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 and at least 90 credits completed of 100/200 level courses.

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
Communicate effectively about health data, practices, and information in multiple ways, including infographics, reports, presentations, and educational materials
Respond effectively to public health misinformation and disinformation
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

College-Wide Learning Outcomes
This course teaches to the college-wide learning outcome of Communication, the ability to engage effectively in verbal, non-verbal, written, and/or symbolic expression.

Total Hours: 50 Theory (Lecture) Hours: 50