Ph.D. In Community Health Promotion

summary

Currently, public, private, and public health organizations have recognized the importance of promoting and defending public health. With initiatives like Healthy People 2020 and its goal to “improve the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community programs designed to prevent disease and injury, improve health, and improve quality of life,” there remains a need for qualified health educators. Grow.

The PhD program in Public Health Promotion offers a broad curriculum that focuses on biological, behavioral, and sociocultural aspects of health, as well as interventions and actions to improve public health. The program provides students with the necessary coursework, background and practical experience to become leading researchers and practitioners in the large and fast-growing field of health education and health promotion.

Students learn skills to work with individuals and communities to assess health needs, and then to design, implement, and evaluate effective cultural interventions to promote and promote health and reduce unhealthy behaviors through knowledge, attitudes, skills and leverage trust in a variety of environments.

Upon completion of the program, students are able to gain a clear understanding of the theoretical and philosophical framework of health promotion and to undertake their own independent research projects. The program prepares students for academic, clinical research, community leadership, and public health promotion in the private sector, as well as for nonprofit health organizations and government jobs.

receive health education

A Certified Health Educator (CHES®) is an individual who meets the qualifications set forth by the National Commission on Health Education Qualifications (NCCHEC) and passes the CHES® exam. NCEC strives to improve the professional practice of health education by nurturing and sustaining a group of trusted health education professionals.

The CHES® designation sets national and international standards for professionals and assures employers that the individual has taken the initiative to obtain additional certification and is competent in evidence-based planning, implementation, evaluation and community health support.

The National Center for Health Education Standards has developed rigorous professional standards known as the responsibilities and competencies for certified health education professionals. These qualifications serve as a professional framework by defining the knowledge, skills and experience required to work in the fields of education and health promotion.

CHHS colleges use these standards as a framework for developing Ph.D. in Public Health Promotion, including majors in health promotion. This program meets the educational criteria for eligibility and adequately prepares students for the CHES® exam . Although not a requirement, many students pass this important test. This is because there is a growing demand for occupational health educators. Especially when the training of health educators in post-secondary institutions is part of the job duties.

registration deadline

The group meets once a year in the fall. In order to be considered for admission in autumn, all application documents must be submitted by April 30th.

Register to participate

Applicants must be enrolled in a master's degree in health education, public health, social work, or a related field from an accredited institution.

Applying for admission to the Doctor of Public Health doctoral program begins by completing the online application through the UAB Graduate School.

• Complete and submit the online application for admission to a doctorate
• Submit all required documents (see "Indicators" below)
• Pay the registration fee online by credit/debit card.
• Ask the person you are applying to be a reviewer to respond online to the form you will receive via email from the Graduate School (this form will be sent to your reference by UAB immediately after submitting your application).
• Request transcripts from all previous institutions, including institutions where you have only taken one course, and send them to UAB (see your application for information). Preferred email address for delivery of the electronic version: This E-mail address is protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spam bots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
• Provide official TOEFL or IELTS test scores (International applicants only) Note: International applicants must meet all requirements listed at http://www.uab.edu/graduate/international. This also includes the submission of an aid certificate.

The Admissions Committee will consider these applicants when making the admissions decision:

• Bachelor's degree (minimum Master's degree) in a health-related field
• Copy
• Professional Resume – Make sure to include work experience, presentations, and publications.
• Admissions Essay - In approximately two pages, explain why you are applying to this program. As you write this essay, consider the following questions: What life experiences inspired you to apply and what attracted you to this program? What are your research interests and career goals? How will this program help you pursue your research interests and career goals?
• GPA (minimum 3.25 in previous theses)
• Three letters of recommendation/recommendations

If the admissions committee believes the student is a good candidate for the program, a faculty member of the committee meets for an interview.

founded

The doctoral program Public Health Promotion consists of five areas:

Center for Health Promotion - There is a growing understanding of the impact of social determinants (race, income, housing, education) on health outcomes. Consequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other health agencies have focused on social issues and health inequalities by funding research, policy, and the promotion of best practice. By focusing on SDH, health educators can improve health outcomes and promote health equity. This program requires a health promotion core that includes training in SDH as a framework for planning, implementing and evaluating successful health interventions.

Basic Research and Statistics - Today's health promotion researchers need to be trained in blended research methods to understand complex problems affecting public health. Interest in mixed-methods research among funders is growing, as evidenced by recent calls for proposals using these methods from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program requires a mixed, qualitative and quantitative research approach.

