verified by practicing clinicians and limited other emergencies are the
basis for an incomplete.
COURSE OVERVIEW AND GOALS
This class is designed to introduce you to health communication theory, research, and
practice. The primary course objective is to provide you with a solid framework for
conducting health communication campaigns -- including planning, execution, and
evaluation. We will focus on the health communication theory and process as well as on
the production of communications. If you work at it, you will develop fundamental skills
for your professional career across a wide spectrum of health communication situations,
and thus enhance your future professional and academic prospects.
COURSE PHILOSOPHY
My teaching philosophy is to promote learning by blending theory, research, and practice
in a supportive, interactive classroom environment. In turn, I expect you to attend,
adequately prepare for, and participate in all class activities. In short, work hard, learn
lots, and have fun doing it. Feel free to contact me or Mel Garcia with any questions or
concerns. Please put “663” (and more if you wish) in the subject line when you e-mail
me. Nota bene: I receive approximately 150 ‘real’ emails per workday, and 50 or so per
weekend day, so I can’t respond quickly to everything. Please make sure it’s something
for which you need my input.
MY INTENTION IS THAT THIS CLASS BE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE GSPH IF
NOT THE VERY BEST. IF I GET BESTED BY A COLLEAGUE, GOOD FOR THEMTHEY DID A GREAT JOB AND ARE A CREDIT TO OUR SCHOOL! BUT HERE IS
MY GUARANTEE: I WILL STRIVE FOR THIS TO BE THE BEST CLASS OF ITS
KIND AVAILABLE ANYWHERE. AND YOU CAN HELP ME GET THERE. I
absolutely LOVE this class, and hope you do too!
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE
In order to achieve the lofty goals set forth above, let’s look at some do’s and don’ts.
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663 “Do’s”: attend lectures. Challenge your cohort and instructor in open but polite ways.
Be active in class while being mindful of the limited time we have for everyone given the
large number of students. Be an active participant in your group and don’t shy away from
a leadership role…but don’t insist on it to the point of upsetting group chemistry.
663 “Don’ts”: Don’t be offended or alarmed by images and concepts to which you will
be exposed over the course of the semester: the realities of public health dictate that we
need to reach outside of our personal comfort zones at times to reach the audiences we
need with messages that might make a difference to them.
Use your laptops and iPads during class, but do so only for the course exercises and
processes. Use smartphones only when a presentation requires you to interact in that
format. If your personal social network really just can’t wait for your text about meeting
for beers, a Facebook update on your weekend at the beach or “what’s on my mind”
status, please take care of these outside of the classroom. I’d rather have you outside
texting than inside pretending to multitask. Regarding drinks and food, I have no problem
with these being consumed in the classroom. Out of courtesy to others, avoid noisy foods,
such as chips, celery and other fresh veggies, ice chewing, etc. Yogurt, bean burritos,
watermelon (the red part only, not the rinds), French fries and the like are just fine. Rule
of thumb: if you need teeth to process the food, it probably makes noise. Think
“gummable”. Finally, clean up after yourselves; our custodial staff are overworked and
underpaid. Recycle.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: at the end of this class, the students will be able to
1. State and describe the basic principles and underlying theories of health
communication.
2. Design and apply qualitative research appropriate to
apply principles of audience segmentation and message design.
3. Demonstrate basic skills in applied formative research and its application to campaign
decisions.
4. Identify appropriate campaign methods and channels to achieve specified objectives.
5. Create a comprehensive health communication plan.
6. Understand importance of and use social media in health promotion campaigns
The course is designed around three learning objectives and
corresponding teaching and evaluation methods.
Objectives
Varied Teaching Methods
State and describe the basic principles and underlying
· Interactive lectures
theories of health communication
· Discussions of readings
Design and apply qualitative research appropriate to
apply principles of audience segmentation and message
design.
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·
·
·
Interactive lectures
Discussions of readings
Experiential learning
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Demonstrate basic skills in applied formative research
and its application to campaign decisions.
