Theories of Health Behavior

Catalog description

This course will explore the contribution that basic behavioral and social science theories can make to the design, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs. Given that many public health interventions have as their goal to change the health behavior of an individual, population, and/or or community, understanding the process of behavior change is critical to designing effective programs. Public health practitioners must draw upon theoretical frameworks and their associated concepts and constructs that help to explain how health behavior is shaped by the individual (intrapersonal factors), to their relationships to other individuals (interpersonal factors), to their geographic and cultural communities (community factors), and to the larger society (sociopolitical factors). In addition, students will be able to understand behavioral influences on population health as well as the impacts of behavioral factors on human health related to health disparities and determine which basic behavioral approaches and stategies to address behavior change needs. Students will be capable of creating, implementing, and evaluating the process of making a health behavior change as it relates to creating a vision statement, goal setting, and personal ruler tools, how to measure progress with these goals, and to reflect on theoretical frameworks and strategies used.