Public Health Communication

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of providing communities with relevant, timely, trustworthy, meaningful, and practical communications in both everyday and emergency contexts, aiming to improve public health outcomes and promote community wellbeing. We will study communication approaches for addressing various public health issues (e.g., chronic illness, infectious disease outbreaks, environmental health, vaccine efficacy and safety), effectively reaching target audiences, promoting health behavior changes at individual and societal levels, eliciting prosocial and protective behaviors in emergencies, and countering misinformation that threatens people’s health and wellbeing. TSI Restriction(s): Reading, Writing, and Math