Curriculum

1. Introduction

Founded in 1994 the Master of Science in Health Communication is offered by Tufts University Medical School in collaboration with Emerson College, a close academic neighbor in downtown Boston. Tufts has a distinguished history of training public health and medical professionals, while Emerson has a distinguished history of training communication and journalism professionals in all areas of media.

The Health Communication Program provides students with a solid foundation in the science, theory, and practice of effective health communication in a population-based environment, as well as the basic elements of medicine, epidemiology and public health practice. Students learn to develop, deliver, and evaluate effective health promotion and disease prevention programs and campaigns; to disseminate health information; and to develop, formulate, implement and advocate for health policy initiatives.. Graduates receive the skills and knowledge to assume a range of roles in diverse settings: biotech firms, federal agencies, foundations, health departments, hospitals, non profits and publishing companies. The program places a heavy emphasis on "hands-on" applied learning, with each student expected to complete an advanced level applied learning project in order to graduate.

While health communication ranges from one-on-one, such as patient-provider dialogue, to mass communication and the program addresses the full continuum, mass communication is emphasized.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Susan S Gallagher, MPH
Assistant Professor of Public Health & Family Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
sue.gallagher@tufts.edu

Students must complete 48 credits of coursework to graduate. The program can be completed on a full- or part-time basis with both day and evening courses offered. While it is possible to complete the program in two years, part-time students may take up to five years to graduate.

There are 12 required courses, totaling 40 credit hours. Thirty-two of the required credits are taken at Tufts University and eight of the required core credits must be taken at Emerson College. Students then have eight elective credits to fill at either Tufts or Emerson College according to their particular interests. They may opt for an internship as an elective. Internships, for either two or four credits, can span two semesters with the permission of the program director; they may be paid or unpaid.

3. Competencies

Upon successful completion of the Masters of Science in Health Communication, students will be able to:

1. Analyze public health problems using an ecological approach to identify"leverage points" (from the individual to policy level) most likely to produce sustainable change within individuals and in the environment.
2. Use empirical evidence, formative research, and theory to develop strategies and messages to promote healthful change in specific "target" audiences.
3. Describe "target" audiences on the basis of essential characteristics and define behavior change goals appropriate to the audience.
4. Craft theory-based messages to achieve health communication objectives including but not limited to: raising awareness, advocacy, behavior change, risk communication.
5. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of a broad range of communication channels and technologies and be able to choose those that are most appropriate for the audience and message.
6. Show proficiency in current e-health trends and issues and be able to conceptualize, design and evaluate web-based, user-centered health communication interventions guided by theory.
7. Incorporate audience needs and characteristics into strategic communication plans and message design; these needs and characteristics may include literacy levels, language, culture, channel access and/or cognitive and perceptual abilities.
8. Use program logic models to design evaluation plans and to assess the effectiveness of strategic communication campaigns.
9. Distinguish qualitative and quantitative measures, explain the strengths and weaknesses of different study designs in terms of threats to validity, and identify and use both unobtrusive and obtrusive measures in the design of evaluation strategies.
10. Demonstrate competence in personal communication encompassing oral, written, and non-verbal components as necessary to effectively engage in communications such as conversations, memos, and presentations appropriate to the needs and abilities of specific audiences e.g. peers, community audiences, policymakers, and science/technical experts.
11. Understand the major ethical dilemmas faced by practitioners in health communication.

4. Required Courses (32 credits)

HCOM222 Survey Research Methods and Data Management (Spring/Tufts - 4 credits)
Real world examples are used to introduce students to basic survey methodology and data management. Students have the opportunity to practice the fundamentals of good survey design and how to enter, code and clean the data one collects. Topics include formulating research questions, sampling, sample size determination, linking instruments to conceptual frameworks, principles of item construction and scale development, modes of survey administration, and qualitative methods. The second part of the course provides hands-on experience in data coding, entry, and management. Prerequisite: epidemiology and biostatistics.

HCOM502 Epidemiology - Biostatistics: Reading and Interpreting the Medical Literature
(Spring/Tufts - 4 credits)
Lectures and small group exercises introduce students to the concepts and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics. The course is divided into two components. The initial component presents basic methods for measuring disease frequency and for quantifying relationships between determinants of health and medical and/or public health outcomes. Students are also provided with fundamental skills for the critical evaluation of biomedical and epidemiological literature. The second part of the course explores in detail the principles of epidemiological research design and their application to a critical evaluation of the literature.

