B.S. In Interdisciplinary Health Services
Course Descriptions
IHS 2101 |
Health, Illness, and Disability |
3 credits |
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A survey of the psychological, social, and behavioral theories as they relate to the experiences of chronic illness and disability with particular emphasis on how biopsychosocial factors impact motivation, social support, and life satisfaction. Current theories, as they apply to the epidemiology of public health behaviors throughout the life cycle are evaluated. An inquiry into the health needs of women, children, and ethnic minorities is explored, as well as how society perceives and responds to people with illnesses and disabilities.
IHS 2111 |
The Health Care System and its Responsibilities |
3 credits |
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An introduction to public health and the organization and structure of the health care delivery system in the United States. This course will focus upon the various types of health care services, where these services are provided, ways to assess and keep track of diseases and public health care needs, health policies, and administration of these services. Also included will be a discussion of how legal, economic, psychological, cultural, political, ethical, and technological forces affect health care and the people who provide it. An introduction to managed care including current and evolving models, terminology, and differences among insurers and payer types will be included. Recommendation: to be taken after completion of IHS 2101 & 2231.
IHS 2231 |
Health and Society |
3 credits |
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Health and health care are of central concern in a post-industrial society. This course examines sociological issues in health and health care, with special focus on the contemporary United States. How do such factors as race, gender, and social class shape physical and mental illness? How is health care organized, and what professions and organizations make up the health care sector? How have health and health care become major social problems, and what are the prospects for major social change in society's response to health issues?
IHS 2311 |
Statistics and Research Methodology |
4 credits |
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This course introduces students to research methods and data analyses as they apply to research in the health services field. Topics included are experimental design, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, parametric and non-parametric tests, internal and external validity, and instrumentation. Students will be responsible for developing a research idea, writing an extensive review of the literature, collecting and analyzing data, and summarizing and discussing the results. This course includes a weekly computer lab. Prerequisite MAT 1181
IHS 2411 |
Alternative Medicine and Non-traditional Therapies |
3 credits |
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This course introduces students to the history and practice of complementary medicine and non-tradition therapies. Included will be an overview of the debate between eastern and western societal approaches to medicine, the relationship between mind and body in health and illness, how cultural issues affect the way individuals feel about and comply with their medical treatment , some of the non-traditional therapies used in the treatment of physical and psychological illness such as art and music therapy, and the overall emphasis on wellness promotion.
IHS 2421 |
Public Health and Disease |
3 credits |
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This courses provides as basic foundation in epidemiology and public health issues. This will include an exploration of at-risk groups in terms of health behavior and the prevalence of certain diseases. Strategies for reducing premature mortality and morbidity as well as enhancing health at home, at school, in the workplace, and the community at large will be presented. Students will learn about the development of public health education programs for hospitals, work sites, communities, and schools and how outreach wellness programs can impact health and disease.
IHS 2431 |
Helping & Healing: Ethics, Community, and Personal Transformation |
4 credits |
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Why do we help others? Why should we? How should and how do we? This course explores the problems and promises of caring for other people from the perspective of the helper and the community to which they belong. Integrating the disciplines of philosophy, literature, and social science, this course aims to provide a coherent way of thinking about the psychosocial and ethical dimensions of helping and caring. It will explore the motives for and obstacles to caring, the demand that one transforms self in caring, and the manner in which one might be transformed by caring. This course includes a weekly service-learning requirement at local health service agencies.
IHS 2441 |
Health Administration |
3 credits |
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This course is an introduction to the principles of administration and management as they relate to health services institutions. The peculiarities of health care organizations and the health care system will be reviewed with regard to professionalism, human resource/organizational development issues, organizational design, human personality, and motivational factors. Case studies on health care organizational problems and issues will supplement and enrich group discussions, and didactic presentations and guest speakers from local health care systems will be provided.
IHS 2451 |
Seeking a Better Death: Hospice Care |
4 credits |
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This course examines how people across cultures and throughout history have responded to the challenge of dying. It will examine cultural practices relating to treatment of the death and to care of the dying, as well as the process of confronting one's own death from a psychological perspective. After describing the limitations of the traditional medical (curative) model's approach to death, the course will study the hospice movement: its history, philosophy, and practices of caring. In addition to specific models and essential components of hospice care, administrative issues (legal, reimbursement, human resources) will be addressed. This course will include presentations by and interviews with hospice workers, as well as a survey of hospices in the metropolitan area. This course includes a weekly service-learning requirement.
