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Community and Public Health

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B.S. Community and Public Health

When people consider the health care system in the US, they often think of hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices. But a rapidly growing segment of patient care is now delivered in communities. Health educators, nonprofit administrators, community advocates, data analysts and others are contributing to a holistic continuum of care aimed at helping patients live longer, more active and healthier lives.

Chaminade’s B.S. in Community and Public Health is designed to prepare you for a significant role in this network of care at a time of double-digit growth in the sector as well as to take the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) examination.

Careers in community and public health put you at the cutting edge of preventative care, health education and health coaching, working directly with patients—and their communities—to make a positive difference. Importantly, our degree also includes a foundation of knowledge in epidemiology and public health. Students are prepared for careers in everything from infectious disease outbreaks to care for vulnerable communities, to work in schools to promote health in children and families.

Given the wide range of professional pathways available to community and public health students, Chaminade’s program stresses flexibility, allowing you to choose from one of four specializations so you can individualize your learning based on your academic and future career goals.

Tracks
  • Community Health Worker Specialization: Excellent preparation for a career in health education, health coaching, epidemiology, public health and policy.
  • Environment and Health Specialization: Explore the linkages between environment and health, especially in the area of preventative health, policy and public health.
  • Non-profit administration Specialization: Develop your expertise in healthcare administration in the non-profit sector with a deep dive into the economics, finances and operations of community healthcare organizations.
  • Data Analytics Specialization: Harness the power of ‘big data’ to improve healthcare, model and predict diseases and inform decision-making and policy, developing an in-demand skill set in a fast-growing area of healthcare.

Upon completion of the undergraduate B.S. Community and Public Health degree program, students will be able to:

  1. Describe behavioral and non-behavioral variables contributing to morbidity and mortality, particularly the medical basis of health and disease, and social determinants of physical and behavioral health, and the connections between health and environment.
  2. Apply the core principles, measurements and methodologies of public health to address healthcare needs and mitigate health inequity across specific groups, communities, and societies, especially in the Hawaiian and Pacific Island context.
  3. Integrate diverse and transcultural perspectives into the practice of public and community health.
  4. Describe and develop strategies to mitigate health disparities in specific groups, communities, and societies, especially in the Hawaiian and Pacific Island context.
  5. Analyze healthcare data using statistical, epidemiological and data visualization techniques, generating data products that support decision-making and inform resource allocation and the design of health promotion interventions.
  6. Plan, implement, monitor and evaluate culturally-responsive health promotion programs in a variety of settings to influence behavioral, environmental, and public policy change to address the health needs in a given community.
  7. Perform community health assessment and health coaching activities.
  8. Articulate understanding of the complex healthcare financial, economic, regulatory and political landscape, integrating diverse perspectives including those of patients, providers, and insurers from the public, private and non-profit sectors.
Health Foundations Core Requirements
  • HC 100 Determinants of Health Across Cultures
  • BI 105/L Human Biology/L
  • PSY 101 General Psychology
  • BI 131 Human Nutrition/L
  • HC 200 Health Promotion
  • PSY 200 Lifespan development
  • BI 312 Epidemiology and public health
  • AN 340 Contemporary peoples of Hawai’i
  • BI 300 Science writing- grant proposals and research design
  • BI 302 Science writing -bioethics
  • ENV 100 Introduction to Environmental Issues
  • HC 201 Intercultural and therapeutic communication
  • BI 495 / ENV 485 / HC 495 Capstone Applied Project
  • EN 305 / HI 452 / HI 406 / PH 388 / PH 360 / RE 347 Multicultural literature OR Pacific Islands in Modern Era OR Women in America OR Religion, Philosophy and Social Ethics OR Sociology and Philosophy of Gender OR Justice, Development and Human Rights
  • BI 387 Internship
Statistics Core Requirements
  • MA 103 College Algebra
  • PSY 315 Behavioral Science Statistics
  • DS 401 Healthcare Informatics
Community Health Worker Specialization Requirements
  • HC 202 Disease and Illness/L
  • HC 203 Health disparities and indigenous health
  • PSY 451 Health and Stress Psychology
  • HC 300 Health education program design and evaluation
  • HC 301 Health promotion teaching 
  • HC 302 Health promotion coaching
  • HC 303 Case management
  • HC 304 Telehealth
  • HC 305 Healthcare economics and policy
  • HC 399 CHES prep
Environment and Health Specialization Requirements
  • ENV 301 Environment Human Health
  • ENV 400 Current global environmental issues
  • TBD Environmental justice
  • DS 407 Data Analytics for Environmental Science
Non-profit Administration Specialization Requirements
  • BU 200 Intro to business
  • MGT 301 Organizational Behavior
  • MGT 312 Organizational Leadership
  • MGT 425 Project Management
Data Analytics Specialization Requirements
  • DS 101 Data Structures, Data Analytics and the Data Lifecycle 
  • CS 202 Programming in Python
  • DS 301 Community Engaged Computing
  • Elective
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Faculty

Our faculty members are leaders in their fields. They believe in the power of personal experience—stressing mentorship, collaboration and project-based learning inside and outside the classroom.

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Accreditation

Chaminade University of Honolulu is accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission.