Public Health

This course teaches students to think like sociologists, or, in other words, to see and understand the hidden rules, or norms, by which people live, and how they free or restrain behavior. Students will learn about socializing institutions, such as schools and families, as well as workplace organizations and governments. Participants will also learn how people deviate from the rules by challenging norms and how such behavior may result in social change, either on a large scale or within small groups.

Welcome to Composition: Writing with a Strategy! In this course, you will focus on three main topics: understanding purpose, context, and audience, writing strategies and techniques, and editing and revising. In addition, the first section, will offer review on core elements of the writing process, cross-cultural communication, as well as working with words and common standards and practices. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the seven competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Welcome to Introduction to Communication: Connecting with Others! It may seem like common knowledge that communication skills are important, and that communicating with others is inescapable in our everyday lives. While this may appear simplistic, the study of communication is actually complex, dynamic, and multifaceted. Strong communication skills are invaluable to strengthening a multitude of aspects of life. Specifically, this course will focus on communication in the professional setting, and present material from multiple vantage points, including communicating with others in a variety of contexts, across situations, and with diverse populations. Upon completion, you will have a deeper understanding of both your own and others’ communication behaviors, and a toolbox of effective behaviors to enhance your experience in the workplace.

In this course you will learn key critical thinking concepts and how to apply them in the analysis and evaluation of reasons and evidence. The course examines the basic components of an argument, the credibility of evidence sources, the impact of bias, and how to construct an argument that provides good support for a claim. The course consists of an introduction and four major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the four competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Health, Fitness, and Wellness focuses on the importance and foundations of good health and physical fitness—particularly for children and adolescents—addressing health, nutrition, fitness, and substance use and abuse.

This course is a foundational introduction to the biological sciences. The overarching theories of life from biological research are explored as well as the fundamental concepts and principles of the study of living organisms and their interaction with the environment. Key concepts include how living organisms use and produce energy; how life grows, develops, and reproduces; how life responds to the environment to maintain internal stability; and how life evolves and adapts to the environment.

This is World History: Diverse Cultures and Global Connections. In this course, you will focus on three main topics—cultural and religious diversity; pandemics; and the relationship of empires and nation states—as well as the skills of identifying root causes, explaining causes and effects, and analyzing complex systems. This course consists of an introduction and four major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through reading, images, videos, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to practice and check how well you understand the content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the four competencies covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge of this material, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology provides an overview of the structures and functions of organs and systems of the human body. This course will explore how the parts of the body systems work together to produce movement, transport nutrients, eliminate wastes, protect vital tissues and organs, regulate bodily functions, and support reproduction and growth, through videos, readings, exploratory learning, and practice activities.

Applied Healthcare Probability and Statistics is designed to help develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic mathematics, introductory algebra, and statistics and probability. These concepts include basic arithmetic with fractions and signed numbers; introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are now commonplace in the healthcare field. This course will help candidates make informed decisions about which studies and results are valid, which are not, and how those results affect your decisions. This course will give candidates background in what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, this course guides candidates in calculating simple probabilities based on events which occur in the healthcare profession. This course will prepare candidates for studies at WGU, as well as in the healthcare profession.

Introduction to Research Methods familiarizes students with the foundations of research, guiding students through selecting topics, forming research questions, engaging with relevant and reliable literature, and designing a research project. This course provides an overview of how researchers form questions and hypotheses, which different types of methodologies can be used to address these questions, and how existing literature and data are used to support or reject hypotheses. The methods presented in this course can be applied to many fields and disciplines, and they provide a baseline for students to use in their chosen area of study and future work.

In this course, students will develop an understanding of psychology and how it helps them better understand others and themselves. Students will learn general theories about psychological development, the structure of the brain, and how psychologists study behavior. They will gain an understanding of both normal and disordered psychological behaviors, as well as general applications of the science of psychology in society (such as personality typing and counseling).

This is Human Growth and Development, a three-module course that examines the entire human lifetime, from conception to death. Presented chronologically, the course focuses on three key areas: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, along with other important issues such as cultural influences, emotions, and resilience. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the four competencies covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge of this material, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Learning Strategies in Higher Education provides students with a toolbox of skills that will support student academic growth as they advance in their academic journey. Students will be introduced to the WGU Library; how to use it and best practices for research strategies. Students will learn how to be professional in written communication and how to correctly use current APA format. In this course, students also will learn about setting goals, time-management, study strategies, making and keeping appointments, professional decorum, and test-taking skills. Learning these skills, strategies, and methods will establish an academic foundation for students to be successful in higher education. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Community and Public Health provides learners with an understanding of the benefits community health offers individuals and families. The course also will identify barriers that will impact health and healthcare access, leading to improved community health. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Introduction to Epidemiology provides an overview of the determinants of communicable, viral, and chronic diseases. Students also will study various other conditions and the impact to public health. Using problem-based inquiry, students will analyze real-world public health problems by examining the distribution and patterns of data, selecting the methods to gather evidence, interpreting the information, and analyzing the trends to support decision making. There are no prerequisites to this course, but students are highly encouraged to adhere to the standard path, whose content is scaffolded to enhance the learning experience of this course.

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health examines the social determinants of health (SDOH) as underlying factors that contribute to health inequity in populations and communities and their effect on health outcomes. This course will help students understand the evidence-based strategies and approaches that promote health equity. D581 Introduction to Research Methods is a prerequisite to this course.

