Community-Based Public Health
Overview
The certificate program in Community-Based Public Health prepares future community public health practitioners and researchers to collaborate. Participants are trained in the skills and knowledge necessary for community-based public health program development, management and evaluation, community-based participatory research (CBPR), and other research and practice activities in community settings.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
To develop students’ skills and competencies for careers in both community-based public health practice and research, particularly for applications in systemically disadvantaged urban settings. By marrying training in these two areas, this certificate will prepare future community public health practitioners and researchers to collaborate. The certificate will train recipients in the skills and knowledge necessary for community-based public health program development, management and evaluation, community-based participatory research (CBPR), and other research and practice activities in community settings.
It will also train students in the following key competencies for community-based public health practice and research, including:
CULTURAL COMPETENCY SKILLS AND ATTITUDES
- Identify the role of cultural, social, and behavioral factors in determining the delivery of community-based public health
- Utilize appropriate methods for interacting sensitively, effectively, and professionally with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic, and professional backgrounds, and persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences
- Develop and adapt approaches to problems that take into account cultural differences
LINKING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
- Define, assess, and understand the health status of populations, determinants of health and illness, factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention, and factors influencing the use of health services impacting communities
- Understand the historical development, structure, and interaction of national and local public health and healthcare systems
- Identify and apply research methods appropriate for community-based applications
COMMUNITY DIMENSIONS OF PRACTICE SKILLS AND ATTITUDES
- Promote the utilization of leadership, team building, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills to build community partnerships and maintain key stakeholders
- Utilize best practices for engaging in effective community partnerships
- Identify community assets and available resources
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT
ADMISSION
Please review the certificate program page on the Bloomberg School of Public Health's website for contact information and full information about the admission process and requirements.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
The certificate program requires a minimum of 18 term credits. All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade; a minimum grade of C is required in all certificate coursework and students must maintain a 2.75 or better overall GPA for all certificate coursework. Any request to substitute a course that the faculty sponsors consider essential to meet the certificate program competencies must be given serious consideration. The student must propose the course to be substituted and present a rationale for the request. In no case will more than one substitution be permitted. The certificate program length is flexible; it varies from student to student, however, the certificate must be completed within three years. The student should review the section of the website that addresses completion before completing certificate program requirements. The student's transcript will not indicate that the certificate was earned until the Notification of Completion has been submitted, verified by the certificate program, and processed by the Registrar.
COURSE OF STUDY
Students should check the Bloomberg School of Public Health course directory to confirm when courses are offered. The term may change from what is listed in the table below and some courses are only offered every other year. Students should also check for prerequisites and whether instructor consent is required.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PH.550.860 | Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH (All students are required to complete this noncredit online course in their first term of study) | |
| Required (Core) Courses | ||
| PH.410.630 | Implementation and Sustainability of Community-Based Health Programs (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.410.631 | Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research: Principles and Methods (typically offered onsite in 2nd term) | 3 |
| Any student not enrolled in the School of Nursing are required to take the following practicum course. Students must apply to be accepted into the Baltimore Community Practicum during 1st term; instructor permission is required. Experience prior to enrollment in the student's current degree program is not applicable to the certificate program | ||
| PH.550.864 | Baltimore Community Practicum (Please note: This is a multi-term course: students must enroll in both 2nd and 3rd terms onsite) | 2 - 4 |
| Elective Courses: Each student must select at least one course from each of the following three groups of courses, for a total minimum of 10 credits | ||
| Group 1: Competency Skills and Attitudes | ||
| NR.110.560 | Program Development and Evaluation in Health Care | 2 |
| PH.224.690 | Qualitative Research Theory and Methods (typically offered onsite in 3rd term and online in terms 1 & 3) | 3 |
| PH.224.691 | Qualitative Data Analysis (typically offered online in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.410.650 | Introduction to Persuasive Communications: Theories and Practice (typically offered onsite in 2nd term and Winter Institute) | 4 |
| PH.410.651 | Health Literacy: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Communication (typically offered online in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.410.690 | Ethnographic Fieldwork (typically offered onsite in 1st term) | 3 |
| Group 2: Linking Social and Environmental Causes of Disease and Community Health | ||
| PH.221.624 | Urban Health in Developing Countries (typically offered online in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.301.615 | Seminar in Health Disparities (typically offered onsite in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.305.607 | Public Health Practice (typically offered onsite in 2nd term) | 4 |
| PH.380.612 | Applications in Program Monitoring and Evaluation (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 4 |
| PH.410.611 | Under Pressure: Health, Wealth & Poverty (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.410.620 | Program Planning for Health Behavior Change (typically offered onsite in 1st term and Winter Institute) | 3 |
| Group 3: Community Dimensions of Practice Skills and Attitudes | ||
| PH.550.601 | Implementation Research and Practice (typically offered onsite and online in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.180.605 | Food Systems Practicum (typically offered online in 2nd term) | 4 |
| PH.180.655 | Baltimore Food Systems: A Case Study of Urban Food Environments (typically offered onsite in 3rd term) | 4 |
| PH.221.635 | Global Advances in Community-Oriented Primary Health Care (typically offered onsite and online in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.301.645 | Health Advocacy (typically offered onsite in 4th term) | 3 |
| PH.330.634 | Stigma and Public Health: Issues and Interventions (typically offered online in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.340.698 | Methods For Assessing Power, Privilege, and Public Health in the United States (typically offered every other year) | 4 |
| PH.410.861 | Graduate Seminar in Community-Based Participatory Research (typically offered onsite in 2nd and 4th terms) | 1 |