Learning Outcomes
Public Health Program Mission
The mission of the public health program at St. John Fisher College is to prepare students for careers as public health professionals and practitioners across public, not-for-profit, and private sectors, working to improve health care planning, delivery, assessment, and outcomes for individuals and communities. We place particular emphasis on the health care needs and disparities across the Greater Rochester region - specifically addressing nutrition, substance abuse, mental health, maternal/child health, and the impact of trauma and poverty while working with a mix of populations across the region.
Public Health Program Vision
Using the Greater Rochester region as a complex microcosm, we develop transformative leaders in the field of public health who influence change and affect public policy for emerging health needs (such as the opioid crisis, nutrition, mental health, and trauma) across a variety of populations (including urban, rural, aging, youth, ethnic/racial minorities, and refugees) to improve health across the Greater Rochester region and beyond.
The B.A. in public health at St.John Fisher College aligns the flexibility and adaptability of liberal arts training with specific outcomes and professional interests traditionally directed within the health sciences. To achieve this merger, students must draw heavily from social science perspectives, including a social science understanding of “community health,” and an appreciation for diversity and multiculturalism which is fundamental to approaches to global health, even on local levels.
The B.S. in public health at St. John Fisher College will provide training for effective and efficient population-based health as a basis for students pursuing advanced training and careers in public health, as a foundation and supplement for students pursuing careers in diverse professional approaches to health care, and as an essential skill set for students wishing to engage in public health promotion and analysis upon completion of the baccalaureate degree.
Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes
B.A. in Public Health
Goal #1: To apply health literacy, communication, and education to pressing regional public health issues.
- Engage in quantitative literacy and apply statistical analyses to inform public health practices
- Connect underlying scientific understanding and biological factors of human health and disease to opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the lifespan
- Explain and evaluate the role of science and technology within public health policy formation and program implementation
- Advocate for public health improvement through effective communication, education, and health literacy
Goal #2: To apply community health principles and ethics to relevant forms of community engagement.
- Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation for the role of prevention in public health through personal and social responsibility
- Define how public health and related roles and responsibilities of collaborating disciplines and communities affect health care systems and delivery
- Institute social and ethical reasoning to important public health challenges and priorities
- Integrate and apply experiential learning while engaging with professional networks and active public health programs
Goal #3: To apply social determinants of health, intercultural knowledge, and epidemiological methods to the role of prevention and health maintenance in community health.
- Understand and apply appropriate epidemiological methods and perspectives to aspects of community health
- Examine how socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental factors impact human health and contribute to health disparities
- Demonstrate intercultural knowledge and competence related to diverse approaches to health care, population disparities, and necessary reciprocal relationships for public health
B.S. in Public Health
Goal #1: To apply health literacy, communication, and education to pressing regional public health issues.
- Engage in quantitative literacy and apply statistical analyses to inform public health practices
- Advocate for public health improvement through effective communication, education, and health literacy
Goal #2: To apply community health principles and ethics to relevant forms of community engagement.
- Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation for the role of prevention in public health through personal and social responsibility
- Institute social and ethical reasoning to important public health challenges and priorities
- Integrate and apply experiential learning while engaging with professional networks and active public health programs
Goal #3: To apply social determinants of health and intercultural knowledge to the role of prevention and health maintenance in community health.
- Examine how socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental factors impact human health and contribute to health disparities
- Demonstrate intercultural knowledge and competence related to diverse approaches to health care, population disparities, and necessary reciprocal relationships for public health
Goal #4: To apply epidemiological methods, scientific understanding, and biological factors of human health and disease to opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the lifespan.
- Connect underlying scientific understanding and biological factors of human health and disease to opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the lifespan
- Understand and apply appropriate epidemiological methods and perspectives to aspects of community health
Goal #5: To be knowledgeable regarding how public health science and technology informs policy formation, program implementation, and health care delivery within larger health care systems.
- Explain and evaluate the role of science and technology within public health policy formation and program implementation
- Define how public health and related roles and responsibilities of collaborating disciplines and communities affect health care systems and delivery