HCOM504 Introduction to Medicine ( Fall, Spring/Tufts - 4 credits)
This course is a survey of clinical medicine as it is practiced by physicians and other health care providers in Western countries. During the first half of the course, students are introduced to basic human physiology, pathophysiology and the fundamentals of clinical medicine including history taking, the physical examination, diagnostic testing and modern therapeutics. The second half of the course is designed to apply this information to the most prevalent diseases that plague the developed world. Issues pertaining to population medicine and public health, health promotion and disease prevention, behavioral influences on health and alternative medicine are also covered in the context of applicable disease states.

HCOM505 Ethical Issues in Health Communication (Fall/Tufts - 2 credits)
This course provides a general introduction to ethical reasoning with a particular focus on and consideration for some health related issues that are of relevant interest to health communication professionals. During the course students will utilize different branches of ethical thought to identify and resolve ethical conflicts in public health, consider the function of professional codes of conduct and learn to think critically about ethical dilemmas in health communication.

HCOM508 Technology and Health Communication (Fall, Spring/Tufts - 2 credits)
Students are introduced to the use of technologies to formulate effective strategies in health communication. They gain knowledge and skills in basic Internet and World Wide Web literacy, an introduction to web design, database searching, storage and retrieval, and advanced presentation graphics skills. Legal and ethical issues of new technologies also are covered.

HCOM522 Health Behavior & Health Communication: Theory to Practice
(Fall, Spring, Summer/Tufts - 4 credits)
Students are provided with an overview of the scientific basis for understanding human health behavior, the forces that shape and influence behavioral health policies, and the practical issues involved with implementing programs and policies to alter health behavior. The course includes faculty from the Boston area as well as media materials from current and past public health campaigns. Students work in teams to develop a campaign in response to a grant solicitation. Fall and Spring/Tufts 4 credits

HCOM525 Seminar in Health Communication/Applied Learning Project
(Fall, Spring/Tufts - 4 credits)
The Applied Learning Experience (ALE), itself, provides students with a culminating educational experience that will give them the opportunity to integrate and apply theory and skills they have acquired in the program to address a health communication problem in a work setting. A secondary goal is to provide students with the opportunity to produce a body of work reflective of their abilities that can be used in seeking employment upon graduation. Both a report and oral presentation are required. The ALE Seminar provides students with faculty and peer support and feedback on their applied learning projects as they develop and complete this final program requirement. The seminar also provides a structured opportunity to learn about each other's projects. Practical topics discussed include principles of program administration and management, budgeting, developing an Institutional Review Board Application, conducting a literature review, documenting methods, building a resume in health communication, conducting a site report, and oral presentation tips.

HCOM544 Professional Communication (Fall, Summer/Tufts - 2 credits)
The course is designed to provide students with knowledge, experience, and practical skills in public presentations. Students will learn how to organize, research, support, and deliver impromptu, informative, and persuasive presentations, as well as manage a press conference in a simulated crisis situation. Through lectures, discussions, exercises, applications, and written assignments, students will be able to increase their communication competence so that they can communicate more effectively in their field now and in the future.

NUTR229 Introduction to Writing About Nutrition and Health Communication
(Fall/Tufts Friedman School - 2 credits)
This course reinforces the skills necessary to write nutrition, science, and health-related papers that are clear, accurate, and audience-appropriate. It is a practical review of writing and revision, enabling students to develop clear, fluent, and readable styles. It includes both individual and collaborative exercises and requires weekly writing assignments, rewrites, and a journal.

CEMR614 Applications of Communication Theory to Health Communication
(Fall/Emerson - 4 credits)
Health communication is primarily concerned with the role of theory, research, and practice in health promotion, education, and delivery. Students will investigate provider-patient interaction, social support networks, health information systems, medical ethics, mass media, health policy, and health promotion and disease prevention. Students will learn about the integral nature of communication in health including: the role communication plays in shaping individuals' social and cultural expectations and beliefs about health, how such information may influence people to think differently about health and affect behavioral change, and how communication vehicles may be used to redefine and change public policy about health and health behavior. Students can expect to learn through assigned readings, cases and projects, exams, and class interaction.

CEMR651 Media Strategies for the Health Professional
(Spring/Emerson - 4 credits)
Students develop an understanding of the strategic use of the media by health communicators in message development and communication strategy execution. Students also explore the ethical concerns of health care professionals who utilize the media. Students learn how to develop effective health communication campaigns that bring about behavioral change among target audiences and influence health policy issues at the local, state, national, and international level. In addition, students learn how to develop evaluation techniques for health communication strategies.

