Public Health (PBH)
Aleks Babić, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Director
Michele K.H. Malotky, Professor of Biology
Rachel G. Riskind, Associate Professor of Psychology
Public health is an interdisciplinary field encompassing the science and practice of promoting the health and wellbeing of communities and populations. This wellness promotion is accomplished through such initiatives as health education, preventive medicine, and the monitoring and control of communicable diseases and environmental hazards.
The Public Health major at Guilford is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in public health. In an increasingly globalized world, public health professionals require diverse backgrounds and fields of expertise to tackle the challenges of complex environments. Recognizing this need, students will tailor their major to reflect their passions and career goals by choosing courses from one of three specialization tracks: (1) Natural Science, Disease, and the Environment, (2) Social Science, Health, and Behavior, or (3) Organizations, Business, and Health Policy.
In addition, through internships and community engagement components embedded in their course work, Public Health majors will experience a myriad of high impact, experiential learning pedagogies. Drawing on Guilford’s long history of social justice and community problem solving, students will have the opportunity to engage in ongoing social justice initiatives and community- based research projects, challenging them to apply concepts, research findings, and theories that they have learned in their coursework.
This course is an introductory survey of public health issues and topics, including ethics, environmental health, sexual health, occupational health, infectious disease, and substance use/misuse. Upon successful completion of this course, students will gain a thorough understanding of introductory public health concepts, prominent frameworks in the discipline, and applications of best practices in communities. This course covers relevant history, emerging public health issues, and the scope of field work in the discipline.
This course introduces students to key global health principles pertaining to the identification, intervention, and evaluation of both small- and large-scale public health problems around the world. Social, cultural, economic, and political implications of global health actions are considered and analyzed. Students will practice identifying health disparities, constructing a historically rooted analysis of the public health problem and drafting evidence-based proposals for intervention, emphasizing cooperative public health models.Prerequisite: Successful completion of PBH 101 or instructor permission.
May also be offered at the 390 level.
This course embraces multiple aspects of community-based, interdisciplinary research. Prior to beginning research projects, students will learn about the changing demographics of Guilford County including refugees and underserved populations. They will also receive training in anti-racism and cultural competency to prepare students for working with community members. Through community outreach efforts, students will be involved in the formation and implementation of focus groups and community events to build trusting relationships with community members as well as to identify and assess community needs. Students will work with faculty and student leaders to design, implement and evaluate a community-based research project. Projects will address current community concerns ranging from access to health care to medical and nutritional needs. This instruction will help in the promotion of effective, focused research and will prepare students for developing sustainable relationships with the targeted community
This course examines population-based health determinants and health disparities using epidemiologic methods. Students will learn about screening, disease surveillance, and outbreak investigation in the context of contemporary social issues. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analytic measures will be used to explore the public health issues covered in this course.Prerequisite: Successful completion of PBH 201, Information Literacy and MATH 112 requirements.
Represents one of three options for the experiential learning requirement in the major. A written senior thesis may be undertaken as the culmination of independent study or relevant Collaborative Quest (Apply/Contribute) project. The senior thesis must represent independent thought and is designed and conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. Recommended for students planning to attend graduate school.