Behavioral and Social Science

Designing a health education campaign is a complex, multi-faceted undertaking. Public health professionals make use of the most recent research findings, educational models, and distribution methods to craft a wide-reaching and effective campaign. Part of a public health education in social and behavioral science is learning to design health education campaigns and see to it that the message – such as: anti-smoking, pregnancy prevention, or anti-drug use – is conveyed clearly and reaches the most vulnerable populations.

Tobacco use is one of the most prominent causes of today’s deadliest diseases. While health officials have made progress in reducing tobacco use in the U.S., many developing countries are seeing increasingly higher smoking rates. In studying smoking cessation programs, public health students become knowledgeable in the roles different cultural factors play in tobacco use and how to most effectively educate populations and communities about the chronic health risks smoking poses.

Although teenage pregnancy rates in the U.S. are higher than in many other developed countries, the number has decreased steadily since 1991. One reason for the lower numbers is well-developed pregnancy education and prevention programs geared toward teenagers. In this course, students gain the tools to understand the variations surrounding teenage behavior across different cultures. This knowledge equips the student to better understand how unwanted pregnancy can be prevented and how sexual education can be successfully applied globally.