Health Sciences Focus - These courses give students the opportunity to continue their education through UAB in their area of ​​interest. The program offers a professional health promotion program that brings together students from diverse social/behavioural backgrounds to provide appropriate training and mentoring in health-related research activities.

Supervised Research Center - This center allows students to gain valuable research experience under the supervision of faculty members while earning points toward their PhD. Students work with faculty on research projects and grants and/or prepare academic publications or professional conference presentations. In addition, students work with their professors to develop a dissertation proposal. A minimum of 12 credit hours or a successful defense of a thesis proposal is required.

Thesis - These hours are designed to provide students with meaningful research experience on a topic of interest and require the completion of 18 credit hours or the completion of a dissertation.

For this program, students must complete at least 72 semester hours.

Program Requirements

Students must be enrolled in the program with a master’s degree in health education or a closely related field. Students with a limited health education/health promotion background may be required to complete first-year or sophomore program requirements, including CHHS 610 Health Education Foundation (or equivalent), CHHS 631 Planning (or equivalent), and CHHS 697 Community Approach Assessment. Award (or equivalent). These additional requirements are determined by an examination of the certificates by the graduate program coordinator after admission to the program.

General exam

All doctoral students must pass a comprehensive examination on the third Thursday in January and June. This exam is to be prepared by an individual study that expands the content of the basic courses on health promotion. Students must pass the exam unconditionally before they can defend their dissertation and submit an application. Students must be enrolled in at least three semester hours of graduate work in the semesters in which the overall examination is taken.

Comprehensive tests are standards-based assessments - students do not compete with other students. Students should not assume that A-level coursework is sufficient to pass the general exam. During preparation, students should review all HP core course materials and all supplemental materials. Students must review health education theory and program design, delivery, and evaluation not only from previous courses, but also from a variety of documents, websites, and self-selected texts. Core courses provide basic information and plans for self-study - students must demonstrate broad professional and intellectual development. Each student must synthesize and apply what is learned to design appropriate theoretical interventions for selected health problems/populations. Students should be able to identify why the program is needed, how it will be carried out, who will be involved in its implementation and how best to use the results. Students are encouraged to prepare their work with other students, share materials, discuss key concepts with teachers, and interview test-takers.

It's appropriate.

In order to be admitted to the general examination, students must have successfully completed the following basic courses on health promotion:

• CHHS 731 Advanced Theoretical Approaches to Health Promotion
• CHHS 732 Advanced Planning and Implementation in Health Promotion
• CHHS 740: Evaluation and Research Methods in Health Promotion
• Health differences between different population groups: CHHS 742

Dissertation and final defense

A thesis is the culmination of an important research experience. Students begin work on their dissertation after completing all courses, passing a comprehensive examination, presenting their dissertation committee, defending their dissertation, and receiving approval to apply.

The dissertation committee consists of at least five faculty members and typically includes chairs, methodologists, content experts, and other interested faculty. The chairperson must be a faculty member in a College of Education CHHS program. While the chair assists in forming the committee, the students are responsible for inviting committee members. Students complete the committee's selection by preparing a Graduate Student Committee letter to the Graduate School and working with their committee to prepare a dissertation proposal. Before starting the dissertation, students must successfully defend their dissertation project, be accepted as a candidate and submit the relevant documents to the Doctoral School. Students may not collect or analyze data prior to committee or IRB approval.

Doctoral candidates must set the date and time of their final defense in advance and ensure that all members of the jury are present. Applicants are responsible for submitting their full transcripts to committee members by the date set by the committee. As soon as possible after the defense, any necessary changes or corrections should be made to the manuscript and the signatures of all committee members, and the program director should be obtained for appropriate approvals. Each candidate must submit a completed essay for the online exam to the Graduate School no later than two weeks (10 business days) after the last defense.

For more information on graduation requirements, see the Alumni Catalog, the Graduate Student Handbook, or by email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or by phone at (205)-934-8227.

Financial support

For graduate students, the UAB Graduate School sponsors a small number of Blazer Graduate Research Fellowships. The position is to be filled full-time (9 hours/HS/SP/SU) in exchange for financial consideration. Full-time UAB employees are not entitled to this fund. These funds vary from year to year and are awarded in competition.

Check out this link for more resources on how to finance PhDs!

Finally, the Ph.D. Students with experience in health promotion may be appointed assistant professors to teach undergraduate health education courses. Contact the Graduate Program Director for more information.

Effective health promotion strategies