PHW - Public Health and Wellness

Students explore foundational concepts of integrative health and wellness, including the role of health educators, health promotion professionals and health and wellness coaches. Students will also be introduced to integrative health as an approach to well-being, prevention, and treatment across the wellness continuum to achieve personal vitality.

This course focuses on structure and function of the human body from the viewpoint of wellness through homeostatic balance. Cells, tissues, systems and the organism are studied, emphasizing interrelationships among systems and physiological function regulation involved in balancing the holistic body. At course completion students will answer: What is structure? What is function? What causes physiological imbalance? Fee: $70.

In this evidence-based biology focused course, students explore lifestyle impact on physiology, deepening their understanding of how implementing daily wellness habits can support normal physiology. Students will contrast normal and abnormal physiology, illustrating how health is balanced through lifestyle choices. The positive effects of public health approaches will be evaluated and applied to maintain and/or restore health.

This course establishes a foundation of public health from an integrative health perspective. Students will explore the principles of public health and identify what drives illness and wellness in communities. They will learn to identify relationships between behavioral, social, environmental, policy and other factors that influence health.

This course explores the use of energy field practices for supporting health and well-being. Students will be introduced to and experience evidence-based mind body approaches to mitigate stress and trauma and enhance resilience via practices such as meditation, breath awareness, yoga, and reiki. Fee: $10.

In this evidence-based biology-focused course, students learn the impact of chronic and infectious disease on human health, populations, and systems. Students explore how lifestyle impacts physiology and the expression of disease, focusing on interventions and holistic approaches for diverse populations.

This course explores the relationship people have with the environment and how this interaction affects health and well-being for individuals, communities, and populations. Emphasizes policy, practice, and systems-based approaches.

This course introduces students to the basic principles and methods of public health epidemiology. This includes descriptive and analytic approaches to assessing the distributions of health, disease, and injury in populations and various factors that influence those distributions.

This course provides the theoretical foundation for working with individual clients/learners in coaching practice. Integrating change and wellness theories, students will explore coaching methods for supporting the individual. Students will gain a full understanding of the psychodynamics of the therapeutic relationship as they practice simulated coaching sessions. Fee: $125.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of how health systems and policies influence the health of individuals and communities in the United States. Case studies are used to explore the impact of health policy at the federal, state, and local levels on individuals and communities.

Examines theoretical foundations of health education and health promotion in public health through the study of health behavior theory, learning theory, and principles of adult learning. Students explore ways to understand health behavior from a holistic, individualized perspective. Advocacy and health policy are examined from a systems level, discussing the power of health promotion efforts as a means to support increasing health equity.

This course explores the process of evidence informed public health practice. It is designed to provide students with the fundamental research and analytic methods needed by public health leaders to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of community health in order to improve population health. The focus is on research skills needed by practitioners with the objective of improving health outcomes.

Established in biological science, students explore evidence for plant-based foods, herbs, and supplements to understand how they support health. Following the idea of food as medicine, students will begin with plant foods, including herbs and spices, discovering how they impact cell health. Students will explore herbal remedies, including essential oils, that support balance well-being in body, mind, and spirit. Fee $25.

Intermediary nutrition course detailing nutrients and how the body utilizes them in physiology; dietary planning principles that support good health with emphasis on cultural and lifestyle diversity; the special nutrient needs of people throughout the life cycle and with specific disease states; and practical applications to use nutrition as part of a wellness plan in health coaching, practitioner education, and patient care. Fee: $10.

This course focuses on the history and theories of integrative community health practice, roles and responsibilities of the community health practitioner, basic capacities central to community health education and promotion, and community assessment, analysis, and application.

This course focuses on effectively using community assessment and analysis data to design appropriate interventions and evaluations in partnership with the community. Specific attention will be given to care coordination, health teaching, and policy development as intervention. Roles and responsibilities of the community health practitioner, basic capacities central to community health promotion, and sustainability will be emphasized.

This course explores the skills required for achieving and sustaining well-being in an uncertain world. The course draws upon insights from the arts, humanities, psychology, and health sciences to define the challenges and opportunities presented by uncertainty. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to craft their own practice of leveraging uncertainty to gain vitality, clarity, and direction.

This course focuses on an integrative approach to sleep and well-being. This includes a detailed exploration of the physiology, psychology, and sociology of the essential biological processes that are sleep and dreaming. Practical public health interventions and the development of habits of healthy sleep hygiene are discussed.

In this innovative, hands-on course, students learn the art and science of the relationship between artistic expression and psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Students learn and experiment with various artistic domains, including the visual arts, writing, music, and movement. Students gain an integrated practice of self-expression that supports their vitality and well-being. Fee: $35.

Building upon PHW 307, students refine coaching skills through case study analysis and simulation role play. Students apply coaching skills to working with people with chronic illness. Students develop an individualized coaching plan that integrates lifestyle modifications and integrative health modalities to promote wellness and improve health outcomes. Fee: $125.

This course investigates the effects of various technologies on personal and public health. Students gain an understanding of what constitutes ethical technology through the lens of integrative health science. Historical, contemporary, and future health-related technologies are reviewed and their potential impact on personal, population, and global well-being is evaluated.

This course provides the infrastructure for managing a public health promotion/education project for a population. Students will learn the process of assessing, planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating projects as applied to a specific community.

This class introduces students to the central skills of effective leadership and offers practical application of lessons learned. Students will examine leadership from cultural, biological, psychological, and organizational perspectives. Students will also explore their own leadership style and build a leadership practice that centers wellness and vitality through coaching, health education, and organizational leadership.

This practicum provides students with an opportunity to apply public health concepts in the field. Students will work with their targeted population/organization in collaborative relationship to identify needs and create and implement a proposal for a public health education/promotion program or offering. Includes 135 practicum hours.

This course is for students seeking National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) certification. Through intensive practice of coaching skills, students receive feedback and gain experience with different clients and scenarios while expanding on the application of the theoretical model of coaching. Students work toward accruing 50 coaching practice sessions under faculty mentorship to become eligible to sit for the National Board Certification Exam for health and wellness coaching.