Identify appropriate campaign methods and channels to
achieve specified objectives.
Create a comprehensive health communication plan.
Understand importance of and use social media in health
promotion campaigns
·
·
·
·
·
·
Interactive lectures
Discussions of readings
Experiential learning
Interactive lectures
Discussions of readings
Experiential learning
·
·
·
·
·
·
Interactive lectures
Discussions of readings
Experiential learning
Interactive lectures
Discussions of readings
Experiential learning
COURSE FORMAT
Class meetings will be comprised of lectures, discussions, guest presentations from
professional communicators, multi-media student presentations, and lab projects. We will
draw on literature in communication, public health, consumer psychology, and social
psychology for lecture and discussion. To help you transform your knowledge about
health communication into practical skills, a portion of some classes will be devoted to a
lab or group learning activity, in which you will apply the principles and techniques
covered in class. You will also learn “hands on” through individual assignments and
group projects.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
You can determine how much value you will get from this course based on the effort you
choose to put into it. Though I much prefer to emphasize learning over grades, I
recognize grades are required and also may be important to many of you. All of the work
described below is designed to help you learn and experience as much as possible about
health communication. About 2/3 of your grade will be determined by individual
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performance and 1/3 by group performance. Class participation will help you incorporate
what you learn in this class into your personal and professional growth, health promotion
work, and career development decisions. The group project will provide you with an
opportunity to apply what you are learning as you are learning it, in a real world setting.
Class participation/attendance (10%)
Participation involves regular attendance and being active in especially your own
presentations. You will have weekly assignments and I will call on some of you at
random to present your results. I will note who was able to present, who was at the class
but didn’t really have the assignment completed, and who was not able to join us.
Homework Assignments (30% )
Beginning on the week prior to October 1 and ending on November 19th (with the
exceptions of October 22 and November 5) you will explore the Internet, popular media,
formal print or broadcast efforts to promote health or social causes, journalistic articles
and editorials, or any format or channel of your choosing. Using the course concepts, you
will contrast two of these examples and argue how one is stronger than the other. Be
prepared to BRIEFLY share these with classmates should you be called on to do so (see
paragraph above). You will prepare a one-page single spaced summary of your findings
(whether you present or not) with links or attachments showing the pieces you are
examining.
PLEASE FEEL FREE to vary modalities, audiences and even languages! Rap music,
cinema, Fox News and MSNBC (covering the same topic), social media, blogs,
performing art, flash mobs, and activists organizations all have important statements to
make and some are done very poorly. Your job is simply to show how one ‘piece’ is
better than another.
Midterms (15% each=30%)
Two midterms will cover the health communication framework and key concepts that
together form the foundation of this course and the field.
Health Communication Campaign Group Project (25%)
Course requirements for this campaign include one paper with three parts and the design
of one component of a multi-component health communication intervention.
The first part of the paper should describe the selected health behaviors in your target
population and the importance of changing these health behaviors from long-term health
and cost perspectives. Use it as an opportunity to hone your skills in writing about your
target population using epidemiologic terms. In addition, this first part should provide
justification for the points of influence targeted in your campaign (in other words, what
demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors do you need to consider in your
campaign?). Finally, identify possible channels you are considering based on the health
issue and target population. You are required to describe a minimum of two channels. I
understand that these channels may not represent your final ones as you continue to
explore the literature. This is just an opportunity to brainstorm.
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The second part should include a description of the theoretical background of your health
communication campaign and the intervention strategies, including the channels you
settled on (again, a minimum of two). Thought should be given as to how these channels
will be integrated to create a unifying campaign.
The third part of the paper will lay out an evaluation plan for the campaign, including
measures of process, impact, and outcome.
