Health Sciences
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SAR HS 395: Food, Supplements, and Consumer Health
Students will conduct a detailed "aisle by aisle" review of foods available in today's marketplace with special attention to functional foods, foods for special dietary use, and foods modified through technology. Students will gain an understanding of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act and become familiar with methods for evaluating dietary supplements with regard to product quality, safety, effectiveness, and doping status. The influence of nutrition marketing on consumer purchasing patterns will be explored. Students will apply the knowledge and skills gained throughout the course by comparing the nutrient content of specific foods and dietary supplements to the nutrient needs of consumers according to the Dietary Reference Intakes. -
SAR HS 396: Dietary Interventions and Public Health
Students will gain an understanding of the social ecological model of health and how individual dietary behavior is influenced by factors in the environments in which they live, including family, social networks, organizations, communities, and societies. Students will become familiar with the use of theories in dietary interventions and the steps involved in developing theory-and-evidence-based programs that use an ecological approach to assess and intervene in diet-related health problems. Resources that use the systematic review process to establish evidence-based recommendations based on research findings will be used to examine the effectiveness of interventions to promote healthy eating at the population and policy levels. -
SAR HS 397: Nutrition and Chronic Disease
In this course, students will examine relationships between nutrition/diet and chronic disease in adults on a group and/or population-level. The roles of nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns in the promotion, prevention and treatment of several chronic diseases within groups and populations will be explored. In addition, students will gain exposure to the fundamental principles of nutrition risk assessment for groups and/or populations. Chronic disease states to be discussed include but are not limited to cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and osteoporosis. -
SAR HS 405: Health Science Practicum
Practical experience in health care setting (health policy, administrative, constituent advocacy) in hospital, clinic, public health setting, government or non-governmental health agency setting. 2 or 4 credits. -
SAR HS 410: Field Experience: Human Physiology
Practical experience in a research lab, clinic, community, or industrial setting, as appropriate. -
SAR HS 412: Field Experience: Human Physiology II
Continuation of HS410. Enrollment limited to students at sites that require a 2-semester commitment. -
SAR HS 415: Undergraduate Nutrition Practicum
Practical experience working with a Registered Dietitian or related health care professional in a community, medical or private practice setting. -
SAR HS 422: Ethics in Health Care
Available in Dublin Health Science program only This course provides an introduction to ethics and common ethical issues in health care. Lectures will address several topics specific to biomedical ethics, including end of life issues, reproductive technologies, and issues in biomedical research. These issues will be used to examine ethical reasoning, ethical theories and principles, and the use of cases and narratives in ethics. Special attention will be paid to developing skills of ethical analysis through an examination of philosophical arguments. When appropriate, any distinctively Irish dimensions to the ethical issues or cases will be examined. 4 cr. (Offered in the fall only.) -
SAR HS 425: Healthcare Policy and Practice in Ireland
Available in Dublin Health Science program only This course introduces students to the organization and delivery of healthcare. It helps students develop a critical appreciation of the dynamics of healthcare policy making and the role of healthcare professionals within the sector. It examines healthcare finance and the role and influence of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. It also examines the social, environmental, and behavioral factors that affect healthcare across different social cohorts. It concludes by looking at healthcare regulation and reform. -
SAR HS 430: Global Maternal & Child Health
This course will provide a global perspective on maternal and child health. Major topics will include early life influences on later life health, maternity care practices worldwide, and the role of both human evolutionary history and sociopolitical structures in shaping health outcomes for women and children -
SAR HS 431: Topics in Global Environmental Health
In this course, students will critically examine current topics in environmental health through a global health lens. Specific course topics and content will vary by semester. As a global health senior seminar, this course will involve significant reading, active discussion, and completion of one or more projects. -
SAR HS 432: Urban Design and Global Health
Most of the world's population now lives in urbanized areas, and virtually all future population growth is expected to be urban. This course will address the impacts and opportunities of cities for public health, the environment, and global equity. We will examine the historical, social, economic, and aesthetic reasons for urban design decisions, along with the impacts of those decisions on public health. We'll consider the history and future of urban health infrastructure, as well as modern innovations in design and technology that promise to improve (or degrade) public health. Lessons from cities in the developed world will be applied to design in the developing world, and vice versa. Major topics will include transportation; nature in an urban setting; slums and healthy housing; the epidemiologic study of urban health; zoning and other land-use controls; sanitation; and the history and impacts of globalization. -