Understanding Substance Abuse and Addiction provides an overview of substance abuse causes, impact, prevention, and treatment. Students will understand the signs and symptoms of substance abuse and addiction and its impact on individuals, groups, and the community. Students will analyze relevant factors that initiate and reinforce substance abuse and addiction and describe evidence-based strategies for prevention, intervention, and treatment. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Career and Lifelong Learning supports students in taking their first steps in a lifelong journey of development as a professional. Students will explore career pathways, plan how best to achieve their desired professional future, and take tangible steps toward that future by creating career growth materials that adhere to today’s best practices. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Team Dynamics explores interpersonal communication strategies, collaborative team interactions methods, and problem-solving techniques to promote effective communication and improve quality outcomes in a professional environment. In this course, students will apply psychologically-sound approaches for resolving conflicts, allowing them to navigate challenging workplace disagreements and personalities. Students in this course will apply their skills to various situations. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Mental Health Awareness and Education is designed to help students recognize mental disorders, improve access to mental health services, support recovery, and lower the rate of death, disease, and disability among those with mental illnesses. Topics include mental health education programs, mental health stigmas, cultural diversity in mental health, and barriers to mental health care and strategies to overcome those barriers. Students will analyze these topics from the vantage point of a community mental health perspective. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Program Planning and Implementation provides learners with the skills to plan and implement evidenced-based public health programs to address the most important health issues affecting communities. Learners analyze community needs assessments, develop program goals and SMART objectives, apply public health theories and models, and plan the implementation of a health education strategy.

Program Evaluation familiarizes learners with approaches to evaluating an evidence-informed health program or intervention implemented in a public health setting. Topics include logic models and evaluation frameworks; process and outcome metrics for evaluating programs; qualitative and quantitative approaches to collecting data; and dissemination strategies for the results of program evaluation.

This course provides learners with the foundational knowledge and relationship people have with their environment, the risk management choices made, and the resulting associations that affect health and physical well-being for the individual, communities, and susceptible populations.

Public Health Leadership & Administration Learners apply leadership principles for public health leadership positions. This includes engaging, organizing, and leading diverse groups, as well as addressing ethical issues in the field of public health. Learners also apply negotiation and mediation skills to address challenges they may face in the organization or community. 

Public Health Policy introduces students to laws, regulations, actions, and decisions implemented within society to promote wellness and ensure specific health goals are met. Public health policies range from formal legislation to community outreach efforts. In this course, learners will examine the role of public health, the impact it has on our society, and strategies to promote health and health policy on a community and global level.

Gender and Health examines healthcare concerns, from both a historical perspective and the perspective current healthcare trends and practices. This course covers the following topics: the history of gender and health; current healthcare trends the definitions of sex and gender; and other, healthcare-related issues, including: equity versus equality, healthcare policies and bias, and health education. The goal of this course is to increase student knowledge and awareness of how healthcare is influenced by sex, gender, and social determinants of health.

Public Health Administration is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles, practices, and challenges of managing healthcare organizations in today's complex healthcare environment. It explores the critical aspects of Public Health Administration, including leadership, healthcare policy, financial management, quality improvement, and ethical considerations.

Foundations in Public Health introduces learners to the nation’s public health systems including an overview of the core functions of Public Health and the 10 essential public health services. Learners examine a variety of strategies to promote health, prevent disease, and prolong life among populations and communities, including behavioral, population, and policy change, mass media approaches, and community-based interventions. This course also provides learners with a foundational and historical orientation to the field of public health by examining the philosophy, history, purpose, organization, terminology, and function.

Human Sexuality provides learners with foundational knowledge surrounding public health issues, behaviors, risks, prevention, and treatment for sexual health. Learners explore the relationship between one’s environment, biological makeup, and personal choices, and analyze how each could impact sexual health, psychological factors, and physical well-being for an individual. Learners examine inequities related to status, age, ethnicity, citizenship, disability, and sexual orientation, addressing challenges and gaps in public sexual healthcare services. Learners then take critical foundational knowledge and produce educational materials for target populations. Learners identify community resources, data sources, and sexual health education materials. This gives learners an opportunity to explore health literacy, methods of meeting the needs of specific communities, and gaps in sexual public health resources. Learners leave this course with an understanding of key human sexuality issues, their causes, and potential resolutions within public health settings.

Chronic & Infectious Diseases is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the major diseases that significantly impact public health. Chronic and infectious diseases remain a critical concern globally, and this course aims to empower students with the knowledge and skills needed to address these challenges effectively. Students explore epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention, and management of various chronic and infectious diseases.

Grant Writing introduces learners to essential tasks and approaches to acquiring funding for public health projects and programs through grants. It addresses how to find and apply to both government and non-government grant opportunities. Learners practice researching for grants, determining which grants align with the mission and purpose of a public health program, evaluating draft grant proposals, and identifying and revising key components of a drafted proposal.

Global Health prepares learners to identify and analyze Global Health as a field. Learners consider how globalization has affected the health of various groups of people throughout the world. Likewise, the learner also looks at how economic and environmental factors have different effects on different groups globally. Finally, the course presents the learner with knowledge of various global initiatives and international organizations that strive to promote health and well-being and reduce health disparities. The learner demonstrates their knowledge and skills by drafting an advocacy statement promoting the successful efforts of a global health organization.

Public Health Capstone provides learners with real-world applications to prepare them for the public health industry. In this course, learners apply the knowledge gained through the program to real-world situations and educates the public in response to those situations.