Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Outline the contributions of social and behavioral science theory in the planning and implementation of PHC programs
• Apply relevant social and behavioral theories to diagnose and understand individual, social network, organizational, community, and policy-maker behaviors associated with the planning, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance of community-based primary health care programs
• Identify the factors that promote and inhibit community involvement in PHC program development and implementation, and outline indigenous management strategies to sustain PHC at the community level

• Basic PHC concepts and processes
• Social dimensions of the PHC approach
• The social and cultural context of health
• Health behavior, units of identity
• The change process
• The ecological model
• Theories and models of individual behavior
• Culture, folk illness, and epidemiology: explanatory models
• The household as a basic health unit
• Social networks: implications for AIDS
• Social support systems
• Social change theories
• The concept of community
• Empowerment: the process of community organization
• The effects of participation
• Social networks and the diffusion of innovations
• Organizing through local groups
• Organizational change and adaptation
• Community management of PHC programs
• Levels and strategies of policy change for PHC development
• Integration: viewing the ecological levels together
  

Graduate education is a self-directed approach to learning. Thus, the instructor is more of a resource than a vessel from which knowledge is poured. This means that the student and the instructor are engaged in a partnership that fosters active learning. Because there is a sizable amount of information to cover in only a term, all parties must share the responsibility for learning. It is largely through the process of self-discovery that new concepts are internalized.

Cleary MJ, Stuhldreher WL, Bavaro JA, Lindsay JE, Taylor LMS, Birch DA (1997). "Using Teaching Portfolios to Enhance Teaching Effectiveness in Health Education." American Journal of Health Studies; 13(1): 33–43

There are five lab assignments and four quizzes during the course, which constitute 100% of your grade. The grading scheme in this Syllabus and the grading scheme document in the Online Library provide a breakdown of how your work is evaluated.

The labs may be done either as a group or individually, but you are encouraged to work in groups wherever possible. Once you form a group, you can work together for all assignments or reorganize for subsequent labs. You are encouraged to form groups based on interest and location. Please review your contact information/profile to ensure that this represents your current location, since people often form groups based on time zones.

The main function of groups is to share experiences to enhance the adult learning aspect of this course. Whenever you do work in a group, ensure that one person is designated to submit the lab on behalf of the group, and that all group member names appear in the header to the document.

Some labs require you to choose a topic of current interest. You might "advertise" your topic ideas on the bulletin board to identify people who want to join with you in a group.

Different groups may form for the different labs. Just be sure all member names are listed on any assignments submitted. You are encouraged to use email, AudioChat (live chats with audio), the BBS, or any other communication mechanism to conduct group work.

All assignments should be submitted via the course Drop Box according to the schedule on the course Schedule. If you work as a group, only one person should submit on behalf of the group; make sure to indicate the names of all group members on all page headers.

A LiveTalk session is scheduled to take place before each lab is due so that we can discuss the assignment and answer any questions.

All labs are accessible on the first day of the course so that you can plan ahead and work flexibly to complete the assignments, if you would like to, according to your and your group's optimal pacing. All labs, though, are tied conceptually to the lectures, so it is ideal to review the corresponding lecture material before completing the labs.

Late or Incomplete Lab Assignments:

We recognize that course participants may have work, family or other commitments or emergencies that interfere with timely submission of labs and quizzes. Requests for time extensions will be considered if made IN ADVANCE of the due date for the lab or quiz.

On occasion a lab is submitted that has missing or incomplete sections. Such labs will be returned with the request that the missing section be provided within 48 hours. Also, if the quality of the assignment is not of passing grade, the paper may be returned with a request for revisions to be provided within 48 hours. In the case of successful revisions, the final score on the paper will not exceed the minimum passing grade.

Submission Guidelines:

• Submit completed assignments to the course Drop Box in the Course Resources area. The file you submit is automatically renamed in the DED system.
• Send only ONE file for any given assignment (combine everything into one document).
• Include your name, phone number, and email address as a header on your written assignment in case there is need to contact you.
• If you are working as a group, include in the header the name, phone number, and email address of each group member.
• If you are sending a revision, you must first contact the course instructor at bbbrieger@yahoo.com. You will be able to resubmit your document via the course Drop Box after your earlier submission is cleared.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Successful Drop Box submissions are confirmed with an email message, so always be on the lookout for an email message after you submit.

Group Members' Responsibilities:

The goal of small group work in the labs is for you to share your knowledge and skills with your fellow group members, and for all group members to benefit from the mutual sharing. For this to optimally take place, each group member should do the following:

• Punctually attend group sessions as scheduled (AudioChat and TextChats as scheduled by groups)
• Contribute meaningfully to group discussions
• Complete the group assignments on time
• Prepare work in a quality manner
• Demonstrate a cooperative and supportive attitude
• Contribute overall to the success of the project

Note on quizzes: When taking the quizzes, you may use print outs of the corresponding case studies, slide handouts and class notes. You may review the answers to each quiz by clicking on the quiz link on the Course Content page any time after the quiz has closed.

221.688.81

Always copy the instructor at both addresses and the teaching assistants when writing, in order to get the most timely response. Instructor: William R. Brieger, MPH, CHES, DrPH Community Health and Health Systems Department of International Health Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins University 615 N. Wolfe St., Room E8141 Baltimore, MD 21205 Office phone: 443-287-4042 Cell phone: 443-850-4815 Email address for queries, concerns, etc.: bbbrieger@yahoo.com and bbrieger@jhsph.edu   Teaching Assistants: Abdulgafoor Bachani abachani@jhsph.edu Jennifer Callaghan jcallagh@jhsph.edu Important: If you have questions pertaining to your labs and quizzes, send an email directly to the teaching assistants and the instructor. Please do not post personal questions on the BBS. Use the BBS for general questions about assignments that may also be interesting and helpful to other class members. If you have problems with technical aspects of the website, contact DEHelp. You may copy the course instructor and TAs to let us know your issues, but we do not have access to the inner workings of the website and cannot correct problems.

The following table details the grading scheme in this course.

Final grades are based on the percentage of the possible 190 points earned.

•     A = 90% and above
•     B = 80–89%
•     C = 70–79%

Grades are based on performance on lab assignments and short quizzes as outlined on the Course Content page.

Late policy: We recognize that people will experience personal, work-related, or other problems that make it difficult to submit lab assignments and quizzes on time. If you experience such problems, please notify us BEFORE the deadline for a particular lab assignment and give us a reasonable estimated submission date. Late assignments without such notification will be docked 1 point for each day late. We can arrange for quizzes to be taken early. The maximum extension we can give for taking a quiz late is three (3) days due to the fact that we cannot discuss answers with students until all quizzes are complete.

All audio from the lectures in this course can be downloaded by clicking on corresponding "MP3" audio links on lecture main pages. Audio files can be ideal for travelers, commuters, etc. who find it convenient to listen to lectures offline. Copying and/or distributing any files in this course for any other purposes is not permitted. Thank you for your consideration.

The course evaluations submitted by students in this course last term indicated that successfully completing the course involved time commitments as follows:

• 3% of all students evaluated spent fewer than 11 hours per week
• 33% of all students evaluated spent 11–15 hours per week
• 33% of all students evaluated spent 16–20 hours per week
• 18% of all students evaluated spent more than 21-25 hours per week
• 11% of all students evaluated spent 26 hours or more per week  

Students should expect to spend on average nine hours total per week on an 8-week, three-unit course in the Bloomberg School of Public Health.