Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine's Department of International Health and Development

Communication and Behavioral Science Track

This track prepares students in the fields of health education, communication and social and behavioral sciences in order to plan, design, implement and evaluate public health interventions in international settings. This includes training in developing and implementing IEC programs at all levels of society. Special concentration areas of the track include Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programs in primary health care in international settings and HIV/AIDS Prevention programs.

The HIV/AIDS courses and objectives listed below are an area of special emphasis within the track.

Program Training Objectives:

1. Have a basic knowledge of the biological basis of diseases addressed by PHC programs and HIV/AIDS Biology and Epidemiology.
   
2. Be able to describe the basic elements of Primary Health care, the Alma-Ata Agreement, the Bamako Initiative, and the major ongoing campaigns and programs.
   
3. Have mastery of basic concepts regarding health education, communication and behavior change theories.
   
4. Be familiar with intervention design and evaluation, especially familiarity with health delivery strategies such as primary health care and participatory community-based approaches.
   
5. Be capable of conducting needs assessments and formative research for communication and behavior change programs.
   
6. Be capable of designing communication and behavior change programs.
   
7. Be familiar with intervention and research policy and ethical issues.
   
8. Be capable of evaluating behavior change programs.
   
9. Students will be expected to work in extracurricular projects and activities on either a paid or voluntary basis.
   

Students' Objectives:

• Basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS/STD biology and epidemiology
• A mastery of basic concepts regarding HIV/AIDS prevention, including behavior change theories
• A working knowledge of health communication and education methodologies
• Familiarity with intervention design and evaluation
• Knowledge of major HIV/AIDS information resources
• The ability to conduct formative research and design communication interventions for HIV/AIDS prevention programs
• Familiarity with intervention policy and ethical issues

Primary Faculty:

Illustrative Projects (in which faculty are involved):

• Assisting Operation Project, a condom social marketing program in Louisiana
• UNICEF Social Mobilization Certificate Course
• UNICEF Video Clearinghouse
• Assisting Operation Project, a condom social marketing program in Louisiana
• Evaluating AIDSCAP, the largest international AIDS prevention effort of the U.S. government
• Working with the National Academy of Sciences to develop a new prevention strategy for HIV/AIDS in subsaharan Africa
• Developing STD intervention programs for New Orleans and Baton Rouge
• Developing interventions with IVDUs to reduce transmission in New Orleans

Requirements ( 9 credits minimum, including INHL 620 and INHL 639; 14 credits recommended)

Required Courses:

INHL 620 Health Advocacy (3)
INHL 639 Public Health Communication and AIDS (3)
INHL 625 International and Comparative Aspects of Health and Behavior (2)
INHL 702 Communication Research for Family Planning and Health (3)
INHL 645 Survey Measurement (3)

Recommended courses within the Department of International Health:

INHL 606 Primary Health Care
INHL 607 The Social Impact of HIV/AIDS: An Introduction to the Epidemic
INHL 626 Formal Qualitative Methods
INHL 621 Anthropological Perspectives on Health and Illness
INHL 644 Design and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Programs
INHL 799 Social Marketing in International Health
INHL 799 Mass Media and Health

Recommended courses within other departments (depending on subspecialty):

MCHL 730 Maternal/Child Health Issues in HIV Disease
HCED 604 Educational Approaches to Community Development
HCED 606 Training Methodologies for Health Professionals in Developing Countries
HCED 609 Social Marketing in Health Education
HCED 704 Methods of Behavioral Science Research in Education
HCED 611 Health Communication Theory and Practice
EPID 611 Epidemiology of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
EPID 721 Epidemiology of AIDS
EPID 621 Computer Packages for Statistical Analysis
EPID 624 Monitoring and Evaluation of Health Related Systems
BIOS 606 Regression Analysis
BIOS 715 Categorical Analysis
SOCI 609 Sociology of Medicine

To the Top | TULANE AIDS | AAA | TAAP | PAGE | INHL | EPID | NEWS

Last modified: 3 August 96