HIV/AIDS Public Health Promotion

Catalog description

Students will examine the evolution of the HIV epidemic in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.) throughout the last four decades using a public health lens with an emphasis on population-based health promotion strategies and responses of the respective health system within each country. Students will learn about the history of the disease in the U.K., U.S and within a global context, the biomedical aspects of the disease including HIV testing, and treatment, the epidemiology of the disease, the socio-bio-behavioral drivers of the disease, and HIV/AIDS public health policies and calls to action both within the U.K. and the U.S. Students will examine, analyze, apply, and evaluate theoretical paradigms and research, drawn from public health and interrelated disciplines with regard to HIV prevention, treatment, and care as it is manifested in the across all segments of the population. The course utilizes a biopsychosocial framework for understanding illness and health promotion and emphasizes theory-based HIV prevention and care. The course uses an experiential learning approach; students engage with to local AIDS service organizations, health care facilities, and thought leaders, all with an eye to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic.