Health Promotion Practices (Associate of Arts)
95 Credits
Program Description
The Health Promotion Practices Associate of Arts Degree is designed for students who want to pursue careers and activities in health and wellness. Students completing this degree will be prepared to help clients achieve health goals, and to work on community-wide projects to foster health and wellness. Students will gain skills to help clients prevent and manage disease and increase overall wellness, and to promote community wellness through the development of health-promoting programs, resources, policies, and research. The curriculum is uniquely designed to prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to work with American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Students with this degree can transfer to other colleges that offer four-year programs in public health and related disciplines; they can also transfer to related four-year programs at SKC, including social work and psychology.
Career Opportunities for Graduates
Health Promotion Practices A.A. graduates will be qualified to fill many positions in health promotion. These include jobs in community health work, health education, health outreach, health coaching, and health advocacy at clinics, hospitals, public agencies, academic institutions, and civil service organizations. Graduates from this program will be especially prepared to work in American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Graduates will also be qualified to transfer, with junior standing, to a number of bachelors programs in health and social services.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Health Promotion Practices curriculum, students will be able to:
- Explain the basic principles of health and illness and their social and structural determinants.
- Apply the basic concepts of health and its determinants to health promotion actions that address local, national, and global public health needs.
- Research credible health information to develop and deliver effective health education across a variety of topics, with specific emphasis on issues salient to tribal communities.
- Demonstrate patient-centered and culturally-appropriate strategies for helping clients make health-enhancing behavior changes.
- Use critical thinking and ethical decision-making in the application of evidence-based health promotion, using both Western and Indigenous perspectives.
- Utilize effective communication and advocacy in community health settings.
Curriculum
Fall Quarter (First Year)
| ENGL101 | English Composition I | 3 |
| IDST101 | SKC Seminar | 3 |
| HLTH102 | Foundations of Health and Wellness | 3 |
| MAST150 | Anatomy and Physiology for the Medical Assistant I | 4 |
| NASD101 | History of Indians in the United States | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Winter Quarter (First Year)
Spring Quarter (First Year)
Fall Quarter (Second Year)
| HLTH221 | Human Nutrition | 3 |
| PSYC231 | Biological Psychology | 5 |
| SCID272 | Introduction to the Science of Indigenous Health and Well-Being | 5 |
| SPCH100 | Basic Communications | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Winter Quarter (Second Year)
Spring Quarter (Second Year)
| HLTH210 | Human Sexuality | 3 |
| HLTH284 | HPP Practicum II | 2 |
| HLTH291 | Theories of Health Change: Behaviors and Coaching | 3 |
| NASD210 | Introduction to Indigenous Science | 3 |
| PSYC230 | Developmental Psychology | 5 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Total Credit Hours: 95