The second part of this assignment involves actually creating one component of the
health communication campaign, selecting one of the two channels that you describe in
your paper. For example, a student may decide to use print materials such as posters,
brochures, etc., and as such, he/she would create that material in near final draft form (in
other words you should make it as real as possible though you do not need to go to the
expensive of having it professional printed). If the health communication campaign
involves an interpersonal component, such as doctor-patient interactions, the student
would design a doctor-patient curriculum. Other examples include a family-based
curriculum, group-session facilitation manual. One channel may involve social media and
you could design a website, blog or twitter campaign. These are just ideas. Over the
course of several classes, you will brainstorm with your classmates what health
communication channels to select that optimize exposure to your target population on this
health issue.
Finally, for those of you NOT in the group giving the presentation, you will write a one
page critique of the strengths and weaknesses of that project due at the end of the class.
Team evaluation (5%)
Since your group media campaign is so central to your success in this class, it is crucial
that each of you team members does your share. To encourage an equitable distribution
of effort, team members will evaluate other members of the group. Team memberships
will be formed through “speed dating” carried out in the first session in September. If
there are subsequent problems with group composition, let me know as soon as possible.
Extra Credit
Volunteer to manage an NGO’s media campaign. Take a relevant digital media
workshop, BATs type for media applications such as PhotoShop, Powerpoint
Presentations, Google Tools or Digitsl Photography/Video Production. These classes are
available at UCSD or local community colleges. Or propose something cool! But be
ready to share with the class.
Course grades will be assigned as follows based on total points accumulated for the
semester:
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A
AB+
B
B-
96-100
90-95
87-89
84-86
80-83
C+
C
CF
77-79
74-76
70-73
<70
COURSE CALENDAR & READINGS
PRIMARY COURSE RESOURCES
There will be a lot of additional readings assigned for the class, but here are the basics:
BB: Blackboard (online) – Additional readings, Web links and resources – CHECK
WEEKLY. Additional readings will be added as the semester progresses, depending on
what guest speakers want you to read and you all find for one another.
1. DHHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Health Communication Activities
http://www.health.gov/communication/home.asp
JUST review the Health Communication, eHealth and health literacy links.
2. CDC”s Health Marketing Website http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/ and the ‘pink
book’: http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook
3. The Health Communication Unit (THCU) at the Centre for Health Promotion,
University of Toronto – this is an extraordinary resource for all things ‘Healthcom’ and
‘Somar’. Master and apply this content and you’re 90% of the way there….and take note
of the central differences of the ‘Canadian approach’ (much more aligned with that of
Western Europe and other places influenced by WHO) and CDC’s embodiment of the
‘American approach’, heavily based in NIH, USAID, and Gates and other foundation
funding.
http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources/health_comm_map.cfm
4. The Institute of Medicine about patient communication and involvement:
http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/Partnering-with-Patients-to-Drive-Shared-DecisionsBetter-Value-and-Care-Improvement.aspx
What do you learn from this? What are the take-aways? What could you do as aspiring
health communication professionals do for this IOM video to make it not suck so much?
1. August 27: Introduction to Course and Qualitative Research: Dr Sheila Castaneda
2. September 3:
Introduction to Health Communication and to each other
Organize Groups
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3. September 10:
How Theory Shapes Health Campaigns : Part 1 – Perceptual
and Cognitive Factors
4. September 17: Social Media Campaigns: what they’re for and how to evaluate
them. Dr. Joe Smyser
September 24: Social Media Campaigns: what they are and how to use them. Dr.
Kristen Emory
October 1: McGuire for Planning and Evaluation; and Media Channels I:
Broadcast, pictures, and the interpersonal “channel”
October 8: Media Channels II: Print, journalism and media delivery systems
October 15 Source Factors and Audience Segmentation
October 22 Fundamentals of Social Marketing: Kotler et al
Midterm I
October 29 Price of Target Behaviors: Malaria, Dengue and HIV/AIDS Control
Programs
November 5 APHA; student group work
November 12 Targeting and Tailoring
November 19 Media Advocacy and the Entertainment Sector
November 26 Product Placement and Point of Purchase
Midterm II
December 3 Group Final Presentations I
December 10 Group Presentations II
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