IHS 2461 |
Administration of Health Care and Public Health Organizations |
3 credits |
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This courses focuses on the fundamental principles and theories of administration in a number of different types of health care and public health organizations. It covers areas of management, supervision, and leadership required in today's complex health care settings such as hospitals, public health agencies, physician practices, clinical departments, ambulatory and long-term care settings, and health education programs with an emphasis on human resources, finance, budgeting, planning, customer relations, systems design, outcome measures, and program evaluation. It recognizes the unique characteristics of health care organizations and what is needed to operate clinical, educational, and public health programs in this environment. Critical administrative strategies will be presented giving students opportunities to understand their importance and how they may be applied. Through various instructional methodologies such as case studies, team assignments, guest presentations, and role-plays, students will experience the rich, exciting environment of health care administration.
IHS 2471 |
Nutrition, Exercise, and Body Composition |
3 credits |
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A significant amount of research has identified the importance of good nutrition and regular exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing illness. This course provides a comprehensive examination of the principles of good nutrition throughout the life cycle and a discussion of the factors that contribute to maintaining a pattern of regular exercise. Relative to nutrition and exercise, students will learn about weight and body composition, which differs between men and women, and the physically trained and untrained, and about the various ways in which body composition is measured. Finally, topics such as obesity, weight-control programs, and eating disorders will be examined.
IHS 2481 |
Health and the School-aged Child |
3 credits |
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This course introduces students to some of the unique health issues faced by the school-aged child. In contemporary society, schools have become one of the primary avenues of health care; the school is responsible for assuring that a child has received all of his/her required vaccinations and regular health examinations. Schools provide routine health screenings for diseases such as high blood pressure, and often are the first to notice mental health problems such as Depression, ADHD, eating disorders, and addictions. In addition, schools are required to provide regular health education programs relative to prevention of illness, physical fitness, and sex education. Issues such as coping with childhood chronic illnesses including Type I Diabetes and Asthma, what happens when a child is diagnosed with cancer, AIDS, a learning or physical disability, or Depression, as well as the importance of proper nutrition, physical fitness, mental health, and the reduction of risky health behavior will be addressed.
IHS 2491 |
Managed Health Care |
3 credits |
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It can be argued that no other industrialized nation could have developed the concept of managed care. America alone, with its tradition of employment based health care coverage and an aversion to universal, socialized medicine, evolved the managed care model. This course explores how managed care came about, the early forms it took, how national politics played a significant role in shaping today's managed care companies, the variations that developed during the 1980s, and what it means for health care providers, health care organizations, and consumers in the 21st century. Students will go inside the managed care industry and study how it works, how it contracts for services, and why it has been so successful.
IHS 2531 |
Nutrition: Health & Disease |
3 credits |
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The number of children who are obese or overweight in the United States has tripled in the past twenty years. Being overweight puts people at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. A basic knowledge in the science of food helps people make wise food choices, avoid disease, and to live longer, more productive lives. This course explores fundamentals of nutrition, diet-related diseases and current issues.
IHS 2541 |
Diversity Leadership in Health Care |
3 credits |
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A major leadership issue throughout the nation's health care system is how to incorporate the values, principles, and practices of diversity and multiculturalism. This has such importance that health care managers and executives are striving to integrate this type of value change throughout their hospitals and health systems. This course examines how the leadership of health care organizations in doing this work and what impacts it is having on the whole range of stakeholders such as patients, family members, physicians, administrators and the general community. Specific strategies, approaches, and best practices will be studied along with how best to design, deliver and evaluate diversity leadership development at all levels of the health care field.
IHS 2501-2511 |
Independent Health Research |
3-6 credits |
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IHS 2601-2611 |
Internship in Health Services |
3-6 credits |
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IHS 2901 |
Senior Capstone in Health Services |
3 credits |
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This course is the health services capstone for integration between health theories and the practice of health behavior. Topics will include health behavioral models, health and illness prevention, community health education, nutrition and fitness, goals for Healthy People 2000 and 2010, and the evaluation of health programs. Each student will be responsible for the preparation of senior project or research paper on a topic in health services and will participate in a fieldwork internship experience in an approved health care facility. Prerequisites: IHS 2101, 2231, 2111, 2311
IHS 2161 |
Drugs, Alcohol and Society |
3 credits |
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This course explores a sociological approach to substance abuse and its impact on contemporary American society. What social factors such as gender, race and class shape substance use? How do major social institutions such as criminal justice, education and health care deal with substance abuse? What public policies and programs exist to regulate substance abuse, and how well do they work? Example of topics discussed include: women and substance abuse; college students and binge drinking; substance abuse on the national agenda; and the community impact of crack cocaine.
IHS 2181 |
Social Gerontology |
3 credits |
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Studies the socio-psychological factors of the lives of the aged and aging; covers such topics as their physical and mental health; eldercare; and the network of social relationships involved