MPH/HCOM215 Public Health and Health Care: Politics, Policies, and Programs
(Fall, Spring, Summer /Tufts - 4 credits)
An overview of the theory, organization, policies, politics, and practices that have shaped public health and health care services in the United States. Students learn about the forces that influence the substance and process of public health and health care delivery. They also are challenged to think about ways in which various stakeholders, including health professionals (clinical and administrative), commercial interests, governmental officials, and the public have come to interact in the evolution of public health and health care delivery systems. The issues of access, cost, quality and health disparities are used to frame aspects of theory, policy, and practice as well as to help evidence some of the opportunities and challenges in the intragration of public health and health care services. Finally, students are exposed to some quantitative and qualitative tools and methods used by practitioners in public health planning and in fostering community involvement.

Students in the MS in Health Communication Program must take two electives chosen from a list approved by the program director. They may select course offerings from a wide-range of elective course options available in course catalogs from Tufts University. Possibilities include the following:

HCOM506 Online Consumer Health (Fall/Tufts - 2 credits)
Health web sites are used by patients and their families for education and support, with 80% of people in the US who use the Internet using it for health searches. Popular sites such as WebMD and RevolutionHealth are designed differently than those of organizations such as NIH or WeightWatchers, and there are also countless sites started by patients, doctors, and pharmaceuticals. This course will cover how to design health web sites and on-line health communities, how user-generated content is solicited and used, how social networking is supported, and how Web 2.0 technologies are impacting site design. Students will design a health web site for a disease or condition of their choosing, and will learn how to conduct formative and heuristic evaluations of health web sites. Due to poor information literacy and health literacy skills, health care consumers may not know the accuracy, reliability and biases of health sites. There are potential consequences when erroneous or misleading advice is taken or when professional treatment is not sought. Thus understanding how to design health web sites and how patients use the internet for health are critical for health care professionals.

HCOM509 Health Literacy (Summer, Fall/Tufts - 2 credits)
Low health literacy is a barrier to effective health communication and contributes to health disparities. National assessments of adult literacy have raised serious concerns about the ability of nearly half the adult population in the U.S. to access and use health information and services. Better understanding of the relationship between health and literacy is essential to the development of effective health communication strategies and outreach. This skills oriented course explores the link between literacy and health in the U.S. and how poor health literacy impacts access to health information and quality health care services. Students practice writing and speaking in plain language, and consider the Internet as a vehicle for achieving consumer health information literacy. The course provides an overview of the adult literacy system in the U.S. and explores opportunities for collaboration across fields.

HCOM510 Patient-Provider Interaction (Summer/Tufts - 4 credits)
This course provides an overview of patient-provider interactions, surveying the field from initial conceptual communication models to the current development of participatory decision-making, examining the significant public health and policy implications. Various providers and their inter-relationships are included, and recent health care financing and regulatory influences explored. Differences in provider and patient goals are analyzed; methods for analyzing patient-provider interactions, and measuring patient satisfaction and quality are reviewed. Health disparities, and the effects of age, gender, ethnicity, race, and class on interaction are examined; policy challenges are debated. Different types of encounters are explored - health promotion and risk communication, issues around dying and death, acute pain and trauma, and chronic pain and other disabilities. The public health significance and adverse effects of patient-provider interactions (decreased patient adherence, poor health outcomes, medical errors, and increased malpractice) are detailed and policy alternatives framed. Types of communication excellence are highlighted, and progressive improvements in interaction quality and effectiveness are examined.

HCOM512 Web Strategies for Health Communication
With 74% of Americans online and 84% of online Americans using the Web for health information, healthcare organizations need a web strategy and healthcare professionals need to understand the latest technologies to plan and execute health communication initiatives. There can be a risk in not embracing the Web if other health organizations are and if healthcare consumers expect it. Yet it is difficult to know which of the rapidly evolving Web technologies to use and how to use them to provide effective health communication, especially as part of a coherent Web strategy. This course covers how to develop and implement a Web strategy to drive a health organization's online presence, specifically the processes for selecting, using, managing, and evaluating the effectiveness of Web technologies for health communication. Technology categories covered include Web sites, social networking, blogs, discussion forums, e-learning, and webcasts, and specific technologies include Wordpress, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and Elluminate. The course will use case studies from organizations such as WeightWatchers.com, LiveStrong.org, and Roadback.org to illustrate successful initiatives from organizations that have used Web technologies to improve health communication with patients or who have taken population-based approaches. Guest lecturers will provide insights on their experiences with the use of Web technologies for a healthcare organization and on topics that will lead to better use of Web technologies for health communication including health literacy and graphic design.

