Social & Behavioral Sciences

• SPH SB 730: Stress as a Public Health Problem
  Research on the impact of excessive stress indicates that it plays a significant role in physical and psychological health, in rising incidence of substance use and violence in communities, in increased absenteeism and decreased productivity in the work place, and increased medical costs. This course examines the impact of psychological, biological, environmental and social stressors on health, illness, health-risking behavior and its economic and public health consequences. Education and intervention strategies and programs involving stress management, community awareness and participation are evaluated. Through readings, lecture and discussion, students examine the field and explore its application to public health.
• SPH SB 733: Mass Communication and Public Health
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course explores the use of mass communication as a tool for health promotion, both domestically and internationally. The course examines the role of the mass media in shaping a social and cultural environment that affects the public health, and then reviews a range of mass media strategies available to the practitioner--public communication campaigns, social marketing, public relations, and media advocacy. Students discuss the strengths and limitations of each approach and gain experience in applying these strategies to specific public health problems. Students work in groups on a final project in which they develop and present a proposal for a plan for a public health communication campaign that uses mass media.
• SPH SB 745: Homelessness: Stories, Solutions, and Advocacy
  This course will: educate students about the root causes and consequences of rising homelessness in the United States; provide an in-depth understanding of homelessness at the individual, family, and community levels; and equip students with communication advocacy skills to meaningfully contribute to positive change regarding homelessness and other social issues. We will use the power of storytelling to understand the homelessness and to explain it in ways that capture the attention of the public and policymakers. Ethical storytelling practices and respect for individuals' dignity and experiences are emphasized throughout the course. While a major focus of the course is on the experience of the homeless encampment located Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Blvd (Mass and Cass) near BUSPH, we will also explore what is happening in other cities around the United States and globally. We will examine existing policies impacting the unhoused and introduce communication strategies to advocate for effective solutions. Students will engage in a hands-on service project in nearby homeless shelters to help deepen their understanding of the challenges faced. The course structure provides a balanced mix of lectures, workshops, guest speakers, class discussions, and a service project. The individual legislative videos and final student team presentations will allow students to apply their learning using real-world scenarios.
• SPH SB 747: Gun Violence and Community Health Equity
  Gun violence is a public health crisis in the U.S. that disproportionately affects communities of color. Why is this, what can be done, and how will we know whether efforts are working' This course brings students to the frontlines of community-based efforts to prevent gun violence and address its traumatic aftermath. We will focus on the case study of Massachusetts, where firearm death rates are low overall, but racial and ethnic disparities are vast. The course will review the epidemiology of gun violence and its legal and structural underpinnings, including segregation, disinvestment, and mass incarceration. Students will hear directly from community organizations who are working to improve services for the individuals and families most exposed to gun violence, as well as advocacy organizations working to change punitive policies that reinforce cycles of harm. Along the way, students will gain a critical understanding of the study designs that inform our current scientific knowledge on community gun violence interventions, including methodological skills in causal inference and quantitative program evaluation (no prior background required). As their final deliverable, students will draft proposals for community-engaged research projects to develop and test new interventions to reduce gun violence disparities in Massachusetts.
• SPH SB 753: Preventing Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence: A Public Health Perspective
  This course introduces the topics of intimate partner and sexual violence globally, using an intersectionality framework. We will focus on how public health professionals can contribute to prevention and health promotion. Students will receive guest lectures from practitioners in the field and also survivors of partner and/or sexual violence. Approaches to partner and/or sexual violence offender treatment, current laws and controversies related to partner and sexual violence prevention will be discussed. Students who complete the course will be prepared to work in the field of violence prevention as a research assistant, health department employee, college sexual assault prevention specialist, or community-based organization staff person. Teaching methods include lectures, small group discussion, case analyses, the use of multimedia, and interviews with providers. National and state experts in the field of sexual violence prevention present guest lectures. NOTE: Students with an interest in this course should consider their own capacity to focus intensively on the difficult subtopics that will be covered in detail. This course can be triggering for survivors of violence.
• SPH SB 760: Health of LGBTQ Populations
  This graduate course prepares public health leaders to address the unique health concerns and inherit systems of oppression (e.g., heterosexism, racism, patriarchy) that negatively impact the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. In this course, we will explore advocacy, strategies for improving the health of LGBTQ people, and methods to study LGBTQ health from local, national, and global perspectives. The course includes a strengths-based approach to understanding how LGBTQ populations resist, cope, and often thrive through resilience, social support, community action, and favorable policy environments. Students will be prepared to work on the unique health needs of LGBTQ communities and work toward creating new policies, programs, and interventions founded upon social justice and health equity.
• SPH SB 780: Mental Health and Public Health: A Social and Behavioral Sciences Perspective
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. This course provides an investigation into mental health and mental illness from a public health perspective. The courses examines the social determinants of mental health, and evaluates the ways in which key public health strategies (i.e., surveillance, screening, prevention, wellness promotion, community and policy advocacy) address mental health in various communities. Students develop an understanding of the challenges facing the current system of services and the role public health must play going forward. Student teams develop and apply skills by evaluating programs and strategies to promote mental health and wellbeing for vulnerable populations.
