CMST 402 Principles of Public Health Communication

5 credits

This course focuses on professional communication - written, oral, and visual - regarding public health issues for a wide range of audiences. Course topics include audience analysis, theories of behavior change and social marketing, message design and infographics, channels for disseminating public health information, use of technology, and cultural aspects of communication.

This course meets the Humanities general education distribution requirement.

Prerequisites: Admission to the BAS in Public Health program

Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Apply social marketing strategies, behavioral theories, and communication skills to positively influence and improve health behaviors
Design communication materials for a target audience based on attributes, including but not limited to age, literacy, education, language, and cultural background
Effectively communicate health data, practices, and information in multiple ways, including infographics, reports, presentations, and educational materials
Compare, contrast, and utilize a variety of communication channels to reach intended audiences, including electronic media such as video, newsletters, blogs, web pages, podcasts, and social media
Investigate and plan ways to incorporate community and interpersonal networks, as well as creative and unconventional approaches, for message dissemination

General Education Distribution Area Outcomes
Students who successfully complete courses in the Humanities distribution area will be able to:

Discuss and explain methods of creative expression, social interaction, and aesthetic considerations employed by individuals and societies
Employ methods of intellectual and creative inquiry central to the selected Humanities course of study, using the vocabulary, concepts, historical perspectives and materials common to the chosen area
Dependent on the Humanities area selected, interpret specific artifacts from art, film, history, language, literature, philosophy, religious thought, or narrative form and develop one’s own viewpoint or artifact using the techniques common to that area

Total Hours: 50 Theory (Lecture) Hours: 50