HCOM531 Internships (Fall, Spring, Summer/Tufts - 2 or 4 credits)
Students may opt to take a 2 credit or 4 credit internship as an elective offering, however, it is not required. Two credit internships are roughly the equivalent of 100 hours of work, while 4 credit internships are roughly 200 hours of work. Internships can span two semesters with the permission of the program director. Internships may be paid or unpaid.

HCOM546 Risk Communication in Public Health Practice
This intensive one week course begins with an overview of the theory and research basis underlying public health risk communication practice. The origins of current risk communication practice are discussed in the context of the evolution of the environmental health movement. Three distinct categories of risk communication will be explored in detail: advocacy, care communication, and risk communication during crisis public health events. Case studies will be used to explore each of these three areas. Throughout the course the emphasis will be on providing practical tools including guidelines and templates that public health and health communication people in the field can use in order to achieve accurate and effective communication. Among the topics that will receive special attention are: 1) ethical standards in risk communication practice; 2) guidelines for communication of quantitative data; 3) the impact of health literacy, language, and culture on message development and understanding. A special emphasis will be given to providing students with opportunities to practice using these tools and techniques during each session. The format for each session will include didactic elements, case study discussions, and group interactive elements. A final presentation/exercise will be built around a simulated chaos public health event in which students will be required to assume a range of roles e.g. as public health officials, political leaders, members of the general public, and members of the media/press corps. The goal is to highlight the difficulties and challenges of effective communication. Members from the media and practicing public health professionals will be invited to assist the course director to evaluate student presentations and to provide feedback. Because the course is so highly concentrated, prospective students will be required to attend each session. Class size is limited to 12 students.

HCOM560 Health Communication and the Web (Summer/Tufts - every other year - 2 credits)
This course explores the Web as a communication medium, including core principles of Web design, usability, and information architecture; how to analyze and build to specific audiences; the characteristics of effective Web content; the use and abuse of specific Web technologies; how to build sites to be search-engine friendly; and issues surrounding privacy and medical information on the Web. Students learn to use and evaluate technology from the viewpoint of the user of the site so they can make sound decisions when using the medium to communicate.

CEMR652 Social Marketing (Fall, Summer/Emerson - 4 credits)
Focuses on changing the voluntary behaviors of a society (e.g., smoking cessation, diet and exercise habits). Students learn how to apply marketing techniques and concepts to social contexts like preventive health, education, and politics. As part of the course requirements, students must complete a marketing audit of a not-for-profit organization involved in social marketing. In addition, cases and exercises allow students to develop their skills and knowledge in this area.

MPH216 Health Care Organization: Budgeting and Management (Fall,Summer/Tufts - 4 credits)
Focuses on cost accounting and budgeting in health services, nonprofit financial statement preparation, and the formulation of strategic business plans within the context of economic health policy. Students learn managerial theory and practice pertaining to organizational behavior, information systems, personnel, resource allocation, consensus building, prioritizing goals, conflict resolution, and negotiation strategies.

MPH 225: Qualitative Tools for Public Health Research and Programs (Fall/Tufts - 2 credits)
The course is aimed at integrating specific qualitative research methods, including the use of interviews, focus groups, and content analysis, as well as the analysis of the resulting data. Students are required to work on several small weekly assignments that allow them to practice specific methods and foster development of qualitative research skills. They are also required to present examples of qualitative research in class, illustrating both research design and data analysis. By the end of the semester, students will understand how to form research questions appropriate for qualitative methods, integrate qualitative and quantitative methods, and use the tools of qualitative data collection and analysis.

MPH542 Race, Culture, and Ethnicity (Fall/Tufts, every other year - 4 Credits)
This course examines the ideological, institutional, social, and professional dimensions of culture (including class, gender, and sexual orientation as facets of group and personal identify), race and ethnicity, and their effects on health status, research, planning and service delivery. The role of history, power, and the economy as they relate to societal inequality among diverse cultural groups and their influence on the current policies, institutional arrangements, service delivery models, and professional practices in health services is explored. Cultural competency is discussed and appropriate methods of practice are analyzed.

MPH285 Evaluation of Health Programs (Fall/Tufts - 2 credits)