HLTH 480: Interviewing and Helping Skills for Health Educators
Prerequisites: HLTH 475, senior standing
Credit Hours: (3)
Students will learn the basic principles of health communication and apply them in indiviudal, group, community and population settings. The course will also describe the field of health coaching, and will allow students to explore use of counseling skills to promote healthy lifestyle choices in indiviudal and group settings.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
This course provides a variety of health communication strategies/skills to assist with health promotion efforts in all settings (individual, group, community, population) to facilitate behavior change. Such skills may be used in a variety of contexts ranging from client coaching to interactions with other health professionals during program development, implementation, and evaluation. Students will develop practical strategies and skills that can be used to help clients adopt and maintain health-related behavior changes. Students will have an opportunity to practice effective verbal and nonverbal communication strategies by participating in a series of role-playing activities related to health-related topics such as weight control, smoking cessation, exercise adherence, and healthy eating.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Students will gain knowledge through lectures, group discussions, guest speakers, and role playing/simulation activities.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Define health, health education, health promotion, health literacy and health coaching.
2. Describe the characteristics of an effective health coach.
3. Demonstrate basic interviewing skills such as probing responses, use of verbal and nonverbal communication techniques, and effective use of silence.
4. Define and differentiate between ethics, morality, ethical principles, ethical dilemmas, and values.
5. List four sections of the Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession that are applicable to health coaching.
6. Conduct a mock client interview utilizing appropriate verbal and nonverbal behavior.
7. Formulate an appropriate behavior change intervention consistent with current standards of professional and ethical practice.
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of the behavior change intervention.
9. Discuss health communication theories that can be used in health promotion efforts.
10. Utilize the concept of health literacy and use a variety of health communication methods to deliver effective health messages.
Assessment Measures
Student learning will be assessed through one or more of the following methods:
Exams, Group Assignments, Papers, Projects
Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
November, 2007 Dr. Beverly Zeakes
May, 2011
March 30, 2017