SAR HS 434: Global Health Governance
The world's countries--low-income nations in particular--face numerous health challenges, including fighting Ebola and other infectious diseases, combating the AIDS pandemic, reducing the incidence of maternal death in childbirth, strengthening national health systems and managing a complex global health architecture. This course will examine these and other issues with an emphasis on how you as an actor in global health can intervene to improve health conditions for the poor. In the first part of the course we will consider some of the fundamental difficulties in health governance, including expanding health coverage, the role of the World Health Organization in governing global health, and how we should be setting global health priorities. We will then move on to consider a set of health challenges that have particular impact upon the poor: HIV/AIDS, Ebola, maternal mortality, female circumcision and non-communicable diseases. -
SAR HS 435: Huminfectdiseas
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SAR HS 439: Global Health Communication and Advocacy
Behavior change is inherently difficult and small differences in how we say things or what platform we choose to share information through can greatly affect how well it is received. This course focuses on developing the skills needed to communicate effectively in the global health sector. We will also examine the use of communication to positively influence public policy and public opinion. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze the design and implementation of communication interventions and campaigns designed to change behavior. This includes tools such as policy memos, health pamphlets, infographics, text campaigns, mHealth, and public service announcements, among others. We will cover topics such as strategic program design, message development, pretesting, materials production, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. This course will also help students develop writing and oral presentation skills essential to global health. -
SAR HS 440: Qualitative Research Strategies in Global Health
Qualitative research methods are increasingly used in public health, and provide valuable insights into the local perspectives of study populations. This course provides practical strategies and methods for using qualitative research and includes the basic assumptions, approach and rationale for making qualitative research decisions, framing qualitative research questions, and designing appropriate research strategies. Examples will be drawn from current global health issues. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
SAR HS 441: Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of viral, parasitic, and bacterial diseases that affect more than 1 billion people worldwide and disproportionately burden those with the fewest resources. They can cause significant disability, chronic illness, and death in both children and adults. The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of each of the NTDs including transmission, disease progression, treatment, epidemiology, and control strategies. In addition, we will examine their public health importance and the effects they have at the individual, community, and national level. We will also discuss societal contexts and ethics around treatment, research, advocacy, and prevention. -
SAR HS 442: Healthcare Interventions in Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries
This course will introduce students to healthcare delivery in low (LICs) and lower middle income countries (LMICs). Students will become familiar with aspects of surgical interventions, pharmaceutical provision, cell phone technology, and global health programming. We will examine healthcare delivery and practices through case studies focused on the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases. Through this course, students will learn from past and existing healthcare delivery techniques, difficulties, and successes for some of the largest global health challenges such as: cholera, malaria, HIV/AIDS, Type 1 and 2 Diabetes, tobacco use, aging populations, and malnutrition. Students will use these skills to develop healthcare delivery strategies of their own. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
SAR HS 443: Literature and Global Health
This seminar is aimed at Sargent College Health Science seniors. It will explore several public health themes through literature, including both fiction and nonfiction, plays, poetry, and film. Topics covered may include the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the interaction of the patient and the health care system, the public health and medical response in conflict and disaster settings, aging, and the role of whistle-blowers in public health. Students will get the opportunity to read critically and discuss in depth, as well as to try their hand at creative writing. -
SAR HS 444: Child Health Programs in Low Resource Settings
This health science senior seminar will explore programs and policies that impact child health in Low and Middle Income Countries. We will cover infectious diseases - including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhea - as well as major non-infectious causes of child morbidity and mortality, including nutrition, early child development and mental health. We will discuss the full life cycle of global health programs from building the evidence base through epidemiological studies through implementation science and monitoring and evaluation.