• SPH SB 785: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use: People, Populations and Policies
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - Alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Because virtually everyone has some experience with ATOD use themselves or in others, much about this topic is thought to be common knowledge, but in this course students will be surprised at the depth of scientific knowledge known that is not widely understood, in part evidenced by common policies and approaches that are not evidence-based. This course asks students to critically examine current ATOD research, policy and intervention and prevention practice, with the goal of acquiring skills with which to improve strategies to reduce ATOD-related consequences, illness and injury. Specifically, students will become well-versed in models for understanding ATOD use; gain knowledge in ATOD use across multiple populations and throughout the lifespan; understand contemporary public health debates regarding ATOD research and prevention strategies; learn how to address the deficiencies in current public health approaches to ATOD use; and be able to apply knowledge to emerging public health problems.
• SPH SB 806: Designing Strategic Interventions and Communications to Advance Public Health
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This core communications course focuses on 1) the development of an evidence- informed and innovative intervention and 2) the execution of a strategic and creative communications plan for a public health organization that is responsible for the intervention developed. The course also features a review of basic theory and research that can inform the health communications process as well as strategies for accessing the literature. Students are assigned a public health problem faced by a public health agency, and consult with the public health agency throughout the semester. Working through a sequence of written assignments, students conduct a literature review to inform an intervention plan and then prepare several materials to execute a communications strategy in support of the intervention. Communication pieces may include, but are not limited to: press release, letter to the editor, pitch letter with infographic, editorial, social media, video, website wireframes, texting campaigns and mHealth, videos, and press event. Writing workshops in class, skill-based exercises, and consultations with the teaching team and stakeholders are designed to give students ideas for their projects, interim feedback on their written assignments, and tools necessary to successfully develop and present a product that can be implemented by the public health agency. Students present their final project to the class and to the public health agency.
• SPH SB 818: Qualitative Research Methods
  This course provides an introduction to the use of qualitative research methods in public health. Students will gain experience in the use and application of qualitative research methods including participant observation, in-depth and key informant interviewing, focus group discussions, systematic data collection, and document analysis. Students examine different qualitative methods and techniques and learn how they can be used alone or in conjunction with quantitative methods. The course also includes attention to topics such as credibility, transferability, dependability, triangulation, site and resource identification, sampling methods, and interview and focus group guide design. Students will focus a semester-long project on a topic of their choice. Students will gain experience with basic data analysis, including coding and memoing and development of data displays. At the end of the course, students will present the results of their research and propose next steps for future research on their topic.
• SPH SB 820: Assessment and Planning for Health Promotion
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course will introduce students to neighborhoods of Boston or the greater Boston area, and provide opportunities for acquiring and practicing community assessment skills with an eye toward advancing health equity. We address the fundamental question: How do public health scientists and practitioners demonstrate that a health issue in a community warrants intervention' Students will learn to consult the literature, large data sets (such as the U.S. Census, hospitalization data, vital records, and national survey data) and geographic/mapping data, as well as conduct key informant interviews or surveys and site visits to assess health promotion needs and assets of a specific neighborhood and groups. The course will culminate in the production of a community needs assessment report integrating the various sources of data gathered over the course of the semester.
• SPH SB 821: Intervention Strategies for Health Promotion
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course focuses on strategic planning for public health practice. Social science approaches are included. Working in teams through a sequence of written assignments, students develop a strategic plan for a program designed to change a health behavior or a health outcome. Work in class and during team consultations are designed to give students practice with elements of the strategic planning process, ideas for their project, and interim feedback on their written assignments.
• SPH SB 822: Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation
  This course provides an overview of the major principles and methods associated with systematic evaluation of public health programs. The overall goal is to help students develop skills needed to review, critique, plan, and conduct evaluation research. The course covers: program logic models; formative, process and outcome evaluations; threats to internal and external validity; quasi-experimental and experimental study designs; probability and non-probability sampling methods; sample size and power analysis; measurement of constructs; questionnaire development; statistical analysis strategies; and dissemination evaluation.
• SPH SB 832: Trauma, Trauma-Informed Care, Recovery & Resilience
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. This course will provide students the opportunity to understand the public health impact of trauma (e.g., interpersonal violence, military-related, disasters) and strategies for prevention. The first part of the course is devoted to building foundational understanding of key concepts and frameworks associated with trauma-informed and equitable practices and systems from the literature. The second half of the course will focus on exploring concrete strategies for promoting resiliency/protective factors and preventing trauma/risk factors at multiple levels (individual, community, institutional, etc.). Students will apply their knowledge and skills to create a trauma-informed and equitable strategic plan for a context of their choosing (e.g. healthcare, community-based organization, education, etc.).
• SPH SB 860: Strategies for Public Health Advocacy
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. This course is for advanced MPH students. This course explores the role public health practitioners can play in advocating for programs and policies to improve the public's health and examines strategies and techniques to promote the adoption of public health policies through legislation or regulation. It first introduces the concept of advocacy and its relationship to the practice of public health. It then reviews the theory and practice of community organizing, including basic organizing philosophy, building coalitions, community empowerment, and basic strategies for community change. It then covers the public policy making process, the role of public opinion in public policy formation, the role of the news media in setting the policy agenda and in framing issues, the role of marketing and public relations in shaping public opinion, and the influence of lobbying at the federal, state, and local levels. Students learn basic skills in community organizing, grassroots mobilization, policy analysis, media advocacy, and legislative lobbying.
• SPH SB 921: Directed Studies in Social & Behavioral Sciences
  Directed studies provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of an SPH faculty member. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students may register for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study by submitting a signed proposal and registration form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar's Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study or directed research during their MPH education.
• SPH SB 922: Directed Research in Social & Behavioral Sciences
  Directed research provides the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of an SPH faculty member. Directed research with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. To register, students must submit a signed proposal and registration form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar's Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study or directed research during their MPH education.